"Are you sure she did?"
Eva shot him a sideways glance. "Do you know something I don't, or do you just think kids are inherently sneaky?"
"There's some definite sneakiness potential," he said. "Knowing Elena a bit now, I think she got more than her share of the gene."
"Hmm."
They walked past shops and restaurants until finally Tyree paused, then pulled open a door to reveal a homey restaurant that smelled amazing. She stepped in and sighed with pleasure. "I'm pretty much going to gorge myself on wurst. Be prepared."
He laughed, but she wasn't joking. And after she'd ordered, she pulled out her phone and opened her credit card app. Then she burst out laughing.
"What?"
"You, sir, are a fine judge of character. An authorization for a limo charge." She rolled her eyes. "I told her she could stay on my credit card until she's out of grad school, but starting this year, she has to get a job to cover her charges."
"She knew you'd figure it out," he said. "If nothing else, your friend would have been clueless when you thanked her." He reached across the table and took her hand, the connection sending a flurry of sparks skittering along her skin. "I guess the real question is whether you're going to thank our daughter."
She looked down at their joined hands, drew in a breath, then lifted her eyes to meet his. "Yeah, I definitely am."
"Good," he said. "Me, too."
She was relieved when the waitress arrived with their food. There was too much emotion--and way too many cravings--swirling around inside of her. And mixed with the alcohol that was a bad combination.
She considered the food a temporary reset button, and dug in, eating more than she should to soak up some of the wine and whiskey. They talked while they ate, and she asked if his son was as sneaky as his daughter. "Not yet," Tyree said. "But he's only sixteen. Give him time."
On the whole, though, they didn't talk about Eli or Teiko. Just enough for Tyree to give the basic overview to catch her up with his life. The point of this day, after all, was for the two of them to reconnect--to reconnect as parents--and to talk about Elena.
And, yeah, to eat and drink and shop.
They continued on with that part of the itinerary after they'd devoured some truly delicious wurst. "Dessert?" Tyree asked as soon as they were back on the street.
"What are you? A bottomless pit? Let's window shop a bit."
They did, strolling along Main Street and looking in the windows of the charming shops. Once or twice they popped in, and in one adorable store, Eva found the perfect T-shirt for Elena. I'm only bossy because I was born that way. She reached over and grabbed Tyree's hand, tugging him over to take a look, too.
At first, she didn't even realize they were touching. Then she felt his warmth and the slow burn of awareness curling through her to pool in her lower belly before settling even lower, making her aware of places that had been sadly ignored for some very, very long months.
Casually, she started to tug her hand away, because it felt a little too nice and way too confusing to stay like that. But he tightened his grip, and she was left with the choice of either yanking her hand free or staying connected.
Swallowing, she looked up, only to find him smiling down at her, obviously understanding her dilemma perfectly.
Well, fine.
She kept her hand where it was, feeling smug. Like she'd won that round.
But then he lifted their joint hands and lightly brushed a kiss over the base of her thumb, as if that was the most normal thing to do. As if the sensation didn't send her entire being, body and soul, into a tailspin.
"It really is the perfect shirt for her," he said casually, apparently clueless that her body had gone on high alert. "Should we get it?"
She nodded, because speaking was out of the question. He grabbed the shirt, then led her to the register where he managed to pay with one hand--proving to her that he was deliberately messing with her. But she was okay with that. Because now that she'd gotten over the shock, she had to admit that being messed with felt pretty nice.
So nice, in fact, that when they finally had their fill of shopping and ended up at the Clear River Ice Cream & Bakery shop, she was actually disappointed. Because there was no way to eat a cup of ice cream with a spoon and not use both hands. Not and do it gracefully, anyway.
"We need to get back soon," he said. "It's almost eight."
"I know. I've had a really nice day."
He said nothing for a moment, just looked in her eyes. Then he nodded and held out a spoon of his Chocolate Hazelnut ice cream for her to try. She did, her mouth closing over the spoon as her eyes held his, and though she really wasn't trying to flirt, there was something so damn sensual about the moment that she had to fight the urge to squirm in her chair just to release some of the sexual tension that was flooding through her, as delicious and sweet as warm chocolate sauce.