Chapter Sixteen
Wren thought about giving Jeff a call after she was finished negotiating with Mike, her agent, and Eve at the studio, but surprisingly, she felt…exposed.
How had Jeff been able to recognize the deep dark thoughts that were reflected in the song she wrote?
She’d go back to the hotel and spend some time in the hot tub, Wren decided after saying goodbye to Eve, who’d be there with Jeff at the studio at nine the following morning. Maybe she’d watch a movie later after deciding which songs she’d like to start working on recording beginning tomorrow. She’d spent most of the afternoon running through her music for the album and was satisfied with her selections.
But right now, she was kind of hungry.
Since there was a small kitchen in the suite, maybe she’d just stop at the grocery store in town and pick up a few things for the week.
Better than constantly ordering room service or having to watch the time so that she wouldn’t run into a lot of people if she ate in one of the Inn’s restaurants.
Ten minutes later, she pulled into the grocery store parking lot. It wasn’t too busy, she was relieved to discover when she pulled into a space that wasn’t too far from the entrance.
Pulling out a small notepad from her purse, she made a short list of snacks along with some items she’d be able to microwave depending on the selections available.
Until she’d begun traveling cross country and had decided she was better off having food and drinks available in her SUV in coolers, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d even been in a grocery store on her own. Grinning, she separated a shopping cart from the others as she walked inside, rolling it ahead of her as she reached for bread, crackers and any other items that would be easy to leave in the SUV if she didn’t want to haul everything up to her suite tonight.
Grudgingly, she threw a lot of healthy snacks into the basket. She desperately needed to start working out again. Surprisingly, her legs hadn’t been cramping up, but it would more than likely happen if she didn’t get back to her routine.
Suddenly, someone banged a grocery cart into hers.
Ready to apologize and move on, even though it wasn’t her fault, she looked up.
And blinked.
“I swear. I run into you everywhere,” Jeff said dryly.
Wren snorted.
“You’re the last person I expected to see at the grocery store,” he said.
“Well, room service isn’t open around the clock, and I don’t really know the best places to eat where I can remain invisible. I’m pretty sure it’s going to get old having to wait until the Inn’s restaurants aren’t busy to sneak in a meal, so I thought I’d pick up a few snacks and breakfast items along with some bottled water and coffee when I noticed last night that the suite had a small kitchen.”
He nodded his obvious understanding. “I’m stocking up myself. Maybe you can point out some of the things that you like to eat while you’re here.”
“I could do that. I’m not a half bad cook either.”
“Good to know,” he answered. “I’m okay with stuff like hamburger helper but grilling out is my specialty.”
She grinned. “Sounds good.”
Another fifteen minutes later, they were finishing up when Jeff suddenly asked, “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“No. In fact, that’s why I decided to stop off here.”
“You could have ordered room service.”
“I know, but that kind of gets old fast, even though the food seems to be great at the Inn.”
“Want to go out and eat with me now? We could stop off at the Crystal Rock Tap. I think you’d like the food there too. It’s a pretty popular place, but it’s getting late and it’s the beginning of the week, so it won’t be too busy. Plus, the lights are kept down low inside.”
“Sounds like the perfect place,” she answered. “I am feeling hungry. I haven’t eaten anything since the hot dogs.”
“You’ve got to be starving,” Jeff muttered, frowning. “Wait a minute. I’ve got a lot of frozen food. And you’ve got cheese and milk. We probably shouldn’t leave everything unrefrigerated too long.”
She shrugged. “I’ve got a couple of large coolers in the back of my SUV that I bought for my cross-country trip. All we need is a bag of ice. That should get us through dinner.”
“Alright. You wait in line, and I’ll go get the ice,” he said, heading past the checkout lane to the large freezer near the door.
Another twenty minutes later, Wren was following Jeff’s truck into the parking lot of the Crystal Rock Tap.
He stood waiting when she stepped out of her SUV, and they made their way together through the parking lot to the restaurant entrance.
Ten minutes later, they were seated in a cozy corner booth, ordering dinner.
For a moment, Wren felt like she was on an actual date with a guy she was crazy about.
She’d dated a lot of different guys, while vacationing or performing in some of the most dazzling and beautiful locations in the world.
And it was puzzling, how a small intimate dinner like this could mean more to her than any other date she’d ever been on.