They were still kissing when the elevator doors opened. Feeling a little bit of a blush, she glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see people waiting to get on, but instead she was looking into an enormous living area. A glass wall at the end of the room showed off a spectacular view of the city of Dallas.

“Oh, my!” she gasped.

“I thought you deserved the penthouse,” he said.

She crossed the room and took in the panoramic view in front of her. He slipped his arms around her waist and softly kissed her on the neck. “Like it?”

“Love it.” She was suddenly nervous, unsure. “Graham, I’ve never undressed with the lights on.”

“Then we won’t turn them on, darlin’,” he said as he backed her toward the bedroom. “And if you’re uncomfortable undressing, then I’ll do it for you.” He tugged the shirt up over her head. “I’ve dreamed about this moment since I first walked into your shop.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah, and that, darlin’, is not a pick-up line.”

In the mirror above the desk, she could see a king-size bed. That’s when she kicked off a sandal and shoved the door shut with her foot.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mitzi awoke on Sunday morning and, without opening her eyes, scooted over in the bed to snuggle up to Graham, but a pillow met her body. For a single second, she thought he’d left her without saying goodbye. Then she realized that she was in her own bedroom above the shop and not in that fancy hotel with him.

Both Paula and Jody had been asleep when she’d gotten home the night before, but now she could hear pots and pans rattling downstairs and the buzz of their conversation. They’d want details of her day and night, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to share them just yet, so she lay very still and tried to decide how much to tell and how much to selfishly keep to herself.

After a while, she slung her legs over the side of the bed, stood up, and padded downstairs in her bare feet. “Good mornin’. What’s for breakfast?”

“I’m just finishing up the eggs,” Jody answered. “Bacon is ready and biscuits came out of the oven a few minutes ago.”

“What? No hash browns?” Mitzi joked.

“In the cast-iron skillet already on the table.” Paula pointed. “You remember that sayin’ about the north and south fairy tales?”

Mitzi shook her head. “No, but it’s early. Maybe after a cup of coffee and a hot biscuit, I’ll remember.”

“Folks up north start off a fairy tale by sayin’, ‘Once upon a time’,” Jody said.

“And us southerners start one off by sayin’, ‘You ain’t goin’ to believe this shit’,” Paula said.

“So which fairy tale are y’all about to tell me?” Mitzi asked.