When she returned to their table and he slid out of the booth to let her in, she noticed with a pang of disappointment that the table across from them was now occupied by a couple with two little girls. That pang bit deeper when Seth took the seat across from her this time. She missed the feel of him at her side.

“I guess the mood passed,” she remarked with a wry smile, picking a strawberry off the cheesecake that had arrived while she was away. He watched in rapt attention as she slowly bit into it.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

“Hmm, maybe if someone weren’t all talk…”

The sound he made in his throat was almost a growl. “I’m gonna show you talk when we get back to my place.”

Macy finished off her strawberry while her mind turned that over. His place? Interesting. They hadn’t made concrete plans beyond the restaurant; she’d just assumed they’d go back to her apartment again. She was going to get to see where he lived. Given his various interests, it was rather frightening.

“You’re giving me ideas, you know,” he said, picking up his fork and digging into his own dessert.

“Ideas?”

“I could name a few things I’d like to do with you and strawberries. And whipped cream.”

She fidgeted, tempted to tell him to hurry this along already. Something about slipping into the red panties she knew he found so sexy had lit fires down below. He’d known what he was doing making her put them on. And now he was making her wait.

Freaking tease.

The waitress, on her way to the family at the other table, dropped off the leather folder with their check. As he reached for it, she put her hand over his. “Let me.”

“No way. I got this.”

“Let me pay my share at least. I asked you to take me on a date, after all.”

“And I did, right? Because I wanted to, not because you asked me to.” He winked and slid the folder from under her hand. “I’m an old-fashioned guy myself in many ways, you know.”

She wasn’t placated in the least. She hadn’t asked him to bring her to one of the most expensive places in town, hadn’t even imagined he would dream of doing so. It had been a pleasant surprise, because it was her favorite. But not something she needed or expected. Hopefully, he didn’t have that impression of her, when she’d have been perfectly happy catching a movie or going to the sushi place they both loved.

And hopefully…well, she felt wretched for even thinking it. She had no idea about his financial situation, really, and no business speculating. But she hated the idea that he might think he needed to overextend himself just to make her happy.

Not to mention it brought back Raina’s hateful words from the other night, try as she might to keep them from echoing in her head.

After he’d taken care of the check, he helped her into her coat. He held the restaurant door open for her. He opened the car door for her. She didn’t think more than a few seconds had gone by on the journey without his hand on her somewhere…whether it was resting lightly on her back or low on her hip or even at her nape, raising the fine hairs there. Even they craved his touch, it seemed. When he settled in the driver’s seat, she cursed the console and gearshift between them. She wanted to scoot over until she could feel him all along her side, like she had in the restaurant.

Despite her aggravation with its obstacles, she adored his car. That he’d so lovingly restored it to mint shape gave her a little tickle in her belly. It made her think of everything else that could flourish in his careful hands.

“Your place, huh?” she asked once he steered out onto the street.

“Was there somewhere else you wanted to go?”

“Oh no. I just…” She broke off and laughed. “I am extremely curious to see where you live, I admit.”

“Yeah? I hope you won’t be disappointed with how normal it is, then. It’s the house I grew up in. I try not to deface it too much.”

“Ah. Family home.”

“When my parents died, Nana moved down from Oklahoma to take care of us so we wouldn’t be uprooted after what happened. After we all grew up, my brother was the first to take off, so that left me and my older sister. Nana moved back to Oklahoma after she saw Steph and I weren’t going to starve or wander aimlessly into the street. Not every day, anyway.” He threw her a grin. “Steph’s a mother-hen type too.”

She chuckled at his light-heartedness, but it sounded…lonely. Of course, she’d been surrounded by family all her life. Family and more friends than she knew what to do with. And the rodeo, though, all that had changed…

“But doesn’t your sister live in Oklahoma now?”

“She was visiting Nana a few years back, and she met a guy. Moved up there, got married. Has two boys.”

“Aw, Uncle Ghost.” She gave him a playful pinch on the arm.

“I miss those guys, too. I really got to know them while I was staying there. I need to get back up there soon.”

“Did you ever think of moving there yourself?”

“Not really. The whole time I was there, I couldn’t wait to get back.”

She didn’t have to know him well at all to see the sadness that came over him when he mentioned his nana. He tried to hide it. He did it well. But even if it was only a split-second faltering in his expression or the briefest flicker of grief in his eyes, she caught it. She honestly didn’t know how he was putting up such an amazing front. Laughing with her, flirting and talking dirty… Was he only trying to forget what was going on one state to the north?

His right hand was resting on the gearshift. Macy reached over and placed hers on top of it. “It’s really bad, isn’t it?”

He was a long time answering. She watched his throat muscles constrict as he swallowed. “It’s bad.”

“I’m so sorry. We don’t even—”

“No, stop right there. The thing about Nana is she’s more full of life than anyone I’ve ever known. And so genuinely good. To leave the life she’d made, and move down here to take care of us when she was grieving too… I don’t know that I could do it, you know? I can just hear her in my head telling me not to worry about her, to go on living. It isn’t that I don’t worry about her, but… Oh, shit.” He rubbed his eyes hard with his thumb and forefinger.

“What? Please tell me.”

His discomfort was palpable. He rubbed the back of his neck, checked the mirrors unnecessarily. She began to think he wasn’t going to answer, and she would have to accept that. But then he surprised her. “A few months back, she was having a good day, and I told her all about you. I have a picture on my phone I took of me and you when we were goofing around back when we first started hanging out, remember? The one where we’re making stupid faces. She looked at it, and then looked at me and asked me what in the hell I was doing there talking to her when I should be here chasing after you. That’s the kind of person she is. She really means it.” He hit the blinker and sighed. “That’s one of the last lucid conversations we had. All about you.”

Macy gazed at his profile in such silent amazement, she hardly noticed when he pulled into a driveway and braked to a halt. Once he’d shifted into park, he reclaimed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “I can’t say that’s what I came back for, though. My sister encouraged me to go home for a while, and I felt like I needed to check on things around the house, see my friends, get back to my music, just be. But I’ve thought it’s pretty damn funny the way things work out. If you knew Nana, you’d know she almost always gets her way.” He brought her hand up, brushing her knuckles with his lips. “Here I am, chasing after you.”