Secret Temptation [The Callens 3] (Siren Publishing M?nage Everlasting) by Melody Snow Monroe Page B

glasses of wine. Just as she’d finished, he lifted his glass. “To your independence.” He grinned.
    “To my independence.”
    “Since you’re not quite set up, would you be interested in going out to dinner? I bet it will be hard to cook and have no place to sit.”
    She hadn’t planned on spending the night here, but she wasn’t one to turn down an invitation. “That sounds great.”
    He pushed up to a stand. “How about I pick you up at six?”
    That left her a few hours to get ready. “It’s a date.”
    She’d have to go home and change since she’d left all her fancy clothes at the ranch.
    After spending another hour washing the dishes she’d bought and putting them away, she headed back to the house. So as to save all the questions, she told her mom she had a date with the University professor.
    “You’re going out with Dr. Stuffy?”
    She laughed at the nickname Darlene had given Dr. Riley. “My date’s name is Blake and he’s the head of the Physics Department.” There was no need to mention that he was Randy’s roommate.
    “I thought you had your eye on Randy.”
    She sucked in a breath. She’d never mentioned anything about him. “Why would you think that?”
    “I’m your mother. I saw the way you looked at him and there was an interest.”
    “He’s good-looking. That’s all.”
    “Uh-huh.” She waved a hand and smiled. “Have fun.”
    “I will.”
    Between packing and getting ready, it was close to five before she was happy with her attire. She hurried back to her apartment. In two days, the sofa and bed would arrive. Hopefully, this weekend, Blake would pick up the chairs and dining room table. Then she’d move in.
    Blake was right on time. She pulled open the door and smiled. “Let me get my purse.” There was no need to ask him into an empty apartment. She grabbed her bag and locked the door.
    “What kind of food do you like?”
    “I’m flexible.”
    “Does a steak house work?”
    She chuckled. “If it didn’t, I would be a Callen.”
    He drove to a nice restaurant on the edge of town. It was the kind that had peanut shells on the floor and wooden benches for seating. That fit perfectly into her style.
    After they ordered, Blake leaned forward on his elbows. “Have you ever been to Vedauwoo?”
    Vedauwoo was a national park halfway between Intrigue and Cheyenne. It was full of boulders and natural scenery. “Not since I was a kid. Would you like to go?” That might have been asking him on a date, but he did seem interested in her.
    “I was about to ask you. Yes. I thought we could go tomorrow.”
    “Sounds perfect.”
    During the dinner, she noticed that if she brought up the topic of Randy, Blake didn’t provide much information.
    She wanted to learn more about him. “Tell me about your family’s ranch.”
    “I grew up much like you did. My dad owned a fifteen-thousand-acre spread. I spent my childhood with horses and cattle. I had to milk the cows, muck the stalls, and repair fences just like any good son.”
    “You left home early, though.”
    He chuckled. “Maybe out of self-defense. I wasn’t really into ranching. I went to college at fourteen.”
    She’d been about to bring up Randy, but thought better of it. “Was that hard?”
    “Academically, no. Socially, very. I didn’t fit in well, but I think being with the older kids helped me learn to deal with others faster than if I’d attended a high school.”
    They discussed his penchant for working out. While not as obsessed as Randy, he still kept up with keeping fit. “Do you get home very often?”
    “As much as I can.” The waiter came by with their bill. Blake paid. “You want to take a stroll?”
    “Love to.”
    The night air was crisp, but not enough to chill her. They walked through downtown slowly, stopping to admire some of the items in the windows. Halfway down the block, a man and a woman came toward them, taking up most of the sidewalk. Blake took her hand and pulled her to the