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“What is it?” I asked

“Did you cook all this?” she asked

“I did”

“Is that bread from scratch?”

“Yes,” I said, grinning

“You didn’t make this You had someone make it for you”

“I swear, Ias I spread lass of wine I held it up to make a toast, and Ava quickly scrambled for hers She was adorable, delectable, delicious in all the right ways My eyes connected with her soft blue stare before they traveled along the skin of her neck

My teeth were begging to taste her

“To a wonderful evening in and good conversation,” I said

“It’ll be the first time that second part has happened,” she said

I laughed as we clinked glasses Then we each took a sip She dove into the food and piled it on her plate, unashamed of her appetite I liked that in a woman, someone asn’t afraid to eat The silence that fell between us was comfortable, but I didn’t want it to stay like that I wanted to get to know her

“Tell me about your family,” I said

“Hmm?” Ava asked

“Your family Are you close with them?”

She slurped a noodle through her lips before she giggled and wiped mouth with her napkin

“Um, well, yes, I am”

“Did you grow up around here?”

“Have we never talked about this stuff?” she asked

“We haven’t, no”

“Because it feels like we’ve talked about this stuff”

“We’ve talked about everything but this stuff”

She giggled, and the sound put a large smile across my lips

“Well, in that case, no I didn’t grow up around here I actually grew up in Virginia on a farm”

“Oh, really? A farirl? Hoas that?” I asked