“Dinner is served, madam,” he said, carefully sliding the box onto the table. “This,” he added, holding the bag aloft, “is our dessert.”
Someday, maybe, hopefully, you’ll get your just dessert for being such a rogue, Hannah thought, but simply asked aloud, “What do you want to drink to go with it?”
“Beer?” he asked.
“Yes.” She turned to the fridge.
“Beer with the pizza, and coffee with dessert.”
Her stomach twitched in protest. Wishing he hadn’t mentioned her previously favorite beverage, Hannah took a can of beer from the fridge and moved to the table to reach for the glass at his place.
“I don’t need a glass,” Justin said with a dismissive wave of his hand, popping the top while seating himself in the chair opposite hers. “Sit down and serve the pizza.”
Starting to seriously resent his assumed right to order her around, Hannah fixed him with a fuming look. “You know, you could have served it while I was getting your beer.”
“No, I couldn’t,” he said with a smile, indicating the box with a nod of his head. “The opening’s in front of you. And in case you haven’t noticed, the lid’s taped shut.”
Hannah couldn’t decide if she wanted to laugh at his obvious teasing, or toss her glass of water at him. She did neither. Drawing the box closer, she broke the paper tape and lifted the lid.
The delicious aroma hit her first, making her almost groan with hunger. Then two other factors struck her, making her gasp in surprise. The large crust had been worked into a heart shape, and the words, Sweet Hannah, had been formed with small slices of pepperoni.
She laughed with delight. It was the strangest, most wonderful Valentine’s gift she had ever received. “Wherever did you get this?” she asked.
“The pizzeria a couple of blocks down. I told the counter man what I had in mind. Turns out, he owns the place and he smacked his hand against his forehead and said, and I quote, ‘Why didn’t I think of that? I coulda made a bundle.’ I told him to keep it in mind for next year.” He grinned. “Are you ever going to serve it?”
Hannah pulled a sad face. “Must I?”
“Only if you want to eat…and don’t want me to starve to death at your kitchen table.”
“Well, in that case, I suppose I’d better.” Laughing, if rather weakly, Hannah scooped up a slice and slid it onto his plate. “May I ask what gave you the idea in the first place?” she said, serving herself a slice.
“Hmm.” Nodding, Justin murmured around the big bite he’d taken into his mouth. “I came up with the idea when I decided I wasn’t in the mood to stand on line at a restaurant, at a candy store or a florist,” he said after swallowing. “Hey, this is pretty good.” He followed that with a swig of beer. “And I wasn’t in the mood because I was tired after driving around since early this morning.” He took another big bite.
Ready to bite into the slice she had served herself, Hannah paused, unable to resist asking, “Why have you been driving since early this morning…and where?”
Before responding to her questions, Justin polished off his slice and held his plate out for another. His hesitation wasn’t because he was that hungry, although he was, but because he was carefully choosing the words of his explanation.
“Actually, I’ve been driving around for two days. I flew into Baltimore the day before yesterday.” Justin couldn’t miss the tightness that stiffened Hannah’s spine, so he rushed on. “I picked up my rental car, checked into a hotel, then went to keep an appointment with a real estate agent.”
She frowned. “Here? In Baltimore?”
“Yes. You see, I’m doing some scouting for Adam. We’re thinking of investing in a horse farm here in the East, to breed Thoroughbreds. The agent found farms available in several states and set up appointments for me.”
“What states? And why here in the East?” she asked, frowning.
“Maggie told me there were a lot of horse farms out here.” He answered her second question first.
“Well, Maggie should know,” Hannah said. “She was born in Berks County.”
Justin nodded. “So she said. She suggested Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.” He polished off a third slice of pizza, grinning as he again held out his plate to her.
Hannah shook her head as if in disbelief of his capacity for food, but slid another slice onto his plate.
He plowed on. “I started in Virginia, where there were two possibilities. From there I drove into Maryland, where there were three. I stayed in a motel in Pennsylvania last night and got an early start this morning. I toured one in Lancaster County, another two in Bucks County, and the last one in Berks, in the Oley Valley.”
“Oh, I’ve been there,” Hannah said, patting her lips with a paper napkin. “My assistant is a dedicated antique-shop crawler. I go with her every so often, and one time she drove through the valley, to Oley Village, I guess that’s what they call it. It’s not very big, but charming.”
“I didn’t get to see the village or town, or whatever it’s called. But the valley is beautiful, even in winter. And the property I looked at has definite possibilities.” He arched a brow, wondering at the tiny, wistful smile that quirked her lips. “I’m ready for my coffee now.”
“Of, of course, I forgot,” she said, sliding her chair back and rising. “What’s for dessert?” she asked, moving to the automatic coffee unit set on the countertop.
“You’ll see,” Justin answered, puzzling over her odd expression as she prepared the coffee. His puzzlement deepened as she filled a red enamel teakettle then put it on to boil and took a flower bedecked porcelain china teapot from the back of the stove and a box of teabags from the cabinet. She placed a couple of bags in the pot.
“You’re not having coffee?” He didn’t try to hide the surprise in his voice; he had firsthand knowledge of her passion for coffee…among other passions. He had to turn his mind to something more mundane when he felt his body stir in reaction to the sensual direction of his thoughts. “What’s with the teapot?”
Hannah gave a careless shrug of her elegant shoulders. “I’ve developed a liking for green tea lately,” she said, not looking at him as she concentrated on pouring the now boiling water into the teapot. “It’s supposed to be very good for you, you know.”
“Not for me,” Justin said dryly. “I’ll stick with my coffee…and beer.”
“Well, here’s your coffee,” Hannah said, in a strangely choked voice. She set the steaming mug on the table, before going to the fridge for milk.
“Thanks,” Justin said, pondering her odd behavior; Hannah had held the mug out in front of her as if she was afraid it would attack her. Weird. He took the carton of milk she handed him, and watched her as she returned to the countertop for the teapot and a mug.
“I don’t understand,” she said, obviously avoiding his gaze, as she carefully poured the pale tea into the mug. “Why would Adam be interested in another horse farm for the company, when you already have the ranch?”
“At the ranch, we breed and train Morgans, primarily for the rodeo circuit. And, as I already mentioned, we’re thinking about branching out, breeding and training Thoroughbreds.”
She took a delicate sip of her tea, grimaced, set down the mug and added sugar. “How many more farms are on your schedule to look at? Any other states?”
“No more states, no more farms,” Justin said, singeing his tongue. “Damn, that’s hot, I felt it burn all the way down,” he added, reaching across the table for her half-full water glass. “Do you mind?” His hand hovered above the glass.
Hannah shook her head. “Help yourself.”
Justin did, soothing the sting with a gulp of the cool water. “I’m scheduled to fly out of Baltimore on the red-eye tomorrow night.”