Fool's Gold Collection Part 2. Susan Mallery

could read her mind. No one had ever done that before, probably because no one had ever taken the time to get to know her.

      “You can’t know that,” she said, wanting to believe him, but afraid to try.

      “Sure, I can. Why don’t we try being here for each other?”

      A tempting offer, she thought.

      She stared into his eyes, searching for the truth. As she looked, she realized the answer wasn’t to be found in Stephen. It was in herself. Either she gathered the courage to take the next logical step, or she was trapped forever.

      “Let’s do it,” she said and promised herself there would be no regrets.

      DAKOTA STARED at the raw chicken in the pan, not sure if she should put it in now or wait until Finn arrived. What had she been thinking, inviting him over to dinner? In truth, he’d sort of invited himself, but still. Their evening was clearly a date, which should have been good but wasn’t because now she was rattled. Worse, her thighs had been quivering all day.

      Before she could decide about the chicken, the doorbell rang. She hurried toward the door, only to run back into the kitchen, pull open the oven and set the pan inside. Dinner would be ready in forty minutes. They would have to figure out a way to fill the time until then.

      She sucked in a breath, squared her shoulders and opened the front door.

      “Hi,” she said.

      It was good she spoke quickly, before she could really see him. Once she took in the long, lean body, the handsome face, the cotton shirt that wasn’t plaid, she found herself feeling the tiniest bit disoriented.

      “Hi, yourself,” Finn said with a smile, as he handed her a bottle of red wine. “I hope this is okay.” He pointed at the wine. “I stopped at a store in town to pick it up. The guy made several recommendations. I’m not much of a wine guy. I wouldn’t mind learning about it. You probably know something about wine, what with all the wineries around here.”

      As his words swirled around her, she realized he was talking too quickly. Was it possible Finn was nervous, too? The thought made her feel a whole lot more comfortable about the evening.

      “I know nothing about wine,” she said, holding up the bottle. “Except that I usually like it. Come on in.”

      He followed her into the kitchen. She only had to search two drawers before finding the corkscrew. Finn took the bottle from her and made quick work of the cork. She set glasses on the counter and he poured. After they toasted each other, she led the way back into her living room.

      The house was small—two bedrooms—and a rental. Intelligent thinking and her slightly feminist sensibilities had told her to buy a house. After all, she was a professional who could take care of herself. But she was enough of a traditionalist to want to buy her first house with the man she loved. Hence, the rental.

      Finn sat on the overstuffed chair her brother Ethan had talked her into buying. At the time, she’d thought it was too big for the room. Now, seeing Finn in it, she knew her brother had been right.

      “This is nice,” Finn said, glancing around the room.

      “Thank you.”

      They stared at each other, then looked away. Dakota felt disaster looming. She knew she wasn’t much of a dater, and, based on what Finn had told her, he didn’t date much, either. This could be bad.

      “I hope you’re okay not eating meat,” she said quickly. “I’m a vegetarian.”

      He looked slightly trapped, but nodded bravely and said, “Vegetarian is fine.”

      “Oh, great. So you like tofu. A lot of guys refuse to eat it.”

      He swallowed visibly. “Tofu?”

      “Uh-huh. It’s one of my favorite casseroles. Tofu, a special sauce mostly based on green vegetables. Soy ice cream for dessert.”

      “Sounds delicious.”

      She could see the panic in his eyes and couldn’t help laughing softly. “I’m kidding. I made chicken.”

      His gaze narrowed. “Seriously? That’s your idea of fun? Torturing me?”

      “Everyone needs a hobby.”

      He leaned back in his chair and studied her. “You’re not predictable, are you?”

      “I try not to be. Besides, you’re easy.”

      “It was the sauce made with green vegetables that pushed me over the edge.”

      “Not the soy ice cream?”

      “I figured I’d leave early.”

      “Coward.”

      They smiled at each other. She felt the bad tension bleed away and a nice, new boy-girl tension take its place.

      “You grew up with brothers, didn’t you?” he asked.

      “How can you tell?”

      “You’re not worried about my ego.”

      “Interesting observation,” she said, then sipped her wine. “I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. I have three older brothers.”

      He raised his eyebrows. “Six kids?”

      “Yes. I think my mom really wanted a girl. Instead she got three for the price of one.”

      “That had to have been a shock.”

      “I’m sure it was. Apparently having triplets is really hard on the woman’s body. She was in the hospital after we were born. For a while, the doctors were concerned she wasn’t going to make it. My dad had to have been freaked out, and my brothers were really young and missing their mom. Complicating everything was the fact that it was Christmas. To distract them, he told them they could name us, but that all three of them had to agree on the names.”

      She paused and wrinkled her nose. “Which is why we’re Dakota, Nevada and Montana.”

      “Very patriotic.”

      She laughed. “When I used to get frustrated at their choice, my mom would point out that it could have been a lot worse. Apparently Oceania was in the running.”

      “Sounds like a fun family.”

      “It is.” She shifted on the sofa. “What was it like for you? Before you lost your family?”

      “Good. Fun. We were close.” He shrugged. “My brothers are a lot younger than me, which influenced the relationship.”

      “You must have been devastated when your parents died.”

      He nodded. “I was. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. Raise the boys and not screw up.”

      “Be proud of what you’ve accomplished. I don’t think I could have done it. We lost my dad ten years ago. My sisters and I were just out of high school, ready to start college. My brothers were either in college or done. There was nothing for me to do but get through the mourning. And it was hard every day. I can’t imagine having to deal with the emotional loss and raise two younger brothers.”

      Finn looked uncomfortable with the praise. “I did what had to be done. Some days I think I did okay. Others, like when I’m in my hotel room here in Fool’s Gold, I think I screwed up completely.”

      “You didn’t. What they’re doing now has nothing to do with you.”

      He looked at her. “I want to believe you.”

      “Then you should.”

      “You’re bossy. Has anyone ever told you that?”

      “Are you kidding? With three brothers? I have a crown. I’m the queen of bossy.”

      Finn laughed. The warm sound filled the room and made her smile. They