Page 21 of Flights and Sights

The knot that had tightened in my chest loosened. “It doesn’t?”

He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Not especially.”

“So you’ve dated… men?” Why are you pushing this so hard? Take yes for an answer, my brain screamed at me. But I needed to be sure.

A slow smile spread across Pax’s face. “Yes.”

My face heated and I swallowed hard, nervousness threatening me. “Okay then.”

“My turn to ask the questions.” Pax said the moment his sandwich was gone. “Tell me something.”

“Tell you what?”

Another half-shrug. “I don’t care. I don’t know much. Tell me something about you.”

“I’d argue that you know a lot about me already. You’ve met my family, for fuck’s sake.”

“And you’ve seen how passionate I am about mead. That makes us even. How about hobbies?”

I thought for a moment. “Reading?” When Pax leveled a look at me, I laughed and shifted in my seat. “I’m learning Italian. Does that count?”

I was rewarded with a bright smile. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“How about you? Hobbies?”

“Gardening. I have a quickly expanding herb garden in the backyard. I use them for my experimental small-batch meads.”

An image of Paxton kneeling in front of an herb garden, hands in the dirt, wearing a sweaty T-shirt and smudged jeans flashed through my mind. Imagination-me may have leaned over to check out his ass. My face heated again and I turned my focus to the bakery counter. “Let’s get something sweet.”

“Deal.”

A few minutes later, we were strolling along Main Street with our desserts. Paxton had chosen a little chocolate tartlet, and I’d chosen a powdered doughnut with raspberry filling. It was a little less practical to eat while we meandered, I knew, but I didn’t care too much.

We stepped out of the bakery and headed in the direction of the bookstore. As we walked, Paxton picked the conversation back up where we’d left off. “So you’re a reader. What do you like to read?”

I took a small bite of my doughnut, causing powdered sugar to rain down on my shirt. With a sigh, I brushed myself off with my free hand, leaving white streaks behind. “I’ll read almost anything, but I prefer fiction. Sci-fi, fantasy, alternate histories, things like that. Escapism.”

“Interesting. I would’ve clocked you for a nonfiction guy. Travel journals, maybe.”

I laughed and shook my head, alternating talking with taking bites of doughnut. “I read a lot of travel-related pieces for work, so I think that’s why I prefer to let that part of my brain shut off when I’m reading to relax.”

“That’s fair. I’m going to confess I don’t read a lot.”

“No? Why not?”

He shrugged and finished his tartlet before speaking. “I’ve never found anything that really captured my attention.”

“That’s fair. I mean, there’s so much to read out there that we could probably find something for you to enjoy, but not everyone has to like every hobby. So other than gardening, how do you unwind?”

“Usually I just watch an episode or two of a comedy in the evenings. Something lighthearted. Unless it’s baseball season. Big baseball fan.”

“I believe that about you. You seem kind of sports-y.”

“Thanks, I think.” He gave me a light smile and I knew he wasn’t offended.

“It’s a compliment, trust me.” Just my type, I thought. Tall, athletic, smart. He was practically a dream guy.

He bumped his shoulder playfully against mine and grinned, making my breath hitch. I put the last bite of doughnut into my mouth as we walked, stopping to peer in the window of a shop. When I turned back to Paxton, he gave me a grin and reached out with his hand to graze my cheek with his thumb. My heart raced when he touched me.