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“What?” she asked, clearly stunned by his outburst.

Tate cupped her elbow and steered up the stairs. “I’ll explain everything inside.”

This was a conversation better had while sitting down over a table, not on his front porch. Before stepping into the house, he veered slightly and grabbed his tablet. Once inside, he led her to the kitchen where she placed the bag on the counter.

Reaching into the upper cabinet, he grabbed two wineglasses. The menial task gave him a few more seconds to compose himself. He noted that while he was fixing the wine, Kelly had begun to extract various boxes from the bag.

He definitely caught a whiff of fried chicken and his stomach grumbled loudly.

“You always seem to be forgetting to eat. When did you last have food?” she asked, smiling, as she placed the last box on the counter and scrunched up the bag.

Tate sighed. “Yeah, it’s been a long, hard day. I grab food when I can, but I was grimy after helping with the harvest, so I came in and had a shower. I hadn’t thought much about dinner.”

“Well, now you don’t have to worry.”

Should he tell her what he’d thought about doing? That she was the reason he was dressed to go out and not dressed to sit in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal?

“May I tell you a secret?”

Kelly halted in opening the boxes. “Depends. Is this a secret I have to take to my grave or a secret that’s going to be announced to everyone in a couple of weeks?”

“A minor one, at most.”

“Well then, tell me.”

Tate moved a little closer to her. Ever since he’d inhaled her floral scent upon her arrival, he’d been resisting the urge to pull her close. The one and only kiss they’d shared had occupied so much of his mind, he was lucky he hadn’t hurt himself while working the harvest. He rested a hand on her hip, waiting for her to pull away while hoping she wouldn’t. When she didn’t, he relaxed a little more. “My plan tonight was to head into town in the hope that you may be eating at the diner again or maybe you would’ve gone to the Silver Spurs.”

Her eyes widened and appeared bluer than he’d ever seen them. “You were going to look for me? Why?”

Taking a risk, he placed his free hand on her other hip. She fit perfectly in his arms. He could get used to being close to her. “Because I wanted to see you again. I enjoyed our evening together last week.”

Kelly smiled, big and bright, and it lit him up. “I had fun too, that’s why I’m here. I like you, Tate Prentice.”

“Well, that’s good, because I like you, too, Kelly Turner.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips softly against hers. At the back of his mind, he had to remember the Founders’ Day committee was counting on them to work together to create a great event. The last thing he wanted to do was push Kelly and have her push back so that whatever tenuous relationship that was building between them shattered.

He kissed her briefly again before releasing his hold on her. “How about we eat out on the back verandah?” he asked, disregarding his earlier thought about eating inside. He still hadn’t explained about the flowers. Somehow, the subject got lost between discussion about food and him declaring his intention to find her that evening.

“Sounds good to me, it should be a nice night.”

Tate walked over to one of the cupboards and pulled out the paper plates. “I’m using the best china tonight,” he said as he held them up for her to see.

“Wow, you sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

He pulled some paper napkins out of the cupboard as well, placing them on the plates. “Hey, I’ve got a reputation to uphold, you know.”

And just like that the smile died on her face, and Tate could’ve kicked himself. Why had he said something so stupid? They’d come full circle—back to the flowers he purchased.

“Before you say anything,” he started, “what I said on the front porch about the flowers…” She nodded. “Look, did your assumption that I was buying the flowers as a kiss-off annoy me? Yes, it did. I didn’t think you needed to know the real reason behind my purchases. Now, I think it’s time you do.”

He withstood her scrutiny. Had he blown his chance with her? Was she about to take her food and walk away?

“Okay. I admit I want to know what you’re doing with the flowers,” she said.

“Thank you. Let’s get our food and head outside. I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“I hope you will.”

He would. If there was any chance of something growing between him and Kelly, he had to be truthful with her.