Page 186 of Sing with Me

“I don’t care as long as I’m with you—but I don’t want anything exotic. I’ve had enough surprises this week.”

“Okay. No surprises. And somewhere casual.”

“Yes, please, considering what I’m wearing. I’m glad the flight was no more than two hours long, but we did have to wait at the airport.”

Diehl nodded. He hadn’t traveled commercial in decades, if ever. He wasn’t sure what he had missed.

“Shall we pick a random restaurant?”

“No, not random. That sounds unpredictable,” Skye said.

“You don’t like surprises?”

“Oh, I’m okay with surprises. I’m saying that I just got off the plane, so I don’t want to drive all over town in Atlanta traffic looking for a restaurant. I’ve had adventurous food all week.”

Diehl appreciated Skye’s honesty. She didn’t try to please him. She spoke her mind. And she didn’t seem to care about his sports car.

“How about comfort food?” Skye asked. “Barbecue, maybe? I haven’t had brisket in forever.”

“I haven’t had ribs in months. I know a place in Buckhead.”

“Let’s go.”

And so that was how billionaire Diehl Brooks drove his forty-million-dollar 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO to a woodsy, greasy, outdoorsy barbecue joint where a platter cost only fourteen dollars so that his girlfriend of three weeks—or had it been four weeks?—could have the best beef brisket in town.

Chapter Fifty

The service was fast and they were saying grace for their hot meal and eating by five thirty. Diehl thought they had plenty of time to talk in the restaurant before the usual crowd filed in, but first, he was busy eating ribs and making generous use of the roll of paper towel on the table.

“I never pegged you as a barbecue sort of guy.” Skye squirted more sauce on her chopped brisket.

“I eat anything. Food is food.” He wiped his fingers yet again on some clean paper towel. The pork fell off the bones, but eating ribs was messy—a different kind of messiness than eating boiled crab legs or crawfish.

“You better wash your hands really well before you touch the steering wheel of your fancy little car,” Skye said.

“For sure.”

She hadn’t asked him how much it cost. And Diehl didn’t say.

Truth be told, he’d sell every car and house he owned and give up the family business if he could be with Skye. He realized now that he loved her.

“Is it possible to fall in love quickly?” Diehl asked.

Before Skye could answer, the server came by to refill their tea and water, and to ask if they wanted anything else.

“I’m fine,” Skye said. “These hush puppies are great. Love the bits of jalapeños in them. Compliments to the chef.”

“I will tell him. Thank you.”

After she left, Diehl waited for Skye to answer his question.

“You mean us or in general?” Skye asked.

Apparently she had not only heard his question, but she had given it some thought.

“I guess both?” Diehl said. “When my sister met Ivan, they were casual friends for one year—on and off—before they met again in a new light. She said it was somehow different that time.”

“So they knew each other before. I’m trying to think how my brother met Em—I mean Emmeline, since you don’t know her. She’s my best friend—was anyway until my brother came along, and now he’s her best friend. My brother… Do you really want to know how it happened for them?”

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