Free Wine Astray: Spirit of the Soul Wine Shop Mystery (A Rysen Morris Mystery Book 1) by K.J. Emrick

thinking,” Josh’s voice said to her, “that we should go out of town for lunch.”
    “Mph,” she said, meaning it to be something very profound and intelligent.  She brushed a hand back through her hair and sat up in bed.  Taking a moment to orient herself, she tried again.  “Josh?  What are you doing calling me at this hour?”
    “I’m calling to ask you out on our date,” he said.
    She growled.  “Josh, I told you to call me tomorrow and I’d see.  Remember?”
    “It’s tomorrow.”
    “What?”  She blinked around her at the darkness.  “It’s night time.”
    “It’s tomorrow.  Twelve-thirty in the morning to be exact.  So, I’m calling.”
    Her first instinct was to strangle him.  Then as she realized what he was saying, she smiled to herself.  It had been a long time since a guy called her in the middle of the night just to talk.  Now, here was Josh, being daring and fun and spontaneous.  All for her.
    “Okay,” she said, shifting up onto her knees and coming more fully awake.  “I’m up.  I can’t believe you’re calling me now.”
    “I couldn’t wait.” 
    She could hear the smile in his voice.  She remembered how expressive his voice could be.  She remembered a lot of things, actually.  “You know I haven’t even agreed to go out with you yet.”
    “You will.  Now.  I know this great Thai place just, like, a half hour away.  I could pick you up from your sister’s shop around noon and that would get us there just after the lunch rush.”
    “Josh.”
    “You’ll love the place, I promise.  So.  Noon?”
    “Josh, I haven’t said yes,” she said again.
    “So say it now.”
    “Josh…”
    “Say it.”
    He was so infuriatingly…cute.  She heard herself giggle and wondered what he was doing to her.
    “Say it with me,” he coaxed.  “Yes.”
    “Josh!”
    “Come on, it’s easy.  Just say, yes.”
    Her heart skipped and she laughed again and threw herself back onto the bed.  “All right, all right!  Yes.  Yes, I’ll go out with you!”
    She clamped a hand over her mouth, reminding herself that she was in a bedroom just down the hall from her sister’s and that she needed to keep quiet or Christina would hear every word she was saying.
    “See how easy that was?” Josh asked her.
    “I still have to ask Beatrice before I go.”  That kind of dampened the mood, but only just a little.  “I’m not going to go out with you anywhere until she tells me if it’s okay with her or not.”
    “Should we call her now?” he asked.
    “No!”  She couldn’t tell if he was serious or not but still she grinned like a teenager.  A teenager just getting to know a boy who wanted to take her out on a first date.  “Listen,” she said, making her voice serious, “I’ll go see Beatrice in the morning.  After that I’ll call you back and then I’ll let you know if you can take me on a date.  All right?”
    “I’ll be waiting.”
    “I’m sure you will.”
    “Right here by the phone,” he said to her, like it was the most important thing in the world.
    “It’s a cell phone, Josh.  You’re always right by your cell phone.”
    “See?  That’s how important this is to me.”
    She rolled her eyes in the darkness and a sudden yawn took over.  “Uh.  I should go back to sleep.  Tomorrow morning’s not going to be easy.  You know.  Talking to Beatrice about whether I can date her ex-boyfriend and all.”
    “Come on,” he said to her.  “It can’t be any tougher than tracking down a thief and wrestling him to the ground, can it?”
    Huh.  She had done that, hadn’t she?  “All right.  If you put it that way.”
    “I’m serious, Ry.  You did something amazing for your sister.  You should consider hiring out your skills.”
    “Whatever.”
    “I’m being serious.”
    She yawned again.  “Right.  Detective Rysen, at your service.”
    “You’re getting a little loopy,” he whispered in her ear.  “Maybe you should go to