Page 32 of Control Freak

He’d been so sweet and considerate, an interesting contrast to the controlling dominance in his voice when he got me naked. I’d been intrigued and charmed enough that I’d let him slip right across the boundary from client to friend and maybe, if I were honest, even more.

Not that anything could come of it.

Emory drove us into a quaint-looking downtown that was maybe two blocks long. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as St. Louis’s ballpark village, complete with baseball stadium, shopping, and restaurants. But there was something really nice about not fighting crowds to find parking.

Emory pulled up in front of a diner with a big sign that read Jerkers Soda Shoppe.

“Is this okay?” he asked. “They make great shakes.”

“Sounds great, but that name…”

Emory snickered as he got out of the car. “Yeah, I know. There’s a whole story. Nebraska is known for cornfields, and they used to call the guys who harvested it by hand cornjerkers. That’s still our high school mascot.”

“Wow. Uh, well, that makes sense, but you must get a lot of teasing.”

“Oh, yeah. Big-time. Especially by Granville.” He rolled his eyes. “Like the Mighty Grasshopper is such a great mascot.”

I laughed. “Seriously?”

Emory grinned as he led me inside, the scent of oil and sugar hitting immediately. Oh, my arteries wouldn’t like this place, but my taste buds were already perking up eagerly.

“If you think Riverton is quaint, get Holden to take you over there. It’s something else.”

My heart fluttered at the thought of Holden taking me out. Maybe like a date? Except, of course, it wouldn’t be.

A round-faced, smiling woman with the name tag Brenda greeted Emory warmly. “Oh, honey, it’s so good to see you. You want your usual?”

“I do.” Emory waved to me. “And this is my friend Shiloh. He’s new in town.”

“Oh, well, you’ve just got to have a MoonShake on the house, then,” she said.

“It’s a shake with Oreo crumbles,” Emory explained. “It’s delish. You can add in other ingredients or do any flavor of ice cream you want.”

“Ooh, okay.” I could get down with Oreo crumbles. “How about chocolate-peanut butter?”

“Done!” Brenda said.

“And just put me down for whatever food you would recommend,” I said. “You’d know better than me.”

She brightened. “Well, then, you just have to try our fried chicken sandwich with spicy slaw and a side of fried okra. How’s that sound?”

“Fried,” I said with a laugh. “And delicious.”

“Fried is what we do best.” Brenda turned to call the orders out to the kitchen.

Emory pulled out a credit card.

“Oh, I’ve got tap to pay on my phone,” I said. “I can cover my meal.”

Brenda took Emory’s card. “Don’t bother, honey. He won’t let you pay.” She narrowed her gaze. “I’ve been trying to get this man to accept a meal on the house for months.”

“You don’t stay in business by giving away your food,” Emory said. “I like Jerkers too much to ride the gravy train.”

Brenda shook her head. “Well, I appreciate it, Emory. You saved my bacon. I just want to show my thanks.”

“No thanks necessary. I couldn’t lose my favorite lunch spot. Who would make me a MoonShake?”

“Good point,” she said with a chuckle. “We’ll bring everything over to you in a few minutes.”