His words had the butterflies in her tummy fluttering again. “What about you?” she asked.
“Pretty similar, only with three times the siblings.”
“Holy shit! Six siblings? Are you the oldest?”
She’d looked up to talk to him, so she caught the disapproving frown he sent her way. “What did you just say?”
“Oh.” Heat crept up her neck and she looked down at the paved walkway in front of them. “Sorry, sir. Bad habit.”
“Yes, it is. Though I’m sure I can help you break it.”
“Nanny J has tried,” she admitted with a shrug. “I just learned not to say those words in front of her.”
“Well, that’s something we’ll discuss later. To answer your question, no, I was actually smack in the middle of the seven of us.”
“Geez. That must have been hard.”
“We made it work. We fought a lot. I swear we kept our local hospital in business,” he said with a wry grin.
“How many of each?”
“My mom only got one girl out of the deal. She thought she was done after my sister, but then the twins came.”
“Your poor mother. My brothers were enough trouble, I can’t imagine having six of them!”
“She’s a saint.”
If she’d ever wondered what absolute adoration sounded like, it was right there in Connor’s voice when he spoke of his mother. “Does she know you work here?”
“Of course. They were all a little confused at first, and I had to answer about a billion and one questions about my lifestyle, but now it’s just my job.”
“That’s nice.”
“It is. What about your family?”
“They know I moved to a Ranch, but they don’t really know anything about it. I’ve been pretty vague on the details.”
“And they’re okay with that?”
“My parents are… free spirits,” she said with a laugh. “All that matters to them is that I’m happy. And I think they’re honestly just relieved I’m not with Brady anymore.”
“Brady?”
Crap on a cracker. She hadn’t meant to bring him up so soon. That was third or fourth date conversation. Or never, if she’d thought she could get away with it. “Brady is my ex. My last Dom before I came to the Ranch.”
“Ah.”
Part of her wanted to press him on that heavy sounding “Ah” but she preferred to just drop it. They’d reached his house by then, and Connor opened the front door, escorting her into a cozy little bungalow. The furniture and decorations – what few he had – were a little too masculine for her tastes, but the space was undeniably his.
“Dinner will be another half hour or so. Would you like a glass of wine while I make the salad?”
“Yes, please.”
She followed him into the kitchen, and a low moan escaped at the unmistakable scent of his lasagna filling the space. “That smells amazing.”
Chuckling, he handed her a glass of red wine, which she gladly accepted. Anything to help calm her jumping stomach and jittery nervous system. The tart liquid was smoother than what she was used to, and not nearly as bitter. “This is delicious.”
“Make sure you tell Derek that. I think he has a small coronary every time I place a wine order,” he said with a broad grin.