Page 30

It didn’t take long for her to realize they were attracting attention.

A woman at one table stopped, fork halfway to her mouth. Two men did a double take as she passed, and an older gentleman openly turned in his chair to watch her go by. Amanda kept her chin high and pretended not to notice any of them. She’d brought every bit of this on herself.

Grady, however, either genuinely didn’t notice or didn’t care. His hand remained at her back as they crossed the restaurant. When the hostess led them to a table along the wall, he thanked her, then pulled out Amanda’s chair.

That irritated her far more than the staring.

He was supposed to be embarrassed, dammit.

Instead, he waited until she was seated, then took the chair across from her as though his date wasn’t wearing enough blue eyeshadow to paint a small bedroom.

Amanda shrugged out of the leopard-print jacket and draped it over the back of her chair. He accepted the menus from the hostess, thanked her again, and handed one across the table.

She opened it and immediately found enough beef to feed half of Wyoming. Steaks dominated the menu, along with prime rib, ribs, burgers, chicken, and a few token fish dishes for anyone foolish enough to wander into a place called The Branding Iron without wanting red meat.

“Remember, there’s no pressure to order steak, but it’s really good here.”

She slowly lowered the menu until she could see him over the top. His expression gave nothing away, but the glint in his eyes did. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

His immediate confident response caught her off guard. Before she could come up with a suitable comeback, their server arrived to take their drink orders. He ordered a beer, while Amanda chose iced tea, figuring she needed all her faculties intact if she planned to survive an entire evening with him.

Once they were alone again, she studied the menu with far more concentration than it required. She could feel him watching her and refused to give him the satisfaction of looking up.

“You seem awfully sure of yourself, Sheriff.”

“I have evidence to support my theory.”

That got her attention. She lowered the menu again. “What evidence?”

He leaned back in his chair and began ticking items off on his fingers. “A cow, a buzzing bee, a pig, an emu, a water gun...” His gaze swept over her teased hair, then dropped before returning to her face. “And whatever the hell all this is.”

Amanda pressed her lips together, determined not to smile. “Maybe this is how I always dress for dates.”

“Then I’m honored you broke out the good body glitter for me.”

The laugh escaped before she could stop it, and she immediately scowled at him for making her lose control. His grin widened, but at least he was smart enough not to gloat.

Their server returned with the drinks, and Amanda used the interruption to regain some dignity. By the time the young woman asked if they were ready to order, she’d decided.

“I’ll have the ten-ounce rib eye, medium rare, baked potato with everything, and a house salad with ranch.”

Across the table, his eyebrows rose, and Amanda knew exactly what he was thinking. Apparently, the man wasn't going to let her forget that unfortunate encounter with a cow anytime soon.

“Go ahead. Say it.”

He took a sip of his beer, but she caught the smile he tried to hide behind the bottle. “Just surprised you went with the steak.”

“Why? Because of one little run-in with a cow?”

“Little?”

She kicked his shin under the table.

“Ow!” He jerked his leg back, laughing as she calmly picked up her iced tea. “Violence on a first date? Pretty sure that’s a red flag, Sparks.”

“Arrest me.”