“Well, I do what I can,” he added as he sat.
They made their plates, and Hunter realized he might have gone a little overboard. There was shrimp with lobster sauce, beef and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls, fried rice, steamed dumplings, and crab Rangoon.
Yeah. Seriously overboard.
“Did Eli get settled okay at your brother’s?”
It was crazy how that one little question made him like this woman even more.
Clearing his throat, he picked up his fork. “Yeah. He was excited too.” Chuckling, he explained, “They’re going to watch The Lego Movie, eat pizza, and Courtney baked cookies, so…”
“Essentially, it’s his perfect night.”
“Exactly!” They both began to eat, and Hunter realized for all their conversations over the last few weeks, there was still so much he didn’t know about her.
“So, tell me about your business.”
Violet finished chewing. “It’s called ‘Talk Travel to Me,’ and yeah, there’s a story behind it.”
“Go on,” he prompted.
“Katie and I had a third foster sister. Her name was Morgan Hedrick. She had a weird obsession with 80’s metal bands–the glam ones especially. Anyway, Poison’s ‘Talk Dirty to Me’ was her personal favorite.” She paused and took a sip of her wine. “Anyway, when she wasn’t listening to music, she was talking about all the places in the world she wanted to travel to and see. Sometimes she would fantasize about marrying some famous rock star and touring the world with the band.”
“She sounds like a lot of fun! Although, I would have pegged you for more of a boy band kind of girl.”
“Oh, I was. My love of Justin Timberlake knows no bounds, but Morgan was all about the hair bands.”
Nodding, he asked, “Where does she live now? Does she know she inspired your travel business?”
He watched as Violet’s head lowered, but not before he saw her expression turn sad. She took a moment before looking at him again and answering.
“Morgan was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor when she was eighteen. She died less than a year later,” she explained quietly. “I had promised her during our many bedside talks that I would visit all the places she never would.” With a shrug, she went on. “At first I thought it would be something I’d do for pleasure–like a yearly vacation kind of thing to different places I could afford to–but after I planned those first few trips, I found I genuinely enjoyed it. Then I helped some friends plan vacations and…that was it. I found my niche and I’ve never looked back.”
Reaching across the table, he placed his hand on top of hers. “I am so sorry. If I had known, I never would have brought it up.”
“It’s okay, Hunter. It breaks my heart how Morgan’s life was over before she got to live and enjoy it, but I’ve made my peace with it. And every new place I travel to, I always make sure I take some quiet time to talk to her about it.”
“I do that with my mom, too,” he admitted softly. When Violet’s expression softened, he squeezed her hand. “Every once in a while, I just sort of…sit and talk to her. Tell her about Eli and my life. It’s not the same as her being here to see it all herself, but it makes me…I don’t know. Sometimes I just need the connection.”
“I understand completely.”
They both fell silent, still holding hands, as they ate their dinner.
After several moments passed, Hunter couldn’t help but laugh softly.
“What’s so funny?”
“I think it’s been too long since I’ve tried to seduce a woman because here I was making all these plans for a great night and then I introduce an incredibly depressing topic.” He shook his head. “I am so sorry. I’m not usually this bad at this.”
“You’re fine, Hunter. And honestly, I think this is all part of getting to know each other. You don’t only get to hear the happy stuff.”
“Yeah, well…I kind of feel like all I’ve been showing you is the depressing stuff and…now I’m whining.” He was this close to just banging his head on the table and vowing not to speak another word tonight.
Beside him, Violet softly laughed. “Okay, change of subject. Where’s the last place you went on vacation?”
With a casual shrug, he replied, “Right here.”
“Ah, …sorry. Single dad, shared custody. You probably don’t have a big travel budget.”
Was she serious? “Actually, I get three weeks of paid vacation every year. I just prefer to stay here. We’ve got the beach and my brothers and I have a boat to go fishing…everything I want is right here.”
Her dark eyes went wide, but she didn’t comment.
“What about you?” he asked, figuring it was going to be someplace fabulous.
“Three months ago, I went to check out a new resort in Denver. It’s one of those all-inclusive spas. The views were amazing, the services they offered were off-the-chart, and the food was top-notch. They probably had the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.” She gave him a come-hither smile before adding, “So far.”
Slowly, Hunter pushed his plate away. “I’m a firm believer in a quality mattress.” Pausing and resting his arms on the table, he lowered his voice just a touch. “That’s why I spent more on mine than anything else in the house. I’m very particular about my bed.”
One dark brow arched at him. “I’m intrigued, Mr. Jones. But you know, I can’t possibly take your word for it. I’m going to have to try it out for myself.”
“Would I lie to you, Violet?” he asked silkily.
She rose from her chair and held her hand out to him. “I don’t think so, but, like you, I take my beds very seriously. We’ve been fairly compatible so far on our likes and dislikes; now I’d like to see if we can hold that record when dealing with where we sleep.”
He came to his feet, placing his hand in hers and was only mildly surprised when she led the way back to his bedroom. The view of Violet from behind was just as sexy as the front. The halter dress left her back bare to her waist and he couldn’t wait to touch all that smooth, tanned skin.
Actually, he couldn’t wait to touch and taste every inch of her–so much so his mouth began to water even as his hands began to twitch.
At the door to his room, she dropped his hand and slowly walked over to his bed. Next, she made a bit of a show of running her hand along the comforter and pushing down on the mattress to check the firmness before turning to face him.
“It all looks good so far,” she said, her voice taking on that husky quality he was coming to love.
“And it will look even better when you’re sprawled out on it,” he said, advancing on her. When he reached her, he cupped her face in his hands and simply leaned in and kissed her like he’d been dying to since she got here.
Who was he kidding–like he’d been dying to ever since they kissed for the first time two weeks ago.
Knowing there were no distractions, no one was going to have to go home, meant he could unleash everything he’d been feeling for her.
The good news was Violet was kissing him back with just as much urgency as he was using on her.