Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold #11)(25)

“Would you have dinner with me?” he asked. “Tonight? At my place?”

She pressed her lips together. “You’re asking me to dinner?”

“Yes.”

“Like a...”

“Date.”

“We already have a date. For the party.”

“Did you want to wait until then to have dinner with me?”

“No. I enjoy spending time with you. Thank you. Dinner would be nice.”

“I’ll see you at seven.”

She nodded.

He turned and saw Ana Raquel by the door. She grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. He held in a groan.

CHAPTER SIX

FELICIA KNEW WINE was a traditional gift when invited to dinner. She’d gone online and read about several other interesting options, including bringing a dish for the meal, or dessert, along with flowers or other hostess gifts. However, she was fairly certain Gideon wasn’t the pretty-silver-frame or napkins-in-a-matching-holder type.

She arrived on time, wine in hand, and knocked on the front door.

In the few seconds it took him to answer, she worked on her breathing to slow her heart rate and reduce her anxiety to something closer to anticipation. Nervousness wasn’t pleasant, and considering she hadn’t eaten much all day, the sudden need to throw up surprised her.

Perhaps she’d taken too long worrying about her appearance. She’d tried on several outfits, and although none of them had been inappropriate, she hadn’t been satisfied with any of them. Jeans had been too casual and a dress had seemed too formal. She’d finally decided on white crop pants and a dark green silk T-shirt. The V-neck dipped low enough to show the shadow of her cle**age, which men seemed to like. She wasn’t sure the choice was flattering but realized she didn’t know enough about fashion to be sure. It wasn’t an area she’d ever had reason to study.

The door opened, and Gideon stood in front of her.

“Hey,” he said, his voice low and sexy.

She felt her stomach muscles clench. “Hi.” She held out the bottle of wine. “I went online and found several options for dinner. Not knowing what we were having made the choice more difficult, but statistically at a barbecue one is more likely to eat red meat, so I went with a full-bodied red wine.”

He smiled at her. “We’re having steaks. Come on in.”

She followed him into the house.

Days were still long this time of year, and sunlight poured into the house. She could see through the great room to the deck beyond and the view that seemed to stretch for miles. The last time she’d been here, she’d only sensed the vastness beyond. Now it was clearly visible.

Trees carpeted the side of the mountains. Beyond them was another set of mountains and between them a distant valley.

Gideon led the way into the kitchen. It was large, with dark cabinets and stainless appliances. Overhead lights reflected off the granite countertops.

He opened the bottle of wine, collected two glasses then poured. Felicia took one, he grabbed the other and they went out onto the deck.

Close up, the view was even more impressive. She walked to the railing and pointed halfway down the mountain.

“You can see where an avalanche tore up trees,” she said. “That group in the middle is significantly shorter. Based on how quickly these trees grow each year, I would say it happened sometime in the past forty years.” She looked to the left side of the house. “With this area leveled off, it’s unlikely to happen again, but it must have been a powerful event to observe.”

Gideon smiled. “Assuming you weren’t watching it from below.”

She laughed. “Yes. One would want to be above or to the side of an avalanche.”

She was aware of the furniture on the deck. They weren’t exactly where they had been last time, but if she turned slightly, she could see the lounge chair where they’d had sex.

Wanting surprised her with an intense surge. She found herself thinking about stepping closer to Gideon so she could lean against him and have him hold her. She wanted to kiss him and touch him.

“Are you working tonight?” she asked.

“My shift starts at eleven.”

She did the calculations in her head. “So a sexual encounter is unlikely.”

He’d been swallowing and now started to choke. She monitored his coughing to see if she should offer assistance, but decided he would recover. A few seconds later, he caught his breath.

“It’s not a time issue,” he told her, his voice raspy.

“I suppose that’s true. We could not have dinner.”

He shook his head. “I was thinking more along the lines of this being a first date. I’m not the most traditional guy around, but I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to wait. Maybe get to know each other.”

“Oh.” She considered that. “Establish an emotional bond before having physical intimacy. You’re right. That’s how it usually happens.”

Although she’d very much enjoyed making love with Gideon, she could see the appeal of waiting. From what she’d been told, sex was even better with someone who mattered. She couldn’t imagine making love with Gideon being more pleasurable than before, but finding out would make for an excellent experiment. Plus, if she wanted a normal kind of life, she needed to act in a normal way.