Page 29

She fidgets a bit; the way she’s wrestling with her routine is painted on her face. However, eventually she gives a determined nod. “Yeah. I suppose I could.”

Fuck, I hope I’m making the right decision here.

When I invited her to be my plus-one it was purely a friends thing, but after spending a couple hours together, there’s uneasiness that grows in my gut. Like I said, she’s not a charity case; however, the unlikely friendship has formed roots. I want to see her again.

I can’t pin down what exactly draws me to her. If I’m not careful, this curiosity I’ve been indulging in is going to turn into legit attraction. Physically, I find her attractive, obviously. I mean, look at her. However, anything beyond superficial lust is uncharted territory for me. I’ve never had a long-term relationship and don’t intend to start now.

“Hey, should we be getting back?” she asks, slowing down.

I glance at my watch. Weird, I guess we lost track of time. “Yeah, probably. Good call.”

“You gave a nice speech earlier,” she comments when the conversation falls quiet.

“Oh, yeah? What was your favorite part?” I ask, puffing out my chest.

I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure that earned me an eye roll. “When your voice broke like a lovesick teenage boy.”

“Classic. I practiced that.” Not really.

“Actually, it was probably the reactions from your friends. You were quiet in the right places. Funny and heartfelt, even though you have that devil-may-care thing going on.”

I give a low whistle. “That was either a compliment or you’re super into me.”

She scoffs. “You wish.”

I laugh, but when I glance down at her my chest does something stupid.

And I like it.

Normally my work days pass quickly, but today I found myself watching the clock more than normal. A couple hours ago, I received a text from Casper. I thought he was going to cancel, but instead it was him telling me to wear leggings and a long-sleeve shirt. “Clothing you can comfortably move around in.” I asked him to elaborate, but he refused to give me any other clues.

He’s lucky I had fun with him at the wedding on Saturday or there’s no way I’d be agreeing to this. However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit intrigued by his surprise plans. It’s probably something simple like going to the park and grabbing dinner from a café. As soon as my work is finished I clap my laptop shut and take a shower to get ready. I mentally chose what I was going to wear earlier, so I waste no time getting dressed in my leggings, T-shirt, and a long-sleeve thermal layered on top of that. My thoughts continue to race while drying my hair. I’m going out of my comfort zone. I’m taking a chance. I’m socializing. I’m making friends. Even if it’s not a good time, it’ll make Rhys happy and maybe get him off my back a little.

“You’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask, as he crosses in front of his car to get to the passenger door before I can get to it. I’ve never had a guy open my door for me, but I was under the impression that it was a dating thing, not a friend thing.

“Thank you,” I tell him, taking a seat and grabbing the seat belt from behind my shoulder.

He shuts the door and I keep an eye on him as he rounds the front of the vehicle to his side. Casper is very attractive—okay, he’s fucking hot. It was a challenge to not stare at him at the wedding. The tattoos, the suspenders, the suit. Jesus Christ.

We leave the cities until we’re in a more rural area.

“Seriously, where are we going?” I ask. “Oh God . . . You’re going to murder me, aren’t you?”

He chuckles. “Hell no, you still have a few more sessions for the piece on your back. I’m at least going to wait until your last payment clears.”

I continue gazing out the passenger window at the fields passing by. Eventually an airfield comes into view and he turns down the frontage road toward it.

I sit up straighter. “What are we doing?”

“We’re going skydiving.”

My stomach plunges; there’s no way I heard him correctly. “Am I watching you skydive?”

“No, you’re going to go with me.”

My voice comes out in a shriek. “What?”

He chuckles. “Come on, it’s going to be fun.”