Wedding Night With the Ranger Read Online Free Page B

feeling he held right now.
    After assisting her onto a straight-back chair, he settled himself on the one to her left, instead of the chair on the opposite side of the table. This way, rather than the width of the table, only the corner separated them. “What do you recommend?” he asked.
    “Excuse me?” she asked with a dreamlike, faraway-sounding voice.
    He stared at her beauty until she lifted her eyes. “What do you recommend? I’m sure you’ve eaten here plenty of times.”
    Her gaze met his. “Actually, no, I’ve never eaten here.”
    “You haven’t?”
    She shook her head.
    “But I thought you’d lived here your whole life.”
    “I have lived in Dodge my whole life, but I’ve never eaten at the Dodge House. Why would I when my house is just down the road?”
    “Why indeed,” he said, wishing he’d never asked. Now she’d be thinking about her house again and probably start insisting on living there again. When would he learn to keep his big trap shut?
    “You’ve eaten here before, haven’t you?” she asked.
    He took a moment to study her eyes. No daggers leaped out at him, and he hoped he saw correctly. “Yes, I’ve eaten here before. The steak’s pretty good.”
    “I imagine so, since it’s your beef they’re frying,” she answered.
    “If you’ve never eaten here, how would you know it’s my beef they serve?”
    She smiled. It was a sly grin, which caused his chest to tingle with warmth. “You’d be amazed, Mr. Severson, what I know about you.”
    “Oh?” he asked, but didn’t have a chance to elaborate because a waiter appeared just then. Colt glanced between the young man with a stained apron tied around his waist and Annalee. “Shall I order for you?”
    She gave an agreeable nod, and he asked for two of the evening’s specials, knowing, to him anyway, the food would be tasteless compared to the sweetness of her lips.
    Regret came a moment later. He should have at least checked the menu, ordered something special, but it was too late now as the waiter had already left. Besides, his mind was still processing her last statement. Turning back to catch her gaze, he asked, “Tell me, what else do you know about me?”
    Her brows lifted slightly, and a notion struck him. She was flirting with him. Whether she knew it or not, she was most definitely flirting. He flattened his feet on the floor to keep from floating off his chair.
    She settled her chin on the back of one hand, while her elbow rested on the edge of table. “I know you’re a former Texas Ranger, and bought the Highland Ranch from Opal Kappa after her husband Eddie died.”
    He nodded. Knowing what she said was common knowledge, he still asked, “Where did you get your information?”
    “You, Mr. Severson, have been the topic of conversation at sewing circles across Dodge for the past three years.”
    “Really?”
    She nodded.
    “And you attend these sewing circles?”
    “Some,” she answered with a slight shrug.
    Needing to touch her, he reached over and brushed a finger along the side of her face before he grasped the hand below her chin. Folding the slim fingers within his, he laid their clutched hands on the tabletop. Gently massaging the smooth skin, he asked, “What else do you know about me?”
    “That you’re kind to children and animals alike,” she continued. “That you come to town every Wednesday, no matter what the weather. And that you’re a dedicated friend.”
    “How would the ladies at the sewing circle know that?”
    She shook her head and leaned a bit closer. “They don’t,” she whispered.
    Heart pounding, he folded his other hand around their clutched ones and bent over, so their faces were inches apart. “Then how do you?” he asked, low and slow.
    So focused on watching her perfect lips move, catching tiny glimpses of snow-white teeth and the tip of her pink tongue, he barely heard her whisper, “From watching you.”
    He was feeling things he’d never known existed before.