Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“Well. You survived,” I said to Carson when we were back at my truck. “Not too terrible, right?”
“Not bad.” Carson shrugged. His expression was closed off and didn’t invite further discussion of the meeting.
“Ready for burgers?” Stomach rumbling, I started the truck. “I’m taking you to my favorite spot. It’s a newer brewery. Trendy. But the food is amazing. I don’t let myself have fries very often, but theirs are worth the indulgence.”
“I like fries.” Carson smiled at me, an easy grin that made my stomach give a little flip.
Damn it. I’d been friendly with his brother for years and had never once felt even a flutter of attraction, but one smile from Carson had my insides quivering like a teen on a first date. Which this was most assuredly not.
Chapter Five
Carson
Jude had good taste in restaurants. The brewery he’d picked was a larger place near downtown Durango with a wide, expansive patio and an interior with an upscale industrial vibe with lots of dark wood and exposed metal accents.
“Nice place,” I said to Jude after the server seated us inside in a nice padded booth with high-backed seats. Out on the patio, a four-person band was playing, but in the main dining room, there was only a low murmur of noise from other diners and a faint hint of the music from outside. “Not too loud inside.”
I wasn’t a fan of loud bars to start with, but these days, blaring televisions, clanking glasses, and noisy patrons gave me an instant headache, so I liked this place’s chill vibe.
“Yeah, I like that aspect as well.” Jude smiled before gesturing at our thick menus. He flipped through the various sections as I did the same. “Everything I’ve tried here is amazing, but the garlic fries are truly special.”
“Noted.” I laughed as my stomach gurgled in answer.
“You want to share an order of wings as an appetizer?” Jude asked, turning back to the appetizer page to indicate the various hot wings options.
“No.” Wings sounded good, but the fries would be enough of a struggle. Messy wings were a coordination challenge I was likely to fail. “Hard to eat.”
“Gotcha.” Jude nodded as he scrolled a finger down the appetizer list. “We could—”
“I’m good.” Mad at myself that wings weren’t an option, I cut him off a bit too sharply. I hated needing accommodation for something as simple as a plate of wings. Jude was easy-going as always and went back to studying the menu, but I felt bad for snapping. “Sorry. Hangry.”
“No problem.” Jude waved off my apology as our server, a pretty, young redhead, strode toward us. “Luckily, here comes our server.”
“What’ll it be?” she asked.
“This burger.” I pointed at the picture of the entrée I wanted, a loaded burger called the Tyrannosaurus that had bacon, two kinds of cheese, grilled onions, and mushrooms. The name was too much of a mouthful for me to try to say, and the burger would be a challenge to eat neatly, but the picture was too appetizing to pass up. “And garlic fries.”
“I’ll have what he’s having.” Jude offered the warmest of smiles. I wasn’t sure whether it was for me or the server, but a weird heat filled my chest nonetheless.
“Band sounds good,” I said after the server left with our order.
“They do.” Jude cocked his head like he was trying to make out the song. “You’re a country fan.”
“You’re not?” I was surprised. Most of the ranching folks in the area seemed to have rather predictable tastes, ones I’d inherited from a father I had precious few memories of.
“Eh. It’s okay. Hard to grow up in Lovelorn without hearing a fair bit of country, but alt-rock is more my usual jam.” Jude chuckled. “Country is often too much crying about beers or women, but it can be fun for dancing.”
“You go ahead.” I chuckled as I waved him toward the patio, knowing full well he wouldn’t go. “I never cared for dancing.”
“Shame.” Jude gave me another of those velvety smiles, making heat snake up my spine. “It’s a good way to blow off steam.”
“Blow up things instead,” I countered. The lightness of the banter and joy over how easily the conversation was coming to me made my shoulders loosen, knots I’d held for weeks slowly untangling themselves. “Try video games.”
“Okay, now you’re talking.” Jude rubbed his hands together. “I’ve got a console, and I’m tired of playing against myself. I’ll have to have you over some time.”
“Sure.” I agreed before I could overthink my reply. I’d gamed with fellow soldiers plenty. Jude would be no different, no matter what he did to my insides.
The food arrived on big, heavy platters piled high with fries and giant burgers. The fries came with a creamy dipping sauce, and the burger looked plenty juicy. I grabbed a stack of napkins before tackling the food. Working slowly, I took small, deliberate bites, grateful that Jude had let the conversation fall into a comfortable silence.