He didn’t want to talk about bridal fairs or even wedding arches. He wanted to reinforce what he’d said to Kayla the day before about never getting back with his ex-wife. Mitzi needed to understand that for him to ever be able to ask her out on a date—and that’s what he really wanted to do.

She laid out the plans on the porch. “So we build a frame, then cover it with lattice, right?”

“Yes,” he said. “I did some research and found out that it should be about seven feet tall and five feet wide, but with your model being a big woman, I thought we’d make it bigger.”

I want to ask you out on a real date, he thought.

“That sounds good. What can I do to help?”

“First we build a base for it to sit on,” he said.

Maybe a movie or a play in Dallas after we have a romantic supper.

“It doesn’t have to be really well finished. We’ll be using a lot of flowers and greenery on it,” she said.

I wonder if maybe it would be easier if we did something like a picnic with the girls at first.

“I’ve already sawed the boards for the base,” he said. “I thought we’d make it in five pieces. The two bases, the sides, and then the arched top. That way after the bridal fair, we could take a few screws out and store it flat.”

I’m going to ask her to go out on my pontoon boat before she leaves here today.

He picked up a board and carried it to the chop saw he’d set up on the porch. “If you’ll hold that end and keep it steady, I’ll take a foot off the other end.”

In an hour they had the framework done and the plastic lattice cut to size and bent over the whole thing. She sat down on the back porch and leaned against the porch post. Sweat stuck her hair to her face and forehead, and her arms glistened with moisture.

Dammit again! He should have stopped working halfway through the job and offered her another beer or at least a bottle of water. He was failing miserably as a gentleman.

“I have a pontoon boat,” he blurted out as he sat down beside her. “The girls have been begging me to take it out. Want to go with us next Sunday after church? You can invite Harry and Fanny Lou and Paula and Jody if you want.” He held his breath, waiting for her to say something.

“That would be fun,” she said slowly.

“Want a drink of something?” Lord, nothing he said came out right. “I mean . . .”