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thighs. “Yes, someplace very good.”
    His eyes narrowed a bit, making her wonder if he guessed her naughty thoughts. “Tell me about it. I like good places, too.”
    “Would you like more coffee?” she asked, hoping to divert him to another subject.
    His eyes narrowed even more. “Why do I get the feeling you don’t want to tell me what you were thinking?”
    “You’re way too suspicious, do you know that?”
    “Not suspicious, just curious.” He propped his folded arms on the table and leaned forward. “So share with me. Especially if it was something dirty.”
    He bobbed his eyebrows, which made Julia laugh. She had the feeling that’s exactly what he wanted her to do. “Sorry, no dirty thoughts.”
    “Damn. You just burst my bubble.”
    “I’m pretty sure you’ll survive.”
    He gave her a devilish grin before leaning back in his chair. His relaxed position made his shoulders look even broader. “You kept steering the conversation back to me over dinner. It’s your turn to tell me all about you.”
    “I thought guys like to talk about themselves.”
    “I get tired of talking about myself. I want to know more about you.”
    Julia glanced at his empty coffee mug. “If I’m going to bore you with my life story, you’ll need something stronger than coffee.”
    “I won’t be bored, and I’ll drink whatever you’re having.”
    Deciding Merlot would be appropriate for soul-baring, Julia carried their dishes to the sink and removed two wineglasses from the cabinet. Stephen appeared beside her as she removed the corkscrew from one of the drawers.
    “I’ll open it for you.”
    Accepting his offer, she handed the corkscrew to him before choosing a bottle from the wine rack at the corner of the counter. He looked at the label first, then proceeded to remove the cork from the bottle. She watched his hands as he did so, noting his sure, efficient movement.
    He’d be an incredible lover.
    Julia held the glasses while Stephen filled them half full. After she handed one glass to him, he took her hand. “I vote for getting comfortable.”
    He led her from the kitchen to the living room. Julia curled up in a corner of the couch. Stephen sat and turned toward her, one leg resting on the couch. The lamp behind her cast a golden light across his face. The inside of a person mattered more than the outside, but Julia had to admit she liked Stephen’s outside very much.
    “Why the Forest Service?” he asked after taking a sip of wine.
    “I love the outdoors. I’d rather be outside than inside. Working for the Forest Service gave me that opportunity.” She tilted her head. “Why a roofing company?”
    “Nuh-uh,” he said, waving one forefinger back and forth. “We’re talking about you now. Tell me about where you worked.”
    “I worked out of the Eldorado office in Placerville. That’s about fifty miles east of Sacramento on Highway 50. It was a gorgeous area to work with lots of pine trees and rolling hills. I loved it.”
    “What did you do?”
    “I worked in the fire and fuels program. I studied how fire behavior affects fuel types and conditions.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Probably sounds boring.”
    “Not at all. I want to know more.”
    Julia doubted if he wanted a blow-by-blow account of what she’d done daily, so veered off in another direction. “My boss was a woman, but I worked with mostly men. They were a great bunch of guys.”
    “If you liked your job and your coworkers, why did you leave?”
    Telling him about Cole and the accident would put a huge damper on an evening she’d enjoyed very much. She didn’t want anything to destroy her and Stephen’s date. “Several reasons that added up to needing a change.”
    An emotion flashed through his eyes, but it disappeared so quickly she couldn’t put a name to it. “No problem. I understand.” He swirled the wine in his glass, took a healthy sip. “So tell me something crazy you’ve done.”
    Laughter bubbled past her lips