Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks bright pink. There was a low chuckle from beside us, and I glanced over to see her bartender friend, Griffin, grinning from behind the bar. Delilah’s ponytail swung when she looked toward him. “Don’t you comment,” she ordered.
“I’m just glad to see you dating,” he replied.
A woman with brown curls spilling everywhere approached with a tall man at her side. “Hey, Delilah. I didn’t know you were seeing someone,” the woman said.
Delilah didn’t even try to hide her sigh. “This is Alex.” She looked from me to the woman. “This is Dani and Wade. We grew up together around here.”
Wade nodded. “Nice to meet you.” His eyes bounced to Dani, the look there expectant.
Dani eyed me, her gaze unabashedly curious. “Hey, Alex. Nice to meet you. You’re not from around here.”
“Nope. I’m from Alaska. Nice to meet you both.”
“Oh, did you meet him when you went on your ski trip?” Dani asked, her voice pitching up an octave as she looked back at Delilah. Before Delilah could even answer, Dani brought her attention back to me. “Wait a sec, do you know Remy?”
“I do. He’s a hotshot firefighter in my hometown.”
Dani clapped her hands together. “Oh! That’s so cool. You’ll have to give him a hug for me when you see him.”
I chuckled. “Will do.”
“That settles it. Y’all have to come out for dinner. Shay will be tickled to meet you. She’s Remy’s sister,” Dani offered.
“Fine by me,” I replied, glancing at Delilah to gauge her reaction.
Her cheeks were still pink, but she shrugged. “Sure. Why don’t you text me a night that might work?”
After we chatted for a few more minutes with Dani and Wade, Delilah took me over to Lost Deer Winery for dinner. “This is a sort of fancy restaurant,” she commented as we walked in. “It’s owned by the same people who own the bar where I work.”
The winery restaurant was nice. It was a large space with tall ceilings and windows offering a view of Stolen Hearts Valley. We were seated at a table by the windows, and Delilah asked me what I wanted to drink.
“I’ll take whatever you suggest.”
“Have you ever had mead?”
“Once or twice. There’s a brewery in Diamond Creek where the ski lodge is. I don’t think I took you there. Anyway, they sell mead.”
Our waiter came, and Delilah ordered two meads for us to try. The waiter reeled off the specials, and we ordered. As he walked away, I took a moment to look at Delilah. She had taken her hair down on the drive over, and it spilled around her shoulders. I loved her hair, and it tended to bring inappropriate thoughts to mind. For example, a memory of one of our nights over the holidays when I had her hair wrapped around my fist, and her hands were curled on the headboard.
So not the time to go there. I adjusted my jeans. “So I’m supposed to give Shay a hug for Remy. Do you mind having dinner with her? I assume they’re your friends since they gave you their ski trip.”
Delilah nodded. “They are. I went to high school with Shay. Remy’s a good guy.”
“The best. So tell me about your family,” I said conversationally. She was still reticent about her family, but since I was here in Stolen Hearts Valley, it seemed natural to ask about them.
Delilah rubbed her thumb and forefinger together and gave a light shrug. “My parents live here. I’m not on the best terms with my dad, but my mom and I are a little better.”
This was the downside to the temporary footing of my relationship with Delilah so far. We met at camp years ago. Then we met again during a ski vacation over the holidays. Nothing about those two episodes were like our normal lives. Except, in my case, she met my sister and my best friend.
“I didn’t have the greatest childhood, Alex.” This came out almost forcefully, her eyes bouncing away quickly as she looked down.
Ah, perhaps a clue to my girl.
“Lots of people didn’t have the best childhood. I’m just curious. I want to know you,” I said, keeping my tone mellow.
Delilah’s eyes bounced to mine and away again. A look of relief crossed her face when the waiter arrived with our drinks.
I took a swallow a moment later. “Wow, that’s good,” I said as I lowered my glass to the table.
Delilah smiled. “Yeah, I never knew I liked mead until I tried it. It’s yummy.”
“Tell me about your life,” I pressed.
Delilah angled her head to the side, pinching the bridge of her nose when she let out a sigh. “Okay. My dad’s an alcoholic. But before you go thinking the worst, he didn’t beat us up or anything. He just couldn’t hold a job to save his life. That’s why I never got your letter. They got evicted while I was away at camp. I don’t think we ever lived in one place for more than a few months. I could see it was the alcohol owning him, but it still sucked.”
I wanted to wrap Delilah in my arms. As she spoke, she lifted her chin, and that steely look I’d come to know entered her gaze.
“What about your mom?”
A rueful smile curled her lips. “She did her best under not very good circumstances. I always wanted her to leave him. If it hadn’t been for her having a job the whole time, we wouldn’t even have had food on the table sometimes.”
“What does she do?”
“Nothing amazing. My grandmother ran a greenhouse and landscaping business on her property, and my mom helped her with it. That’s where my parents live now. My dad could’ve helped with the landscaping side of things, but he was too inconsistent. So that’s it. That’s my parents and my childhood.”
Delilah’s mouth twisted with her words, and she looked away quickly, making a show of looking out the windows. I hadn’t even realized I reached for her hand until my fingers curled over hers, and I felt how cold she was. She jerked slightly, whipping her head back in my direction.
“You’re cold,” I commented.
“My hands are usually cold in the winter.”
I supposed that was true, but I could feel the slight tremor running through her. If I hadn’t figured it out yet, her family was obviously a sore spot for her.
“I’m sorry your childhood kind of sucked,” I finally said, knowing blunt and direct usually was Delilah’s preference.
She shrugged. “It’s okay. Life isn’t fair, right? Your family sounds nice. I like Holly.”
My family was pretty awesome, and I knew I was blessed. Even though my twin sister could drive me crazy, I loved her. She’d stop traffic for me, just as I would do the same for her.
“Maybe I can talk you into coming to visit Willow Brook. I think you’d like it.”
“Maybe,” Delilah replied, her tone carefully neutral.
Delilah wasn’t one to let herself get hopeful. Her doubts were practically plastered like billboards on her face, so I let it go.
Our food came, and it was delicious. We went home that night. Once again, we had the kind of sex that made me forget everything else.
Chapter Seventeen
Delilah
“I know we haven’t met before, but I’m going to hug you,” Shay said as she approached Alex.