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“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” he blurted out before she could say anything. “It was uncalled for and unnecessary.”

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t stumbling over his words, but he was doing a pretty good job of putting his big size twelve boot in his mouth. Whenever he’d been out with other women, he hadn’t said anything inappropriate. Kelly put him off-kilter and he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.

“Thank you. And yeah, it was a little rude. But I’ll answer it. Sometimes it is lonely cooking for one person. But it also gives me freedom to do what I want. Eat what I want when I want. If I want to have cereal for dinner because I’m too exhausted to do anything else, I can. I don’t have to answer to anyone.”

Tate studied her. Her words were confident and to the point. However, yearning lurked in the depths of her eyes. As if, while she believed what she was saying, she wanted more.

“I don’t mind cereal for dinner. What’s your favorite variety?” Talking about breakfast foods seemed a good way to direct the conversation away from personal to general.

“Oh, I go through phases when I only eat one variety at a time. Like at the moment I’m on a Cocoa Krispies fad. Nothing like chocolate-flavored cereal to start the day.”

“Mmmm, my favorite. Maybe we can share a bowl.”

What the hell? Did I just insinuate spending the night with her?

Why deny that he was attracted to her and wanted to get to know her better? It was the truth. It definitely wasn’t hard to imagine sharing a bowl of Cocoa Krispies with her in his bed, her hair deliciously rumpled from sleep and from him running his fingers through it.

He shifted on the vinyl bench seat in an attempt to alleviate the pressure building in his jeans.

Yes, he liked Kelly Turner.

“I’ll bring a box the next time I come to the farm to talk about the festival and we caneachhave a bowl.”

Well, there went his early morning fantasy, but she hadn’t totally blown his suggestion out of the water. Perhaps it was for the best they started with an afternoon snack together before working up to snuggling in bed. He hadn’t missed the emphasis on them both having a bowl and not sharing one.

He cleared his throat. “Sounds good.” Tate went back to concentrating on his meal, but he couldn’t quite let go of his little fantasy. Not yet anyway.

The rest of the meal passed in silence, and when Norma came to collect their plates she looked between the two of them, raising her eyebrow a fraction before placing the dessert menus on the table and then walking away.

“Do you want to get some dessert?” he asked, breaking the silence. While it hadn’t been uncomfortable, it hadn’t been too relaxed either. At least the desire in his body had settled down a little.

“I shouldn’t, but I can’t resist Betty Lou’s donuts. I think I’ll grab a couple to go. I’ve still got a bit to do tonight before I can turn in.”

Disappointment flared and he squashed it quickly. They were going to be seeing a bit of each other over the next few weeks, but he really didn’t want the night to end. “Are you going to be working on the Founders’ Day stuff?”

“Yes, I am.”

He recalled something she’d said to him earlier at the farm, before things had gone off the rails. “You have some designs worked out already for the farm, don’t you?”

“Uh-huh.”

Great, she was responding in short sentences. Did that mean, like him, she didn’t want to leave, or was he reading too much into her responses? Probably reading too much. Or maybe she was worried he was going to shoot down everything she suggested. After all, he hadn’t been too open that afternoon.

“Look, I know this afternoon I was being bullheaded, but I would like to see what you’ve designed. Your vision.”

She canted her head to the side as if determining whether he was being genuine or saying pretty words to lull her into a false sense of security. “Are you serious? Do you really want to see them?”

“Would you two like dessert?” Norma asked brightly.

Damn that woman and her timing. “Umm, yeah,” he started and gave the menu a quick look. “I’ll have the peach pie with whipped cream and ice cream.”

“Okay, what about you, Kelly? Do you want anything?”

“I’ll have the donut of the day, and I’ll also take a plain glazed one. You can put the glazed one in a to-go bag. Thanks, Norma.”

“Either one of you want a coffee as well?”

The last thing Tate needed was a shot of caffeine. He had a feeling that sleep was going to be difficult anyway. No way did he need any more stimuli to keep him awake. “No thanks, I’m good.”