Page 171 of Small Town Firsts
Through our salads, braised lamb for me and chicken parm for her, and our tiramisu desserts—hey, I could admit when I’d seen the error of my ways—we kept the conversation light and easy. She had two martinis and a glass of rosé, and I had two glasses of wine. Neither of us were drunk, just relaxed. Easy with each other, as we’d always been.
After the weirdness I’d introduced into our relationship with my contract, it was nice to be chill enough to laugh and tease each other as we usually did. My getting annoyed at her mention of a cute guy seated in her section of tables at the diner was new, but I chalked that up to thinking way too much about her reproductive organs lately. Thoughts in that direction tended to spread.
Kissing her senseless the other night—and being kissed back the exact same way—also probably didn’t help.
I didn’t actually care if she found another man “cute.” Bully for her.
Okay, so I cared. A lot. And that might’ve been when I’d decided to go for that second glass when I usually stopped at one when I was driving. But we wouldn’t be on the road for hours yet, since we intended to walk the shops that lined Main Street and head up the pier to check out the lake. If the freaking rain ever decided to stop screwing with our plans.
We had summer splendor to appreciate, goddammit.
Also rain meant Ally was more likely to make excuses about cutting the night short. I wasn’t in any hurry for that to happen.
At least until we squabbled over splitting the bill. My insistence on paying added an extra sour note to the evening, but I pretended I didn’t notice her dismay and headed up the street in the light drizzle as planned.
Eventually, she caught up with me, grumbling only a little.
“Cowboy boots probably weren’t the best choice of footwear, though I do like how they make your legs look.”
“You can’t see my legs in this dress.”
“Sure, I can.”
“It’s dark out.”
“Your point?”
She blew out a breath and turned up the walk to one of the quaint old homes in our small town that served as a shop—in this case, a year-round Christmas store. “You can’t see my legs and you have no reason to check them out in any case.”
“I can see your ass too.” I tilted my head as she climbed the stairs to the shop. “It’s kinda perfect.”
“I miss the old Seth who never said shit like this.”
“Blind Seth who never noticed what was right in front of him?”
“Yes, Blind Seth was awesome.” She rolled her eyes at me over her shoulder and opened the door before I could, slipping inside. She didn’t hold the door for me, and even that made me grin.
Damn, I liked having our rhythm back. Even if it was now heavily laced with innuendoes, we were on track once again.
Mostly.
As always, Ally touched every trinket and ornament she came across. She was so tactile. Always had been. She claimed not to have a special affinity for any holiday, but she took every opportunity to visit this shop and pick up something small for Laurie. An ornament for the tree, or a little figurine she might like. She never stopped thinking about my little girl.
“She’d love this, don’t you think?” Ally angled her head to study a tiny ballerina with a glittering tutu hanging from one of the higher branches of a Christmas tree. Her cowboy boots made her taller, but she still had to stretch to reach so I helped her by tugging the loop off the branch.
“She loves pink,” I agreed. “We’ll get this for her, and something for your new tree with Sage.”
“Oh, Christmas is so far away.”
“No further for you than it is for Laurie.” I moved around the tree and picked up a shimmery silver arrow ornament, cupping it in my hand when she tried to get a peek. “It’s a surprise.”
She tugged on the sleeve of my suit jacket, but I kept my fingers in a tight fist. Shaking her head, she laughed. “You’re a silly man.”
“You haven’t had nearly enough silly in your life for a damn long time.” Something shifted through her expression and I leaned down to speak against her ear. “Let me give you some things you aren’t used to tonight. We’ll start with silly.”
I grabbed a string of mini flamingo lights off a small tabletop tree and draped them around her neck without revealing the ornament hidden in my hand. It was difficult since she kept trying to get a glimpse of it, but I had big hands and stealth.
And long jacket sleeves I could slip it into.
