“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, and tipped a nod in her direction. “You’re up.”
“I don’t know any party tricks like that.” Zoe shook her head and lifted her water glass to distract herself from staring at his mouth and wonder what that wicked tongue was up to. “Um… Oh, wait. Got it. I can break out of handcuffs.”
Ryder scowled and scrunched his nose and smiled all at once, as confused as the expression. “How, exactly, did you acquire this skill? And how do you know this?”
Zoe tipped her chin up and dared him to guess.
Adorably sweet, he just shook his head, his dimple growing deeper as his smile grew more and more confused.
“I dated a cop for a while.”
He bit his lips together and looked side-eyed at her. “Roleplaying or S-and-M?”
“Neither.” Zoe snorted a laugh, loving getting him worked up. “Mostly. I was playing around one day and discovered I have natural talent.”
“Was he impressed? I mean, it can’t be an easy thing to accomplish.”
“That might have inspired a few roleplaying sorts of…” Zoe cleared her throat and hoped her blush wasn’t obvious. “But that’s not the point.”
While Ryder watched her with curious interest, he lifted his wine to take a sip, but slid it over for Zoe to sniff first.
She inhaled deeply, and disappointment filled her senses. “That wasn’t as good as I was hoping. I mean, I’m sure it’s fine. Even pregnant, I still like the idea of wine better than the smell of it, apparently.” She slid it back over.
“I used to be obsessive about ordering a drink to match the meal.”
“Ugh, what a good way to ruin a good meal. I say you should mesh whatever drink and food suits your fancy at the moment.”
“After Claire and I broke up and after Haley’s divorce, I had this great dinner with my siblings, plus Claire and Finn, and there was some ranting about ex’s. Claire was quiet at first, but there were a few things she admitted, it was eye-opening to hear some of the shit that I completely missed.”
“Like the fact that she hates red wine?”
“How did you know?”
Zoe shrugged and scrunched her nose as she tried to read him. “At get-togethers, she and Grady always bring drinks because Finn, Evan, and I bring the food. Anyone who wants red wine has to bring their own, or it always gets missed.”
He nodded and looked into his drink. “Anyway, I guess I’m trying to say, I have messed up a lot of relationships, because I treated them like work.”
“I tend to be a little defensive in relationships.”
“Why?”
“I am a petite female defensive coordinator and a pub chef. I don’t make any sense.”
After a slow, curious sort of sip, Ryder settled comfortably in his chair and fiddled his fingers over the base of the glass. “Pretend no little swimmers slipped past the condom, that I happened to be up visiting and we bumped into each other, and you asked me out. What would we be doing on our date?”
“Would we not be at Foothills’ favorite date restaurant?”
“I love it, but I know this friend date was entirely inspired by your craving for pasta.”
She shrugged, realizing he was exactly right. “This was probably a dumb idea. We should avoid anything even hinting at romantic.”
“True,” he said, glaring down at his glass.
Laughter, conversation, and the clanking of forks on plates filled the restaurant with sound, the background mid-twentieth century Italian music barely audible. A second date with Ryder Mallory. What would that look like? “Honestly, after how the first date went, we’d probably be in my room and using up a few condoms, as I would be more prepared.”
“No preamble of conversation?” He quietly studied her, tilting a curious look, his tongue fiddling wickedly along the backs of his teeth.
Zoe leaned in and took a measuring, steadying breath. “Then in the morning, after round four, we’d stop by Cascade Bakery for coffee and sugary carbs to compensate for a sleepless night, and we’d go for a drive.”
