Grace huffed. “His name was Robert and he was a putz.”
“Define putz.”
“He played video games on his phone at family dinners.”
Dameon wasn’t expecting that. “Was this in high school?”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Last year.”
“It must have been serious if he went to family dinners.” Dameon couldn’t see Grace putting up with a grown man ignoring her family for a cell phone.
“Not with my family. We’re very open, and dinners with the boyfriends and girlfriends are a must.”
“Even as adults?”
“My dad’s an ex-cop,” she said as if that explained it all. “Tell me about Lena.”
A picture of the woman popped into his head. “Lena never met my mother. She didn’t play video games, but she spent a lot of time on her cell phone taking pictures of herself.”
Grace grinned. “I know that girl. I’m guessing she was a knockout.”
Should he lie? “She was easy to look at.”
“And always needed to be told how beautiful she was.”
He nodded. “Very insecure.”
“So what happened?” Grace asked.
“I don’t think this is going to paint me in the right light.”
“Paint it anyway.”
Dameon took a deep breath. “I was bored. We got along well enough in the beginning. As long as we were going to fancy places with fancy people she was happy. If I took her to O’Doul’s, she’d pout and act as if it was beneath her.”
“What’s O’Doul’s?”
“A dive bar close to my place. Great whiskey and the best fish and chips in the city.” He shrugged. “I never once had a desire to take her to meet my mom.”
“Well, you’ve already met Colin. And if I know Matt well enough, he’ll find a reason to show up on your jobsite sooner or later.”
“Is Matt going to bust my balls as much as Colin?”
“Of course,” she said with a grin.
The martinis arrived and Dameon raised his glass. “To new friends.”
Grace touched her glass to his and sipped. “I think we might be a little more than friends.”
He set his glass down. “God, I hope so.”
She sipped her drink again, and he reached out and touched her arm. “Do you have New Year’s Eve plans?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t even given it a thought. Sometimes Matt drags us out to the desert, but he has to work this year.”
“The desert is a thing?”
“Oh, yeah. Big bonfires in freezing weather. Lots of dirt and motorcycles and ATVs. Do you ride?”
“I’m afraid to say I don’t. Do you?”
She nodded. “We grew up out there getting dirty. But I don’t own my own bike anymore.”
“You owned your own motorcycle?” The woman never stopped showing him new sides of herself.
“Yeah. We all did growing up. After my dad took a bad spill, my mom pulled the plug on a lot of the desert trips. Matt and Colin go out more than I do.”
He shrugged. “How hard can it be?”
“Don’t say that to my brothers. They’ll put you through the Evel Knievel course.”
“Especially if they don’t like me.”
“Yeah, we should probably save that activity for later.”
He wasn’t sure he wanted her brothers responsible for teaching him to ride. “So back to New Year’s . . . I’ll pick you up at seven.”
She stared at him, her lips in a flat line. “You’re asking or telling?”
Much as he hated the words, he said them anyway. “I’m asking.”
Those lips of hers lifted into a smile. “You know something, Locke . . . you’re catching on really well.”
“Is that a yes?”
She looked at the ceiling as if the answer was there. “Am I dressing fancy or dive bar?”
“Ladies’ choice is next year. This year we’re going five star.”
Her eyebrows lifted in question. “Someone is optimistic.”
They took their time with their drinks before Dameon paid the bill and drove her the short distance to her home. As he pulled into a parking space, he noticed her starting to fidget.
Before she reached for the door, Dameon took hold of her hand.
Their eyes met and he leaned forward.
As soon as their lips met, she sighed. He couldn’t touch her the way he truly wanted to with a console separating them, but he could tilt her head back and taste her lips with the tip of his tongue.
Her response was her hand tightening on his arm and her kiss matching his.