Page 39 of Home Team Advantage
Her eyes brightened. “The place with the amazing cinnamon rolls?”
“One and the same.”
Matt selected an open booth in the back. He ordered coffee. She ordered tea. They both got cinnamon rolls.
While they waited, the owner of the diner came over to see them. Matt rose and accepted an embrace from the old man.
“Matthew, ’tis good to see you, lad. I heard you were back in town. And who is this fine lass you’ve brought with you today?”
“Daideo, this is Anna Black. Anna, this is Conlan O’Leary.”
“ ’Tis a pleasure to meet you, Anna Black. Is he treating you to my Keely’s cinnamon rolls?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Then, he must be wanting to impress you,” the old man said with a wink. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“You know,” Anna said softly after he walked away, “I think he might be older than Mrs. Campbell.”
Matt laughed. “Oh, he definitely is. We’re not sure how old exactly, but he’s been around a long time.”
“You called him Daideo. What does that mean?”
“It’s an old Irish word for grandfather.”
“He’s your grandfather?”
“He’s Kieran’s grandfather, but he insists we all call him that.”
The rolls arrived, hot and fresh and every bit as good as he remembered them.
She took her first bite, and her eyes closed in bliss. “Oh God.”
Images of seeing that look on her face and her moaning like that while naked slammed into his mind with incredible clarity. He could still feel her body pressed against his and cursed himself for his lack of focus. What the hell was wrong with him?
“You weren’t kidding about these, were you?” Her tongue peeked out, licking the icing coating her pretty pink lips.
“I never kid about cinnamon rolls.”
“I’m enjoying these more than the mock mugging.”
Matt didn’t know whether he was pleased or insulted by that. Then, he saw the flush in her cheeks and the flicker in her eyes before he looked away and realized she was lying. She had enjoyed it—at least some part of it—and wasn’t any happier about that than he was. At least they were on the same page.
“I’m sorry I scared you.”
She waved her hand. “It’s okay. You made your point. I’m a flee-er, not a fighter.”
“We can do something about that, you know. Give you a better shot at getting away.”
“Self-defense classes.”
“Yep.”
“Let me think about it, okay?”
He nodded, but he could already tell by the way her eyes shuttered that there would be no more lessons. Then she licked another drop of icing from her lower lip, and just like that, he forgot about everything else.
* * *
