Читать книгу An Eligible Bachelor - Carolyn Greene, Carolyn Greene - Страница 11

After she’d discouraged Wade from following them into her apartment, she invited Ellis into the kitchen to keep her company while she finished preparing their dinner. She didn’t know what had gotten into her landlord, but she hoped he got over it soon.

“Smells great,” Ellis said as he settled into a chair at the table. “What is it?”

“Roma chicken with rice.” She added the chicken and tomatoes to the sautéed onions and garlic, then covered the skillet. “This needs to simmer a little while. In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your Sunday-school class.”

Just as she’d hoped, the subject was one her date enjoyed talking about, and it made a small headway toward breaking the ice between them. Even so, they were still at that awkwardly polite stage. Perhaps, by evening’s end, once the effects of Wade’s interrogation wore off they’d be more relaxed and better able to enjoy each other’s company. To her dismay, Wade ambled into the kitchen wearing a large grin and carrying a bottle of wine in the crook of his arm. “I noticed you were completely out of wine, so I brought you some to restock.”

Flabbergasted, Geneva could only stammer, “But I don’t…we’re not…”

She didn’t know anything about Ellis’s attitude toward alcohol, but since the communion “wine” at church had actually been grape juice, she thought it safe to assume he didn’t imbibe.

Wade pulled a couple of goblets from her cabinet, filled one, and handed it to Geneva. Then he poured another. “How about you, Elvis? Care for a little conversation lubrication?”

Ellis held his hand palm-out at the proffered glass. “No thanks. I don’t drink.”

Just as she’d thought. She had to get Wade out of here before he managed to offend Ellis further and wind up ruining her chances with this man who seemed to have so much going for him.

“No?” he persisted. Wade reached into his pocket and sidestepped her with a smile full of devious innocence. “Then how about a breath mint?”

Ellis accepted one, and Jacob took three. Great, now he was ruining her son’s appetite, too.

“You have a beautiful home.” Her date was obviously trying to make polite conversation.

“Thank you, Elvis. It’s been in my family for generations.” Geneva could have sworn he stuck out his chest as he launched into a discussion of his family’s farming history. “My father was the first to give up farming for a salaried job.”