Page 50 of Christmas at Black Cherry Retreat
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tom considered turning right back around and walking out but before he could move the corner of Fee’s mouth twitched and he realised she was struggling not to laugh.Witch. If she needed him to grovel he would. Whatever it took.
Ten minutes after she left Black Cherry he’d decided to go after her whether she wanted him to or not. He’d told himselfit was because he thought she might get lost but deep down he knew that was a load of bull.
Tom pulled out a chair and sat down.
‘Give me your order too, hon. It won’t be long until the grill’s hot.’ The waitress gave him the sympathetic look he often received from older women who recognised a sad excuse for a man when they saw one.
He quickly scanned the menu. ‘A coupleof sausage biscuits, two eggs over-easy and a double order of hash browns please. And coffee.’ The woman hurried off and he was left alone with Fee.
‘Afraid I’d lose my way?’ she asked with a sly smile. ‘Don’t answer you’ll only incriminate yourself.’ Fee thrust the tablet at him. ‘Now you’re here you can read that. Tell me if it’s okay before I send it.’
Without saying a wordhe scanned over the email. To his surprise she’d agreed to visit Allain Dupre. ‘Looks fine to me.’
‘Have you ever been to New Orleans?’
He wasn’t sure whether to take her question on a simple level or read any more into it so went for straightforward. ‘Nope.’ He needed to know where he stood but second guessing her wasn’t going to help his quest.
‘Right.’ She dragged outthe word. Glancing back down she touched the screen and sent her message. ‘That’s done.’
Tom reached across to cover her hand with his own. Her slim, cool fingers always felt fragile to his touch although he knew that was far from the truth.
‘Thanks.’
‘What for?’ he asked and her blue eyes appraised him. Tom caught a hitch in her breath before she spoke.
‘Comingto find me even though I might’ve told you where to go.’ The crisp, curt words made him smile. ‘Sure of yourself, were you?’
‘Hardly,’ Tom scoffed. ‘After last night I wasn’t sure you’d even speak to me and having seen you in action with a dangerous knife… let’s just say I considered wearing a Kevlar vest in case you decided to give me a taste of Randy Watling’s medicine.’
Sheburst out laughing and the girlish sound warmed his heart.
‘I overreacted and I apologise.’ Her frank admission stunned him. ‘I thought about it from your family’s point of view later and realised they were simply pleased to see you more… contented.’
‘Happy and smiling.’ He grinned to prove his point. ‘Pop was right.’ Tom couldn’t leave it there. ‘But I was wrong to let them jumpto conclusions about us. I’ve got no hold on you and we’ve made no promises. That’s something neither of us want. Right?’
Fee prepared to lie. ‘Of course not.’ She managed a short, dismissive laugh. ‘I’m not the settling down kind and you’ll want a good Southern girl who’s happy to stay in Pine Ridge.’ She wanted to say she couldn’t imagine anything worse but couldn’t force out the cruelwords. A huge part of her heart thought the idea sounded wonderful but the logical side of her brain assured her it’d be a huge mistake. She wasn’t programmed to do “normal”.
A shadow flitted across Tom’s face before he nodded. ‘Fair enough. As long as we know where we are.’
‘We do indeed.’ Fee plastered on a wide smile. ‘We’re grown-ups who enjoy each other’s company and I’llbe gone soon.’ Why did a pit open in the bottom of her stomach when she spoke the truth out loud?
‘I’ll miss you,’ he murmured, staring down at the table. A lump closed Fee’s throat so she couldn’t have spoken if she wanted to.
‘Here you go.’ Brenda appeared and set down plates of food in front of them both. Fee wasn’t sure if she wanted to hug the woman for rescuing them or begher to leave them alone. ‘I’ll be right back with your drinks.’
Neither of them said a word. Tom doused his hash browns with ketchup before taking a large forkful and cramming it into his mouth. Fee poked at her pile of pale, creamy eggs in revulsion.
‘Tea for you, hon, and there’s your coffee.’
Fee managed to thank the woman through gritted teeth. For several minutes theonly sounds were made by him ploughing his way through his mountain of food. She pushed hers around the plate and wondered how soon they could leave.
‘I thought you were supposed to eat regular meals?’ His accusation startled her. Fee wasn’t used to having anyone fuss over her. ‘If you fade away I’ll have nothing to grab a hold of.’
A heated blush warmed her face as she rememberedthe thorough way he’d explored every inch of her the other night. Fee scooped up some eggs before he could make any more embarrassing comments. The sausage was decent and she managed to eat about half of her breakfast. ‘How’s yours?’ she asked, guessing it must have been okay by his empty plate.
‘Pretty good. Not up to Aunt Ina’s standard of course but decent enough.’ Tom took a deep swallowof his coffee and sighed. ‘Good coffee though. Should keep me awake long enough to drive home.’
