They drove the rest of the way in silence. Lainey glanced at Micah out of the corner of her eye, noticing that he was studying the dashboard carefully.
"We're here," Lainey said, pulling into the McDonald's parking lot.
After finding a parking place, she switched off the engine and slid out of the car, figuring she'd have to open Micah's door for him. But when she reached the passenger side, he was already out of the car and waiting for her. A quick study, Lainey thought, smiling up at him.
"Come on," she said, "they've got pretty good food here."
"Yes, food."
Inside, Lainey took a place in line, trying to decide between an Arch Deluxe, fries, and a chocolate shake, or a filet of fish and a chocolate shake.
She glanced at Micah as they moved up in the line. "What are you gonna have?"
"Have?"
"To eat."
"Yes, eat." He hesitated a moment. "What are you going to... have?"
"An Arch Deluxe, I think, and a chocolate shake."
He stared at her blankly for a moment, then said, "I will have the same."
Lainey told the counter girl what they wanted, covertly studying Micah as she waited for their order to come up. He was obviously a foreigner, but she couldn't place his accent. Sometimes she thought it sounded Italian, and sometimes French, and yet it didn't really sound like either one.
"So," she said, "where's your country located?"
"It's very far from here."
"Yeah, that's what you said. Is it inEurope ?"
"Europe? No."
"South America?"
"It's north of here. Very far north."
"NearCanada ?"
Micah glanced away. "Yes. NearCanada ."
"Funny, I've never heard of it. Well, maybe not so funny, the way countries are changing their names these days. What did you say it was called?"
"Xanthia."
Their order arrived then and after paying for it, Lainey led the way to a table near the back window. She couldn't help noticing that every woman in the place turned to stare at Micah, but then, who could blame them? He was far and away the most handsome man she had ever seen.
She peeled the paper from a straw, poked it through the hole in the plastic top of the paper cup, and took a long drink. It was thick and rich and chocolaty, just the way she liked it.
Micah watched her a moment; then, very carefully, he removed the paper from his straw and poked it into his cup.
Lainey almost laughed out loud as he took a drink, his eyes mirroring surprise, and then pleasure.
"Don't tell me," she said. "They don't have chocolate shakes where you come from, either."
"They have nothing this good," he said solemnly, and took another long swallow. His shake was gone in nothing flat. "Do you think I could have another?"
"I think it could be arranged," Lainey replied. Grinning, she went to the counter and ordered another shake.
When she returned to their table, he watched her pick up her hamburger and take a bite. Micah picked up his burger, sniffed it, then turned it over. It was meat of some kind, he decided. A vegetarian since birth, he had never eaten meat. Curious, he took a small bite, chewing it carefully before swallowing. A variety of tastes filled his mouth: tangy, sweet, sharp, mild.
"Good," he said, taking another bite. "Very good."
"You are the strangest man," Lainey murmured.
"You have no idea how strange," Micah replied, and then he smiled, a broad smile that hit Lainey square in the heart and almost took her breath away.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" Lainey asked as they left the restaurant.
"Yes, if you wish."
She was tempted to take his hand, but thought better of it. After all, she didn't really know anything about him except his name, and the fact that he was drop-dead gorgeous. The women on the street were no more immune to him than were the women in McDonald's. Every woman they passed stopped to take a second look, but then, it was all she could do to keep from staring at him, to keep from running her fingertips over the muscles in his arms, to keep from pressing her hands to the broad expanse of his chest...
She gave herself a mental shake, furious and embarrassed by the path her thoughts were taking. She'd seen handsome men before - in the movies, on the beach, at the market - but none had ever affected her quite like this.