Page 41 of Best Kept Secret

“I’ll take a Guinness.”

“Sure thing. Be right back.”

“A Guinness, huh. Fancy,” she said.

“Have you ever tasted it?”

She scrunched up her nose. “No. Beer isn’t supposed to be that color.”

He chuckled. “Just for that, I’m going to make you try it.”

“We’ll see.”

They opened their menus and perused the options.

“What sounds good?” he asked after a few minutes.

“Everything.”

“We might need to narrow it down a little.”

“I know, but everything looks so good.”

Including you. “How about the dinner-for-two special? That way, we can pick our own entrée and share dessert.”

“I’m not sure I’ll have room for dessert.” Then she glanced down at her midsection. “On second thought, I always make room for dessert.”

This time, he smiled instead of laughed, since weight was a sensitive subject for some women. He thought of Sonia, who’d turned vegetarian during their relationship. He hadn’t judged her for it; however, going out to eat had become a challenge. He liked that Kelsey was up for anything.

The waitress returned with their drinks, took their food orders, and left again.

“Ahhh,” he said after his first drink of beer.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she said, “It can’t be that good.”

“Oh, but it is.”

“You’re just trying to get me to taste it.”

He wanted her to taste something, alright, and it wasn’t just his beer. Shrugging, he said, “No pressure. If you want to miss out on something good, that’s your choice.”

She closed her lips around the straw and took a long pull of her strawberry daiquiri.

He stared unabashedly, recalling how her lips felt and tasted, and he envied the straw. He watched the reddish-pink liquid travel up it and into her mouth, and he swallowed hard along with her. I am so screwed.

Then she said, “Okay, fine. I’ll taste it.”

Oh, how I want you to. He slid his glass across the table, and she slowly picked it up.

“It’s not going to bite you,” he teased.

“I’m not sure if I trust you,” she said, wrinkling her brow.

Outside of the current context, the words stung. He wanted her to trust him, but he probably didn’t deserve it.

“But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt,” she said.

She lifted the glass to her lips and sipped. Then she set down the glass, smacked her lips together a couple times, and said, “Ohmigod. You were right. It is good.”