the overhead light, took her by the hand, and pulled her over to the booth. “Shall I make a pot of coffee or pour us some wine?”
“I’d rather have a beer,” she said as she sat down.
He went to the fridge, took out two longneck bottles, twisted off the lids, and set them on the table. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
It took him only a few seconds to pull a shirt over his head, but he took a minute longer to check his reflection in the mirror. “Don’t do anything stupid, Luke,” he whispered as he ran a comb through his unruly hair.
“Thank you for the beer and for putting on a shirt.” Diana smiled up at him when he slid into the booth beside her. “I’ll go first since I woke you up and scared you.”
“You did give me a start, but I wasn’t asleep,” he said.
“That makes me feel a little bit better. I like you a lot, Luke, but getting too serious might be putting the cart before the horse.” She turned up her beer and took several long gulps.
He scooted around the U-shaped booth until their hips were touching. “This seems a little anticlimactic after the awkwardness that has been between us for the better part of a week.”
She laid her hand on his thigh. “Smokey told me when all that went down with Gerald to go to a quiet place where no one would bother me for at least ten minutes. I was to think about living with Gerald without being able to trust him for five minutes—to get the full emotional effect of how that would feel. Then I was to turn it completely around and think about raising Rebecca alone. Whichever one brought me peace, then that was my answer.”
“That’s a great way to look at things.” He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s like touching strands of silk.”
“That’s pretty romantic,” she whispered.
“Just statin’ facts.” He cupped her chin in his hand and leaned in for a kiss. One kiss led to another and another until finally he slid out of the booth and held out his hand.
She put hers in it and pulled him toward the bedroom.
“Are you sure about this, Diana?” he asked. “Seems like this shouldn’t happen until a third or fourth date event, and maybe in the penthouse of a fancy hotel, not a motor home in Scrap, Texas.”
“As long as we’re together, it doesn’t matter where it happens. If one time proves we’re very wrong about what we’re feeling, we might as well find out now,” she said.
“That may be the most unromantic thing I’ve ever heard,” he chuckled.
She tugged his shirt up over his head and tossed it on the floor. “Maybe so, but it’s the truth. If either or both of us . . .”
He scooped her up in his arms like a bride. “Like the song says, we need a little less talk and a little more action,” he said as he kicked the door shut with his bare foot.
Diana awoke and for a single second wondered where she was. Then she felt Luke’s soft breath warming the tender spot under her ear. She’d thought when she’d impulsively taken him to bed that she’d feel remorse and shame when it was all over, but not in the slightest. She wanted to purr like Dolly when Tootsie rubbed her neck.
“Good mornin’,” she said when she realized his eyes were open.
“Mornin’ to you.” He strung kisses from her neck to her lips. “I don’t think it was a flash in the pan.”
“Not yet, anyway.”
“Are you saying that we’ll have to spend more nights together to figure it out?” He propped up on one elbow and looked deeply into her eyes.
“Maybe so.” She snuggled down closer to him, liking the way their bodies fit so well together.
“It’ll be a trial and a chore, but I’ll do my best to endure,” he teased.
“Dear God!” she gasped.
“What’d I say? I was only joking,” he said.
“It’s not you. Look at the clock. We slept longer than I thought. It’s almost five, and Tootsie gets up early. I’ve got to get back over to the house.” She threw back the covers and started getting dressed.
“Ashamed of me?”
She flipped on the lamp beside the table so she could see him better. His broad chest with its soft sprinkling of light-brown hair called to her. His grin and twinkling eyes said that he was teasing.