Love Is in the Air (76 page)

How could they not? Music was blaring from the banquet hall in the back of the restaurant. It seemed that the Wagon Wheel had line dancing on Thursday nights.

“Are you thinking what I am?” Ralph asked.

“Oh, yes!” Natalie replied. “You guys coming?” Both Quinton and Regina answered simultaneously, “No thanks.”

The younger couple did not even bat an eyelash; they were on the dance floor within seconds. Regina felt horribly awkward. She had not meant to be so abrupt about refusing and hoped that Quinton did not think her rude. Before she could think of some excuse, he was already trying to make his apology.

“It’s not that I did not want to dance with you… It’s just not here. Not now. Not like this. Does that make any sense?”

It made too much sense to Regina. She could not just let loose like Natalie. Reckless abandon was not her strongest suit. “I understand.”

“Do you mind?” Quinton asked, as he rose and sat down opposite Regina.

Relieved of the man’s close proximity she relaxed a bit, but was a little sad that he no longer wanted to sit next to her. She did not need to worry long, though.

Quinton refused to release her from his stare. “It’s just that I want to see your whole face. Your expressions are so subtle that I had a hard time reading you through the evening. You don’t mind, do you?”

Flustered by the attention, Regina mumbled, “No, not at all.”

Silence stretched again, making her uncomfortable. She tried to think of anything at all to say, but each subject either sounded too lame or far too intimate. Finally, Regina just blurted out, “I feel like we should be talking or something.”

Quinton shrugged. “Fine by me, but I would be content to just watch you all evening.”

Each heartbeat pounded in Regina’s ear as the stranger held her gaze. Was he sincere? His tone sounded it, but she could not be sure. No one ever talked to her like this. How was she to respond?

Luckily, Quinton started the conversation. “Have you always lived in Crow’s Landing?”

Even though the intensity of his gaze had diminished, the stranger still held her eyes as he took a sip of his drink. Regina did not know taking a drink of Diet Coke could be so profoundly sexy.

Loosening her tongue, she answered, “No, but I might as well have. It’s just thirty miles to the north. We had a Dairy Deluxe instead of a Delight and a UNOCAL 76 instead of an Exxon.” As the man laughed, Regina became self-conscious and babbled on. “That must seem so stupid to you.”

Quinton shook his head and kept laughing. “Hardly. I grew up just east of here. Ours was a Hamburger Haven, and our gas station was Fast Freddy’s Speedy Petrol.”

The woman could not help but laugh with the stranger. Small towns were pretty much the same anywhere you went. “But it sounds like you’ve traveled a lot since then.”

“You could say that.”

Regina wanted to hear more about his adventures. “So you’ve been out of the states before?”

Quinton smiled again. This time the corner of his eyes crinkled and his lips stayed curled even while he spoke. “Let’s just say the only continent I haven’t logged yet is Antarctica.”

“Oh, my,” Regina mumbled, suddenly feeling outclassed. She had never been out of the state before, let alone another country. Wayne kept promising to take her and the kids to Canada, but Regina knew it would never happen. Her husband could never leave his precious mill for more than a day or two. But why was she thinking of Wayne when this gorgeous stranger was just a few inches away?

Quinton must have noted her momentary discomfort, for he continued on. “So, you just have the two kids?”

“Yeah. Have you ever been married?” Regina asked, but instantly regretted it. The smile fell off Quinton’s face, and a pain seemed to cloud his features for a moment.

“No. Once I was engaged… but never married.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked such a personal question.”

Quinton’s face lost its haunted look, and he grinned again. “Nothing is too personal for you to ask. It’s just not something I talk about much.”

Regina could certainly relate, but before she could speak, the waitress interrupted. “Would you like dessert?”

Quinton nodded to Regina, but the waitress once again cut in. “She doesn’t have dessert.”

Bristling, Regina retorted, “I might tonight. Could you get us a dessert menu?” Perhaps Wayne would not allow her to order dessert, but that was not the circumstance tonight.

The waitress gave a knowing smile. “When the cat’s away…”

Regina could only imagine how red her cheeks were. Hot tears stung her eyes. She had been a fool to think that she could just casually sit here with a handsome stranger and enjoy a leisurely meal. Wayne was omnipresent. Regina could never escape him.

CHAPTER 7

Quinton watched Regina fight back tears. He wanted to reach out to her. He wanted to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay, but that was not true. The reality was that Regina was married, and Quinton would leave within the week. Everything for her would not be okay; it would be the same. From her reaction just now, Quinton could assume that the same meant that her life was pretty crappy.

How he longed to ask her why she was married to such a prick as Wayne, but he knew this was not the time or the place. Perhaps there never would be a good moment for such a conversation. Was that why he was drawn to her? Was it because she was so unattainable? Regina was nothing like Natalie. That young woman oozed availability. Quinton had no doubt that Ralph would find himself a bed partner tonight. But this woman, past the age where many would call her gorgeous, tugged at his heart.

He was certain that she needed a knight in shining armor, and Quinton longed to suit up. The urge to kiss away her unshed tears was so strong that Quinton had to dig his nails into his palms to keep his hands from caressing her face. Besides, how did he know that she reciprocated his feelings? Regina was probably a devoted wife who was dragged along by her wayward friend. The woman probably thought of him as only a minor distraction in her hectic family life. It was best if he just played it safe.

The waitress was back, looking annoyed that they were not ready to order. “You decided yet?”

“Hmm?” Regina looked up and turned the menu toward him. “This looks too decadent.” Quinton had to agree. The picture showed a huge triple-decker hot fudge sundae. The woman sounded shy again. “I don’t think I could finish it.”

“Then we’ll split it. Bring two spoons, please.”

So much for playing it safe. He could think of nothing more engaging than flirting with his spoon. Regina’s cheeks blushed a bit. Quinton had not known how many shades of pink that a woman’s skin could turn until tonight. It seemed that Regina had a different hue for every passing moment. He even liked the tiny lines etched around her eyes and forehead. They seemed to broadcast each of her changing moods, even when she was trying to hide them.

Before the sundae could arrive, Ralph and Natalie came back to the table nearly panting. They were both flushed and laughing a bit too hard for the amount of fun that one could have at the Wagon Wheel of B-B-Q Pit in Crow’s Landing. Their giddiness was from another source altogether.

“I’m going to show Ralph the only sight worth seeing in town. Want to join us?” Natalie asked.

“And what would that be?” Regina replied, her voice sounded incredulous.

“Why, the supposed UFO landing site out past—”

“Gilman’s Clearing? Natalie! That’s way out of town, and it’s night. You won’t be able to see a thing.”

The younger woman was beginning to sound annoyed. “I’ve got high-beams.”

Regina looked like she was trying to remain calm, but Quinton was fairly sure the woman was bordering on panic. “But I rode in with you.”

Natalie shrugged. “Quinton, here, can give you a lift home.”

“We walked,” Quinton answered with a level tone, even though he was becoming excited by the prospect. If the younger couple left, that would leave Regina with him for the rest of the evening.

“Then you can walk her home. It’s not too far.” Before either of them could object Natalie grabbed Ralph’s hand and pulled him toward the door. “Ta-ta!”

Ralph pointed to Quinton as he hurried after the younger woman. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” His assistant waved to Regina. “Nice to meet—”

Ralph’s voice was cut off by the door slamming behind the young couple. The world seemed a slightly calmer place now that they had left.

Regina was all red-cheeked again. “I am so sorry. I’m sure I can call someone to give me a ride home.”

“Don’t be silly. It would be my honor to walk such a beautiful lady like yourself home.”

Quinton’s statement got the desired effect. He loved the way Regina tilted her head to the side and pulled her shoulders up just a bit in embarrassment. It made him want to shower her with compliments all night long.

“There ya go. Try not to go into sugar shock or anything,” the waitress said as she slammed down the sundae. The thing did not look nearly as appealing as the picture, but it did give Quinton an excuse to lean closer to Regina.

“You first,” Quinton said with his spoon poised.

The fudge was so hot that the ice cream was already melting, causing it to drip down the sides. Regina took the daintiest of spoonfuls and missed all the whipped cream. Quinton dug into the toppings and then caught some of the drippings with his spoon. His bite was so large that Quinton had to open his mouth full wide and cram the spoon in. Regina giggled a bit, making him start to laugh so that he almost blew whipped cream out his nose.

Regina covered her mouth as she giggled, but Quinton noticed she took a much larger taste on the next spoonful. He paused just long enough before his next bite so that their spoons collided. “Hey, that’s my nut.”

A little spoon fight ensued as each of them tried to claim the same peanut chunk. The woman seemed to warm to the game. “It’s on my side. Eat your own.”

As they dug deeper into the sundae, their pace slowed. Quinton took some of the fudge and swirled it in the melting ice cream. He wrapped the gooey topping around his spoon before bringing it to his lips. Quinton made sure to keep his eyes on Regina as he ever so deliberately sucked the chocolate from his spoon. He even pushed it a bit as he licked the last bit of fudge from the handle.

Quinton forgot how sensual eating could be. He would like nothing more than for the two of them to be alone together, preferably in a hot tub somewhere far from Crow’s Landing. To his surprise, Regina picked up the cheery stem and popped it into her mouth. He could not read her mood as the woman’s jaw worked. Within a few moments, she pulled out the stem, only now it was tied in a knot.

“Can
you
do that?”

Raising his hand to summon the waitress, Quinton answered. “We’ll see.”

After the waitress recovered from the shock of being asked for ten cherries, she brought the toppings. Quinton made sure to roll the cherry over with his tongue before he bit into it. He noticed that Regina did not look away this time. Tying a cherry stem with your tongue was not as easy as it looked. Quinton worked on it for what seemed to be the longest time, while Regina tied knot after knot. She had them piled up in front of her, while he had yet to tie a single one.

“Want the secret?” Regina asked, her tone far more bold than before.

Quinton nodded, unable to answer given the tangle of cherry stem in his mouth.

“You’ve got to use your teeth, too. Not too much, though. If you bite too hard, it’s all over.”

Just like so many other things in life, Quinton thought but did not say. He did not want Regina to feel inhibited again. He liked this new outgoing aspect of her personality. Using her guidance, Quinton finally tied his first knot. Regina graced him with a broad smile and clapped a bit.

“I knew you had a talented tongue.” The woman seemed shocked that she had said that, but Quinton also noted that she did not demur, as she normally had.

“You’ve only seen the start.”

This time Regina did look away, but every few seconds she would glance toward him. Good, he had not completely flustered her.

After finishing the sundae, they both leaned back against the booth. The waitress had been right. That was a lot of sugar for even two people. Quinton looked around to find the place nearly deserted. Had they been here that long? Checking his watch, he found that it was nearly ten p.m. Quinton had to look at it twice to be sure. He was loath to have the evening end, but he could not turn back the clock.

“Looks like I’d better get you home.”

Regina did the same double look at her watch. “Oh, my. It is late. Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone?”

“I would be insulted.”

When they got to the register, they found that Ralph and Natalie had left them with the entire bill. Regina did not seem to be surprised by this turn of events. Quinton pulled his wallet out, but the woman lightly touched his wrist and urged him to put it back. He let the moment linger before speaking. Her fingers were warm, and whether she meant to or not, she had found his pulse. Quinton did not want the moment to end, but they could not stay like this forever.

“I’ll get the bill.”

“No, let me,” Regina said as she pulled out a Visa.

“But—”

“It’s the company card,” the woman replied as she waved the card in front of him.

Oh, Regina seemed to have a wicked sense of irony as well. To make Wayne pay for this dinner was nearly as delicious as the meal itself. “By all means.”

The woman’s lips turned up, and she flashed him a look that could only be interpreted as playful. Quinton was certain that she actually winked at him. This walk was going to be difficult; he could already tell. Every hint Regina gave him that she was interested was a moral dilemma for Quinton. Was this a mere flirtation, or was he more serious than that? Was she toying with him, or was she feeling a stirring, as he was? Damn, but none of those questions could be answered here at the register.

Guiding her out the door, Quinton took the liberty of placing a hand on her shoulder as they exited. Regina seemed surprised and even flinched a bit. Quinton let his hand drop and chided himself for being so forward. He should have known better.