Page 19 of Dirty Ginger

He wondered how he’d find Amelia this evening. If she’d be full of regret, but she only seemed focused on her work. He noted the tension creasing her eyes. “Anything I can help with?”

She set her clever eyes on him. “Got any ideas how to make my mind clear?”

He couldn’t help himself. He grinned devilishly. “I’ve got a few.”

Her mouth twitched. “Serious ideas for a new beer that will knock peoples socks off?”

He winked. “Anything with a high alcohol count usually does the trick.”

She laughed softly. The tension on her face melting away. “If it were only that easy.”

Christ, he loved when she smiled that like. He’d wondered if she knew she stopped smiling like that when she was with the prick.

“Ronnie’s got one distribution spot open to market the hell out of a brewery with quarterly beers, and three breweries are fighting for the spot.” She ran her hands over her face and sighed heavily. “There’s just so much to do. I should have cleaned out the beer tanks today, but my entire day got eaten up with visits and then I started thinking about these samples I need to do for Ronnie and got stuck on that.” She dropped her hands, sighing again. “It’s just a lot, you know?”

“You’ve got this, Am. Give yourself time. You only just got back today.”

“You’re right,” she finally said. “All I’m doing is beating myself up. Nothing is going to come from this tonight.” She began fastening the lids onto the jars.

Beckett helped her until he closed the last lid. “If you’ve got some time, can I take you somewhere?”

She looked up at him through her thick lashes. “I’ve got to get started on cleaning my tanks out.”

He gestured toward the sunset. “There’s no way you’ll get through it tonight. Today was a busy, long day. Start fresh tomorrow.”

She studied then sunset and then sighed again. “Okay, yeah, it won’t kill me to start tomorrow.”

“No, it won’t.” He smiled, offering his hand. She accepted his help up as she got to her feet, and he fought the urge to tug her close and keep her there.

Instead, he let her go and she wiped her hands on her dress. “Where do you want to go?”

He motioned to the front of the house. “Come with me and you’ll see.”

Intrigue sparkled in her eyes as she followed him. The same excitement danced on her face as he opened the passenger side door of his truck. Her expression only shifted when they drove into his backyard and the brightest smile filled her face.

“You’re kidding?” she asked.

His breath caught at that smile. The beauty in it. The sweetness. “Not kidding. You used to love this. I thought you might like to do it again.” He placed a hand low on the small of her back and guided her forward toward the blanket set out in the field, with the projector facing the barn. Backyard movie nights were their thing back in high school.

“I still love this,” she said with a tender smile. “I just haven’t done it in a really long time.” When they reached the blanket, she noted the dill pickle chips, Coke, and black licorice on the blanket before she grinned up at him. “You remembered my favorite treats?”

He nodded with a laugh. “It was all you ate back then, how could I possibly forget?” He motioned for her to sit. “Go. I’ll get the movie on.” The sun had nearly set now as he sensed her taking a seat and couldn’t fight his smile, anticipating her reaction. The second he hit play, he glanced back and saw her eyes widen and her smile beam when she saw he put on The Breakfast Club.

Her sparkling gaze met his. “You’re pulling out all the stops tonight. My favorite movie too?”

He wondered, when was the last time anyone did something just for her? By her surprise it seemed like a long time. “I know this movie word for word,” he told her, returning to her side. He’d never tell her that he watched this movie more than he’d ever admit aloud because it reminded him of her. As the movie began, he opened the chips and dumped them into the bowl before he opened the licorice bag.

Amelia sat looking at the movie, but every so often looked at the chips.

Beckett laughed. “I’ve seen you inhale chips and licorice in ten minutes flat. What are you waiting for? They’re not going to bite you.” He didn’t like the way she hesitated, telling him that bastard likely commented on how she ate food she loved quickly. He picked up the bowl and handed to her, but not before grabbing a huge handful and shoving it in his mouth. “I’m going to eat them all if you don’t,” he said with a full mouth.

She laughed softly and began eating.

Feeling like he could stay right here a lifetime and never want to leave, he leaned back on one arm and grabbed some licorice, devouring it as the movie continued. They laughed at the same parts as they had back in high school. She quoted lines, and he followed, and it began to feel like no time had passed between them at all.

Beckett reached for another licorice when something else hit his mouth instead. He caught up to Amelia’s kiss in an instant, but let her lead the way, following her open-mouthed kiss but never taking over to deepen it.

Many many minutes later when she pulled away, she asked, “Is it all right that I do that?”

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