Redneck Romeo (Rough Riders #15)(30)

However, she wasn’t invested in his home entertainment choices at the electronics store. Dalton picked the most basic setup, including a dish for satellite TV and the internet, a DVR and a DVD player and it still set him back more than he expected.


On the way back to Wyoming, he joked, “I intended to take you someplace nice for helping me out today, but I’m thinking DQ is the extent of my budget.” Might make him pathetic, but he was testing the waters—see if Rory had an issue being seen in public with him in Sundance. “I’m sure Dewey’s has a decent Sunday special. If you’re all right eating there.”


“Cool.”


Dewey’s Delish Dish was nearly empty. The hostess seated them in the back row of booths.


Rory ordered hot tea. Dalton ordered iced tea. They both chose the same open-faced hot turkey sandwich and a dinner salad.


“See? We have things in common.”


“Food? That’s hardly an endorsement for our compatibility.”


Their easy companionship from the day had vanished.


“Dalton, I need to ask you something.” When she struggled to speak he knew he wouldn’t like her question. “Why do you think a relationship will work between us?”


“It just will.”


The waitress dropped off their salads.


“Why are you supposedly so crazy about me?”


It appeared Rory wasn’t letting him off the hook. “You’re talkin’ like this is something that just came up.”


“But it did just come up when you returned to Sundance.”


“So the fact I’ve known you since you were a bratty, pig-tailed six-year-old doesn’t hold any weight with you?”


Rory stabbed her salad. “I’m no more the bratty six-year-old than I am the virginal eighteen-year-old, or the big-mouthed twenty-two-year-old that you used to know. You’re trying to convince me that you’ve changed?” She looked at him. “So have I.”


“I realize that.”


“Oh yeah? Maybe that’s what you oughta be proving to me. Not that you’ve changed, but in the few times we’ve seen each other you’ve noticed the changes in me.”


Dalton gestured for her to bring-it-on while he forked a chunk of iceberg lettuce into his mouth.


“Name three things about me that are different from three years ago. And any cosmetic changes aren’t an acceptable answer,” she warned.


Dalton sipped his tea. “If I do this are you willing to do the same for me? And admit I’ve changed?”


“Sure. But only if I agree your three guesses are accurate.”


“I ain’t gonna be guessing, ’cause sugarplum, I know that’s what scares you.” He paused with his fork midair. “There’s a melancholy in you that’s never been visible before. Maybe it’s always been there and you’ve been good at hiding it, but now I see it.” He said, “How’d I do?” before he shoveled in a bite of cucumber.



“Better than I expected.” She sliced a cherry tomato in half. “Are you waiting for an explanation for my supposed melancholy?”


“Nope. The more time we spend together, the better my chance to figure it out myself. Besides, I’ve got two chances left to wow you with my insight into you.”


“Bring it.”


“You’re not as quick to anger as you used to be.”


“What makes you say that?”


Funny how she’d snapped that question at him. “You only punched me once when I ambushed you at the Twin Pines.” He smirked. “Before? You’d’ve gotten at least another shot in.”


“That doesn’t count because I was shocked to see you and off my game.”


Dalton lifted an eyebrow.


Rory fidgeted. “I’ll admit I have mellowed some.”


“Got you down cold, don’t I?”


“Don’t get cocky, McKay. You still have one answer to go.”


“You marked an occasion in your life with a tattoo.”


Her mouth fell open. “How did you know that?”


“I didn’t. But I suspected.” Dalton leaned forward. “What is it? A heart? A flower? A butterfly? An Asian symbol?”


“I’m not telling you. And since that is a cosmetic change, it doesn’t count. Try again.”


“I noticed you stopped biting your nails.”


He watched as she automatically curled her fingers into her palms. “You’ve always had ripped cuticles and short nails. Now you don’t.”


The waitress delivered their main course and conversation ceased. It wasn’t uncomfortable silence, just contemplative.


They must’ve been hungry because the food disappeared fast.


“Now before you start in on the changes in me, I want you to tell me three things about you that I don’t know. Big. Small. Funny.” He flashed her a grin. “Sexy.”


“Oh, I can do sexy.” She lowered her voice to a throaty purr. “I like to wear matching lingerie. Doesn’t have to be the high-end stuff, but my bra and my panties have to match.” She took a quick look around the restaurant before she started to undo the buttons on her blouse. “Today I wanted to feel feminine so I chose this red number.” Watching his avid eyes, she let her finger trace the satin piping of the bra cup across the mound of her breast.