They all laughed as Tegan went back inside and he and Leesa walked to the car.
“You look gorgeous tonight.”
“Thank you,” Leesa said as he opened the car door. “I wasn’t sure where we were going, so I hope I’m dressed okay.”
“I’m not really sure where we’re going either, so I hope I’m dressed okay.” He waved at his jeans, then went around and settled into the driver’s seat. “Hungry?”
“Always.”
“Really?” He leaned across the console and kissed her, slowly at first, gauging her reaction. She tasted minty and sweet, and when he deepened the kiss, she wound her hands around his neck and met every stroke of his tongue with an eager stroke of her own.
“I could kiss you all night,” he said against her lips.
“Sounds like a good plan.”
He sealed his lips over hers again and felt himself getting lost in her as lust coiled inside him, thick and eager. When they drew apart, they were both breathing hard.
“Does this feel like a first date to you?” He pressed his lips to hers again before she could answer. He’d been thinking about her all afternoon, and the cold shower he’d taken before their date hadn’t done anything to temper his desire to strip her bare and feast on every inch of her beautiful body. It took all his focus to stop kissing her again.
“We’d better go or Tegan’s neighbors will start talking about the fogged-up windows.”
She laughed, and it was a sound he wanted to hear over and over again. He’d hated hearing about all she’d gone through and wished he could have been by her side when it had occurred. The irrational anger he’d felt toward her ex-boyfriend lingered. He started the engine and drove down the street, pushing that anger away so he could focus on Leesa. “I thought we’d go to Nate’s restaurant and grab some dinner.”
He drove to the old train station that Nate had renovated for the restaurant, and on their way inside Leesa looked up at the sign and laughed.
“Tap It? Really? That’s what he named it?”
Cole laughed. “He and Jewel’s brother, Rick, came up with the idea before Rick was killed. That’s what you get when you have two twenty-five-year-old guys planning a business together.” He pulled her against him and kissed her, slow and deep, until he felt her body grow weightless and melt against him. God, he loved the way she felt. He reminded himself that she hadn’t agreed to go out with him to be kissed senseless every few minutes and pried his lips away. The lustful look in her eyes made him think she was fighting the same intense attraction.
He held the door open, and they stepped inside the crowded restaurant. He had forgotten it was Sunday night, and now that they were there, he realized he should have taken her someplace much quieter. Weekend nights brought crowds in the tourist town. Music and chatter filled the bar area off to their right.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Cole said.
“Hey, Cole!” His brother Sam waved them over to the bar.
Cole lifted his chin, acknowledging that he’d seen Sam. “Sorry. I can’t believe I forgot it was Sunday night. Usually the weeknights aren’t bad, but weekends are another story altogether.”
“That’s okay. We can eat at the bar with Sam if you want.”
“Is that one of those answers a woman gives a guy because she doesn’t know how to tell him she doesn’t want to do it?” He pressed his lips to hers again and then said, “We can go someplace else.” Although this was probably safer than where he wanted to take her, which was right back to his place to be alone with her.
“No, really. It’s totally fine. It’ll be fun.” She took a step toward Sam and said, “I really like your family.”
When he’d seen her with his family earlier, it had done funny things to his stomach. It had been a long time since he’d wanted to introduce his family to a woman, and with Leesa, it was like the world was doing it for him. Bringing them together unexpectedly, seamlessly melding their lives together.
Sam stood from his barstool and hugged Leesa, then offered her his seat. “Great to see you guys.” He gave Cole a manly pat on the back. Every barstool was taken, every table filled. There was barely room to stand, not exactly Cole’s idea of an intimate dinner, but it was his own fault. He simply hadn’t been able to think past seeing Leesa again to make a more careful decision.
“How’s it going, Sam?” Cole moved behind Leesa’s seat and draped an arm around her.
“All’s good in my world. I’m only here for a few minutes.” He nodded toward a tall blonde coming around the corner from the direction of the ladies’ room. “We’re heading over to Whispers. Want to join us?”
Whispers was a nightclub that had dancing and a live band. It would be even louder and more crowded than Nate’s restaurant. “No, thanks. I think we’ll get a drink and take off if a table doesn’t open up. I should have called Nate or made a reservation. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Okay, cool. Well, we’re heading out. Have fun. Nice to see you, Leesa. Watch out for Cole with the trivia.” He pointed up at the television behind the bar. “He knows every answer.”
“Does he?” Leesa said. “Well, I’ll give him a run for his money.”
Sam waved and put a possessive arm around the blond woman on his way out.
The man on the stool beside Leesa rose to leave and offered his seat to Cole.
“Thanks.” He sat beside her. “Sorry about this. Do you want to go someplace quieter?”
“No. This is fine. I’m looking forward to kicking your butt in trivia.” The spark of determination in her eyes made him laugh.
“We’ll see about that.”
While the bartender filled their drink orders, Cole leaned closer and said, “So, you’re a trivia girl, are you?”
“As an only child, I had to do something to keep myself occupied. Reading became my passion, and since it was just me and my dad, I read a lot of his old books and found myself drawn to topics like sports and war. Topics that are probably read more by men than women. So watch out, because my brain is full of so much trivia I’m surprised it doesn’t leak out my ears.” She smiled and sipped her wine. When she licked her lips, he couldn’t resist kissing her again.
“Maybe if you’re nice,” she said, “I’ll let you win.”
They both laughed, and as the questions flashed on the screen, they said the answers out loud, tripping over each other’s words.
“You are good,” he said as the bartender refilled their glasses.
“Told you. Let’s play truth or dare instead so you don’t have to lose.”
He shifted on his barstool, bringing their bodies together from shoulder to hip. “That sounds like something we should play in private.”
“That’s what makes it so fun.” She raised her brows in quick succession. “You want to go first?”
“Sure.”
The bartender asked if they’d like to order food to eat at the bar rather than wait for a table, so they ordered a sampling of appetizers.
“Okay,” she said. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.” He placed his hand on her thigh and said, “I have nothing to hide.”
She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. “Everyone has secrets. How old were you when you first kissed a girl?”
He laughed. “You have no way of knowing if I’m telling the truth.”
“Sure I do.” She pointed her index finger and second finger at her eyes, then pointed them at him. “Honesty is all in the eyes. Stop stalling.”
“Thirteen, playing spin the bottle.”
“Thirteen? You started young. With who?” She finished her wine, and the bartender was quick to refill their glasses.
“You only get one question. Your turn.”
“Dare.” She trapped her lower lip between her teeth as he tried to come up with a dare.
“Dare?” He drank his wine and arched a brow. “I dare you to—”
“Collecting on your thousand-dollar date?”
Cole spun around at the sound of Kenna’s voice. Kenna eyed Leesa with a serious scowl, then turned a smile back to Cole.
“I never thought I’d see you hanging out here,” Kenna said. “You sure have changed.”
“Is there something I can do for you, Kenna?” Cole kept a hand on Leesa’s leg as he spoke, and he felt Leesa’s muscles tense beneath his palm.
Kenna rolled her eyes down his body in a way that intimated a relationship that hadn’t existed in years and said, “I’d just like to talk. I thought we could clear the air.”
“I think we’ve said all we need to say, and I’m on a date, so if you’ll excuse me.” He turned back to Leesa, hoping Kenna would go away.
“Cole, I’m back in Peaceful Harbor to stay. We should be able to talk like adults.”
“I think I’ll go to the ladies’ room.” Leesa stood, and Cole rose beside her, but before he could say anything, she hurried off toward the bathroom.
He huffed a breath and set an angry glare on Kenna. “What’s so important that you have to interrupt my date?”