“Wow, that sounds amazing.” He tore his attention away from the sight of her beautiful fingers toying with the stem of her wine glass.
“Have you ever been to Europe?”
“No. I don’t do very well with long plane trips. I need room to move.”
“Oh,” she said. “Because of your...”
He let the silence draw out for a second before rescuing her. “I’m a horse shifter. Most of my family is too. We need room to run. It’s why we have the ranch.”
“That sounds—”
“Weird?”
“No,” she said, finally raising her head to meet his gaze with those beautiful blue eyes. “It sounds lovely.”
He breathed a little easier after that. When the waiter returned, he ordered butternut squash soup and a pork chop with grilled asparagus. Hope frowned a bit over her menu, then ordered a grilled chicken breast and a Caesar salad. When he said, “No appetizer?” she shook her head.
“Good,” he said encouragingly. “Leave room for dessert.”
She frowned again, but tried to smooth out her expression. “Oh, I’ll probably skip dessert, but you should feel free.”
He waited until the waiter took their menus and left. It didn’t take a genius to know that someone in Hope’s past had given her crap about what she ate. Probably more than one someone.
“Listen.” He reached across the table for her hand. “I don’t know if this will turn into anything, or if we’ll shake hands at the end of this and never see each other again. But you never have to worry about what you eat around me.”
Her mouth quirked in a rueful, one-sided smile. “Am I that obvious?”
He shrugged. “Lots of guys are idiots. Lots of women are too. But anyone who can’t see how incredibly gorgeous you are doesn’t deserve to be around you.”
She blushed, staining her beautiful cheeks with red, and Josh finally acknowledged to himself what he’d been feeling since he saw her walk in the bar. He wanted her. Physically, sure, but more than that. He’d spent his life wondering what it would be like when he found his mate, and now he knew. It was a pull, a certainty, a voice deep inside him that said She’s the one. Make her yours forever.
***
Okay, Hope thought, mentally relaxing. I think this is going well.
Their soup and salad arrived, and they made small talk, exchanging stories about their upbringings. He told her about his parents’ accident when he was just eight, leaving him in the custody of his numerous aunts and uncles.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That must have been hard.”
“It was, of course, but I always had my family.” He smiled, and the affection on his face made her heart thump in her chest. “It’s hard to explain unless you grow up in that kind of environment. They’re loud and opinionated, and they drive me nuts, but any one of them would do anything for me.”
Hope sighed, remembering her own childhood. “You’re right, I do find it hard to imagine. My dad passed away when I was in college, and my mother left us when I was thirteen.”
Josh set down his spoon with a clatter. “She just left?”
Hope shrugged. “I think she decided she wasn’t cut out to be a mother.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking her hand in his, as he had earlier. His thumb stroked across her knuckles. He probably intended to comfort her, but Hope felt anything but comforted. The longer he touched, the more she got hot and bothered. Without even meaning to, she found herself wondering how those long fingers of his would feel on her face, or her breasts, or, oh God, inside her.
She cleared her throat and pulled her hand away, just in time for the waiter to bring their entrees. Josh stared at her for a moment, and she could only hope he hadn’t guessed the direction of her thoughts. What was wrong with her? They’d only just met, and she was fantasizing about having sex with him.
After the waiter left, Hope concentrated on cutting up her chicken, and not on looking at Josh like he was her next meal. Her knife and fork clanked on the plate while she tried desperately to organize her thoughts. Ask him something. Something safe. Something about his family, his ranch, his favorite color. Anything.
Before she could think of a good topic, Josh beat her to it.
“What else do you write besides travel articles?” he asked.
“Oh, a little bit of everything,” she said. “After I graduated from college with my English degree, I spent a couple of years doing freelance work for some of the big financial companies in town.”