Ryder chuckled, because he got it. Roper had something special. A spark. “He knows it too.”
Charles rolled his eyes. “And you don’t?”
“Oh, I totally do. He’s something else. Tons of personality.” He made sure he was looking good. “You want to go wander?”
“You do realize you’re his twin, don’t you? I was talking about you, Ryder. You look exactly alike.”
“Now you said you could tell us apart…” He had to tease.
“Oh ho! Touche. Well, you pointed out the difference between you already. He knows, you don’t.” Charles opened the door for him. “Shall we?”
“I’d love to. Let’s go play.” He was so ready.
11
Charles had never seen so many cowboy hats in one place. If he hadn’t known this was Connecticut, he’d have sworn he was in Texas. Ryder led him through a vendor fair at the venue with tables and tents that had everything from riding gear to hats to music to food that looked and smelled amazing.
They’d had tacos, which he’d managed to eat without spilling all over himself, and now he was looking at the menu for the adult milkshakes Roper had been talking about.
“Jack Daniels and caramel? I believe we have a winner.”
“Ooh… I want the one with Irish cream and malted milk balls. That sounds like heaven.” Ryder’s dark eyes simply shone.
“All right.” Charles stepped up and ordered himself the salted caramel with Jack, and the Irish cream concoction for Ryder. They were much bigger than he had anticipated and he laughed as he handed a shake to Ryder. “Do people usually finish these?”
“God, I hope not. That’s twice the size of me, altogether!” Ryder grinned wide, and his expression was young, eager. “I do love whipped cream, though.”
“As do I.” He took the straw in his teeth and took a sip, startled for a moment by the sweet, the sharp bite of the whiskey,the cold ice cream, and the warmth from the booze that followed. “Oh, my.”
Ryder glanced up at him, tongue sliding through the whipped cream and chocolate. “Good?”
He hadn’t had enough to drink yet to use the alcohol as an excuse for staring, but he couldn’t help himself. Worse, he was fairly certain Ryder had noticed. “Delicious.” That came out a little thick, so he cleared his throat and tried again. “Extraordinary.”
“I’m glad. You want to try mine? I’ll share.”
“Why not? You can try mine too.” He bent to Ryder’s offered straw and took a sip in as non-suggestive a manner as he could muster. The Irish cream was smoother than his Jack Daniels and the shake tasted more like candy than whiskey. “Ooh. Very smooth.”
He pushed his over, and Ryder leaned close to take a sip.
“Ooh…that’s yummy.” Ryder licked his lips.
“A little more of a bite, right? But the caramel, mmm.” And he was feeling it a little already. Must be all the sugar. That tended to make the buzz stronger. “I saw you admiring the stone in that bolo. What was it? Moonstone? It was lovely.”
“I think so, yes. It’s our birthstone, you know? It’s neater than diamond or the pink one.”
“Is it? That’s very nice. I thought it was a very handsome piece. April babies, hm?”
“Yessir. The twenty-second. Four, two, two.”
“And your twin brothers? When were they born?” He took another sip of his milkshake, and it made him shiver. “Ooh. Strong.”
“Christmas Eve.” Ryder drank deep as well.
“That’s interesting. I always wondered what that was like—being born on Christmas or New Year’s Day or Leap Year.”He wasn’t sure he’d like that, but then again, it was something different. Something that made you interesting to other people.
“When’s your birthday?” Ryder actually sounded interested.
“January 17. I’m a winter boy. Capricorn. Very on the cusp of Aquarius.” He used to know a lot about astrology, but he hadn’t thought about it in years. Had to be the whiskey.