Page 12 of One Hot Texas Summer (The Prentice Brothers of Sweet Ridge #1)

T he crunch of gravel permeated Tate’s concentration. Looking up, he blinked twice, sure that his eyes were playing tricks on him. He recognized the ice-blue Chevy coasting to a stop in front of the house.

Placing his tablet on the small squat table on the front porch, Tate got up from the swinging chair.

The sun was setting behind the house, making the front porch a nice place to sit and go over the day’s figures from the harvest. He was exhausted, but it disappeared the second he spied Kelly exiting her car.

Ever since their kiss last week, he hadn’t been able to keep Kelly from insinuating herself into every aspect of his life.

She was there in his dreams, her beautiful hair spread out over his pillows, a large welcoming smile on her face as he lowered his head to kiss her.

The leftover wildflowers on the side of the road as he turned into his house reminded him of her, too.

He’d been hoping to see her when he went in for some flowers, but she’d been out, so again, her mom had served him.

Now here she was, standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at him. “Kelly. This is a nice Monday night surprise. Did we have a meeting?”

She pulled a bottle of wine from behind her back. “No, but I thought I’d bring you dinner.”

He smiled. “Wine for dinner? That’s different.”

She laughed. The tinkle floated around him, and he wanted to hear it more often. Wanted to be the one who made her smile like she was now. He cocked his head to the side. There was something different about her. She appeared lighter, as if her worries had disappeared.

“No. I’ve got food in the car.”

Tate skipped down the three steps. He breathed deeply, inhaling her floral scent. It reminded him of the roses and lilies he’d smelled at her shop. Everything in him wanted to scoop her up against his chest and kiss her hello, but he didn’t have that right.

Instead, he reached out to take the wine from her. “Do you need some help with the food?”

“Thanks, but no, it’s all in a carry bag that isn’t too heavy. I’ll be right back.”

She turned, and her pretty pink sundress floated around her legs, giving him a little glimpse of her firm thighs.

Desire, deep and strong, assaulted him and he gripped the wine a little tighter.

Tate had no idea what had prompted her to bring him dinner, but he wasn’t going to complain about it.

It was as if she’d read his mind. He’d considered going into town and seeing if she was eating at Betty Lou’s Diner again.

The chance of her being there was slim, but the urge to see her had become too much for him to ignore.

The beeping of her alarm engaging brought his head back up from his study of the ground. Geez, she must think he was flighty as hell, standing here holding the wine like a statue.

In her hand, he spied the familiar logo of the very place he was thinking about. “Please tell me you have some of Betty Lou’s famous fried chicken in that bag.”

“I cannot confirm nor deny what I have in the bag,” she said cheekily. “Be prepared to be surprised.”

“Well, you being here is a surprise, so I don’t think what’s in the bag is going to top that.” Oh man, did he sound corny, but he wouldn’t take the words back. Not when he meant them.

“Thank you. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind me turning up out of the blue. It was a big risk to come here. You could’ve been out having dinner somewhere else, with someone else.”

The last words were spoken in a rush and so quietly that he wasn’t sure he heard her correctly.

But he wanted to reassure her that he was most definitely single.

Even if she did believe he was buying flowers as a kiss-off gift.

“The flowers aren’t for girls. They’re for the residents at my dad’s rehab center. ”

He hadn’t meant to say that at all. But now that it was out there, he was glad. Everything in him wanted to see where this attraction between him and Kelly was headed. The only way that could happen would be if they were totally honest with each other.

“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.

*

Kelly sat at the small glass table on the covered back patio. The night insects were singing a tune.

She scooped up some potato salad and shoved it in her mouth.

Mom would admonish her for not waiting for Tate to sit down, but she needed to do something.

For a few minutes as he’d held her and kissed her, she’d forgotten all about what they were going to talk about.

In some ways, she wished the conversation wouldn’t happen.

Didn’t want to face that she’d been so quick to judge based on circumstantial evidence.

But what else was she supposed to think given his reputation as a player and the fact he was buying flowers every week?

Making assumptions without the facts was the worst way to act.

Facing her shortcomings and hearing Tate out was the least she could do.

Her mom told her to look for the signs, but was this a sign Tate was the man she could kick her heels up with? The man who could help her seize the fun her life had been lacking for so long.