Now that is interesting. I lift an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah?" I say. "You like your girls covered in whipped cream?"
Now it's his turn to lift an eyebrow and he grins. "I've never had the pleasure, but I can't imagine I wouldn't enjoy it."
My cheeks go bright pink and I cringe. "I can't believe I just said that."
"It's okay," he says, chuckling. "But tell me, what's your name?"
"I'm Mallory," I tell him. "Mallory Jones."
"Well, Mallory Jones, I'm pleased to meet you, whipped cream and all."
Chapter Two
Mills
The moment I sit down, I have a good feeling about her, about this night, about whatever happens next. She's adorable, beautiful, sexy in ways I don't think she realizes. I want to tug that orange scarf off from her neck and bind her wrists with it, which might be a little hardcore, but it's been a while. A long while. And a woman like her? I shake my head. Damn. She looks better than the hot cocoa I'm drinking, which is saying something. I'm a bit of a hot chocolate aficionado.
"I've never seen you before,” she says, closing her laptop and stacking the papers in front of her, neat in a row, the corners matching. She has a stack of books on the other side of her and I can tell she's been hard at work. "Yeah. I've just been in town the last few days, for work."
"What line of work?" she asks.
"I install rock climbing walls at gyms."
"Oh, really?" she says. "That's interesting."
"Is it?" I say, chuckling. "My old line of work was a hell of a lot more interesting."
"And what was that?" she asks, lifting her cocoa to her mouth.
"I rock climbed for a living."
"That's risky."
I chuckle again. "Yeah. That's what every woman says."
"Oh yeah? Do you have any particular woman right now?" she asks.
I shake my head, "No, that's the problem. My line of work scared ladies away. I was a free climber, which means I didn't use a harness or anything when I scaled the side of a mountain."
"I saw a documentary about that once," she says. "My brother insisted on watching it. It was called No Fear, but I had to keep leaving the room. It was too terrifying. I kept thinking he was going to fall."
"That was me,” I tell her. “Or at least, a documentary about me.”
"Oh my God,” she says. "That's incredible." She smiles. "But I can see why it would be hard to find someone to date in that line of work. I didn't even know you and couldn't stand to watch you. But you don't climb anymore?"
"No," I say. "I retired a few years ago. Decided to start my own business and I enjoy encouraging people to experience what I love. There's a challenge to it that is pretty rewarding."
"That's fascinating," she says.
“Are you tugging my chain?” I ask, surprised by her interest. "Fascinating?"
"What?" she exclaims. "It is. I think it's really interesting to hear why people do what they do."
"And what is it you do, Mallory?” I ask. “It looks like you're a hard worker."
"I am a professor at the university. It’s my first year and I teach economics. I'm trying to get through some midterm papers, but grading has been difficult. I've been distracted."
"Oh yeah, and what has you distracted?"
She twists her lips. “Honestly? I’ve been reading this book and I can't get enough of it."
"What book?" I ask, eyeing her stack.
"This one,” she says, pulling it out.
"Cream of the Crop: Why you should never settle for Mr. Okay when the best is waiting to be found,” I read aloud. "A dating book?"
"A relationship book,” she clarifies. "My friends are all getting married and it's just, do you ever feel like you're getting left behind?"
"I can understand that,” I say. "I've just been with my buddy, my cousin the last few days. And I swear every one of his friends has gotten married in the last few years."
She laughs. "Exactly. I think there's something in the water in this town or… something in the food." She takes another drink of her hot cocoa. And so do I.
“Well, if there is something in the food,” I say, taking a risk, "do you want to get dinner?"
Mallory
"Dinner?" I say, surprised at how forward Mills is, but also appreciating it. He's confident, and charming, and handsome, but... I swallow. "Before I answer," I say, "I feel like I need to run it past this list in the book."
He grins. "Really? You're not just going to follow your gut instinct on this?"
I press my lips together. "The problem is, trusting my gut has never worked out for me. This book is just cementing that for me. I’m practicing being risk-averse.”
"What do you mean, risk-averse?" I shrug.
"I don't want to experience pain or heartache, so I protect myself."
"Is protect yourself code for keep everyone at arm's length?"
I laugh, a full belly laugh. "Okay, so you cut straight to the heart of things. The heart of me. Yes, I'm not exactly one to get all cozy with a stranger."
"So is this your way of saying you don't want to go out to dinner with me?"
"No," I say, "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying I don't want to get myself in a situation where I fall head over heels for a man I just met, only to find out," I hold up the book, "you are not the cream of the crop."
"And you need a book to tell you whether or not I'm worth a dinner date?" He crosses his arms. I see his biceps bulge. God, this man is ripped. "Okay," he says, "I'm not trying to be hard on you. I get it. Life sucks, and then you die. So if you want to avoid some of that heartache, I won't hold it against you." He takes the book from my hand. “But just let me see what these chapters are, to get a feel for where you're coming from."
I roll my eyes playfully as he opens the book.
"Chapter One, Job Compatibility. Chapter Two, Household Habits." He frowns. "What's that mean?"
I lick my lips. "It means, you know, if you're both messy or both really clean, it will work out well for you. But if you're…"
“Opposites, it's going to fail?" he finishes. "That's ridiculous. My mom is a neat freak, my dad leaves his socks everywhere. They've been happily married for 50 years."
"Well, it's not always like that," I say, pushing back. "My parents were opposites and they got divorced."
"So do 50 percent of all married people," he says.
"Well, I don't want to be in that half, so if I can avoid it…"
"By following the rules in this book?" he asks. “You will.”
I nod. "Exactly, then why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't I want to hedge my bets?”
“Okay, Chapter Three," he says. "Want the Same Thing. What does the expert say about that?”