Once they were in, he started the engine, but the last thing he wanted to do was take her home. “Want to go get some breakfast?”
“When you say get instead of have, do you mean somewhere other than your kitchen?”
“We may not get dibs on the first pot, but the diner does a good breakfast.”
“Oh.” She hesitated, avoiding eye contact as if she had something to say he wouldn’t like hearing.
He put the truck in gear. “Hey, if you don’t want to go to breakfast in public with Jeremiah Johnson, just say so.”
“I’m sorry about that.” Her grin disarmed him. “You have to admit you were looking pretty rough that day.”
“I’d been working my way through the storage shed that everybody in the family throws stuff into, but never takes back out. It was pretty gross, I admit. Now, you admit why you don’t want to have breakfast with me.”
“You’ve only lived here a couple of weeks, so you might not get how the town works yet. If you and I go to the diner for breakfast together, we’ll instantly be a couple.”
Even though he tried to keep the defensiveness stamped down, her words hit a nerve. “So you don’t want people to know we were on a date?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” She gave him a look that clearly broadcast her opinion he was being an idiot. “You’re going out of your way to be offended by things I’m not actually saying. Stop it.”
Maybe she was right. It took a few tight turns to get the truck facing the right direction and he drove slowly back to the main road. “Okay. Assuming I’m okay with the good people of Whitford jumping to conclusions, would you like to have breakfast at the diner with me?”
“I’d love to have breakfast with you.”
*
OF COURSE THE Trailside Diner had to be busy when Hailey and Matt walked in. It was probably her imagination, but it sure seemed like everybody paused for a fraction of a second, noting the fact they’d come in together early in the morning.
She’d be getting a few phone calls later in the day, and it wouldn’t surprise her at all if Tori ended up at the library.
“There’s a booth over there,” Matt said, pointing toward the back corner. His hand rested at the small of her back and she saw that people were noticing the gesture.
But if he didn’t care, neither would she. She went to the booth and slid onto one bench while he sat across from her. Liz acted the professional when she brought menus and the coffeepot, but she managed to give Hailey a what is going on look when Matt wasn’t looking. Hailey ignored it.
She went for a couple of scrambled eggs and toast, but she wasn’t surprised when Matt ordered the steak and eggs. They fixed their coffees, then chatted about the moose for a while. He was not only knowledgeable about them, but she could hear affection in his voice, which made her smile.
Forcing herself to remain oblivious to the sideways glances and whispers happening around her, she focused only on Matt. And Matt’s mouth. The memory of the kiss in the woods was almost as sweet as the kiss itself, and she savored it. His mouth had been gentle at first, but it wasn’t long before he was taking her breath away.
Thankfully it hadn’t gone any further than that. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if he hadn’t ended it when he did. Sex in the great outdoors had never been on her list of things she ever wanted to do, but at that moment she might have considered it.
If they had been inside, though, all bets would have been off after that kiss. When a simple touching of lips felt that way, it was hard not to imagine how good sex with the man would feel. A sense of inevitability and anticipation washed over her. She had no doubt it was going to happen. A short, enjoyable detour on the road to her true destination.
“Am I dribbling coffee?”
Jerked away from those very pleasant thoughts, she frowned. “What?”
“You’re staring at my mouth.”
“Sorry. Just lost in thought.”
That delicious mouth curved into a suggestive smile. “Nice thoughts?”
She was saved from having to respond to that by Liz’s arrival with their plates. Whether it was the fresh air or the calories her body was burning through being all revved up for the man across from her, Hailey was starving. She dumped ketchup on her scrambled eggs, ignoring Matt’s grimace, and dug in.
After a few bites of his breakfast, he took a sip of his coffee and then smiled at her. “The food in this town totally makes up for having a crazy neighbor.”
She laughed. “Hey, not every woman will crawl through a doggy door in her pajamas. You’re lucky to live next door to me.”
“It has its moments.” He winked, then cut into his steak. “So tell me how you came to be a librarian.”