eyes, and she barely looked at the menu. She continued to stare out the window in rapt fascination as the waitress came to the table.
The young woman plunked a basket of flaky biscuits and whipped butter down in front of them, and filled glasses with sparkling water flavoured with plump lemon slices. She gave Kane an appreciative once over, then screwed up her face at Laura, who was still looking out the window.
" First iceberg," he cocked a thumb at Laura.
The girl chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Aw, that's no iceberg, love. S'only a bergy bit. We get the odd one here in the harbour. This wee one'll be gone in a couple days. What'll you have, folks?"
Laura 's bottom lip poked out, looking as though her inner-child was mourning the car-sized iceberg its impending doom.
" Laura?" he chuckled softly at her. "What would you like fer yer lunch?" He hated to interrupt her, so much was he enjoying her pleasure.
" Oh," she tore her gaze away from her iceberg to glance at the waitress, then it lingered on Kane. "I'll have whatever you're having."
" Coffee and two bowls of root vegetable soup, please darlin'." The waitress blushed and locked eyes with Laura, fanning her face and winking.
They both laughed at the girl as she made her way back to the kitchen.
" Don't be worryin' now, Spitfire. Ye'll see bigger and better bergs before the day's through."
She smiled and propped her chin on her hand, sighing at the pure white lump plopped in the middle of the harbour like a misshapen blob of whipped cream .
" So tell me about Laura. Besides knittin' fine socks," which were damnably hot but which he was loath to remove, "what else do ye do? What did ye do before ye came to the Rock?"
" Well, there's not much to tell, really. I'm pretty boring."
He quirked an eyebrow and the corner of his lips at her . She looked a little self-conscious then, and he was sorry for it. They had hardly had a moment of discomfort since they had left his farm hours before. Then, strangely, a look of defiance stole across her features.
" I've run away from home."
He waited a beat, and when she didn't elaborate, he quirked the eyebrow again . With that, she blew out a sigh.
" My life had come to a point where I wasn't living it. My boys didn't need me anymore, my job was not fulfilling...I needed a change. I knew I'd love it here, so I left my old life behind and thought I'd see if a new one here would suit me."
" Yer boys? Ye have children?" Jaysus. He hoped he didn't look as shocked as he felt.
Her eyebrows shot up as high as he was sure his had. "Well, yes. I though Jill would have told you."
" Never asked Jill. Wanted t' hear about you from you."
" Oh. Well."
A m ild blush suffused her cheeks, and she smiled softly at him. Ah, that gorgeous smile did stupid things to his gut.
" I have two sons. Kyle is twenty-one, and Kevin is nineteen. Their dad…I…we divorced when they were young. Our agreement was that I raised them, at my insistence, and then when they were finished high school they'd go to live with him. It's worked out well. And with cell phones and the internet, I keep in touch with them just as much now as when they lived under my own roof. Actually, we talk more now than we did then. I think they're missing me, now that I've come here. And I miss them like crazy too. But this was definitely the right thing to do. I love it here, and I was becoming miserable back home. They're going to come out for a visit here once I get a place of my own."
" This'll probably sound like some kind of a line, and I don't mean fer it to, but ye don't look old enough t' have children of that age."
She did look young . And sexy as hell. But he wondered how anyone could leave their children behind, and why marriage was so damned dispensable these days. He wished it didn't, but somehow her admission had brought his rising opinion of her character down a notch. Ah, shite. Who was he to judge? He tried to stuff that niggling sense of disappointment
The young woman plunked a basket of flaky biscuits and whipped butter down in front of them, and filled glasses with sparkling water flavoured with plump lemon slices. She gave Kane an appreciative once over, then screwed up her face at Laura, who was still looking out the window.
" First iceberg," he cocked a thumb at Laura.
The girl chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Aw, that's no iceberg, love. S'only a bergy bit. We get the odd one here in the harbour. This wee one'll be gone in a couple days. What'll you have, folks?"
Laura 's bottom lip poked out, looking as though her inner-child was mourning the car-sized iceberg its impending doom.
" Laura?" he chuckled softly at her. "What would you like fer yer lunch?" He hated to interrupt her, so much was he enjoying her pleasure.
" Oh," she tore her gaze away from her iceberg to glance at the waitress, then it lingered on Kane. "I'll have whatever you're having."
" Coffee and two bowls of root vegetable soup, please darlin'." The waitress blushed and locked eyes with Laura, fanning her face and winking.
They both laughed at the girl as she made her way back to the kitchen.
" Don't be worryin' now, Spitfire. Ye'll see bigger and better bergs before the day's through."
She smiled and propped her chin on her hand, sighing at the pure white lump plopped in the middle of the harbour like a misshapen blob of whipped cream .
" So tell me about Laura. Besides knittin' fine socks," which were damnably hot but which he was loath to remove, "what else do ye do? What did ye do before ye came to the Rock?"
" Well, there's not much to tell, really. I'm pretty boring."
He quirked an eyebrow and the corner of his lips at her . She looked a little self-conscious then, and he was sorry for it. They had hardly had a moment of discomfort since they had left his farm hours before. Then, strangely, a look of defiance stole across her features.
" I've run away from home."
He waited a beat, and when she didn't elaborate, he quirked the eyebrow again . With that, she blew out a sigh.
" My life had come to a point where I wasn't living it. My boys didn't need me anymore, my job was not fulfilling...I needed a change. I knew I'd love it here, so I left my old life behind and thought I'd see if a new one here would suit me."
" Yer boys? Ye have children?" Jaysus. He hoped he didn't look as shocked as he felt.
Her eyebrows shot up as high as he was sure his had. "Well, yes. I though Jill would have told you."
" Never asked Jill. Wanted t' hear about you from you."
" Oh. Well."
A m ild blush suffused her cheeks, and she smiled softly at him. Ah, that gorgeous smile did stupid things to his gut.
" I have two sons. Kyle is twenty-one, and Kevin is nineteen. Their dad…I…we divorced when they were young. Our agreement was that I raised them, at my insistence, and then when they were finished high school they'd go to live with him. It's worked out well. And with cell phones and the internet, I keep in touch with them just as much now as when they lived under my own roof. Actually, we talk more now than we did then. I think they're missing me, now that I've come here. And I miss them like crazy too. But this was definitely the right thing to do. I love it here, and I was becoming miserable back home. They're going to come out for a visit here once I get a place of my own."
" This'll probably sound like some kind of a line, and I don't mean fer it to, but ye don't look old enough t' have children of that age."
She did look young . And sexy as hell. But he wondered how anyone could leave their children behind, and why marriage was so damned dispensable these days. He wished it didn't, but somehow her admission had brought his rising opinion of her character down a notch. Ah, shite. Who was he to judge? He tried to stuff that niggling sense of disappointment
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