“I don’t want you to have to go through a lot of work. Although, I can’t remember the last time someone cooked for me.”
That made her blink, and her eyes shifted to him. She supposed maybe he didn’t typically date the kind of girls that cooked? She wasn’t sure what to think, but she believed him.
“I’m not a super fantastic cook, but I think I can make something that’s edible. Will we do that then? I’ll cook for you, and you’ll introduce me to street racing.”
“I’m not doing any racing myself. I was going to take my bike.”
“Your bike?” she said, surprise lacing her tone. That wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.
He held his hand out, and she looked at it, still slowed by the surprise of him saying something about a bike. She thought maybe he was talking about a motorcycle. But when she meant motorcycle, she said motorcycle.
It took her an extra half second to put her hand in his. And it took her another couple of seconds to enjoy the way that felt. She supposed it might get old. Holding hands. But it hadn’t yet. Not with Blade.
She loved the way her hand felt his, and suddenly, from somewhere, a strange, rogue thought threaded through her head. After they’d been married for fifty years, would she still love holding his hand?
That thought scared her way more than the bike comment.
“Don’t have to. We can take my truck. Looks like it scares you.”
She wasn’t sure, but he looked a little disappointed.
“Oh no,” she said. “I guess you’re talking about a motorcycle?”
His thumb rubbed over her knuckles. Normally, their hands swung between them. But they hadn’t started to walk and were still facing each other in the garage.
She shivered a little. His thumb slid back across, and it did something crazy in her chest. Funny, how he could do something with her hand and make her heart jump.
“Yeah. I don’t want to scare you, but it’s better to go on the bike.”
“Why?”
“If the police show up, they’ll never catch us on the bike. And if we’re wearing helmets, they won’t recognize us either.” He lifted his shoulder. “We’re not going to be doing anything wrong. Just watching.”
Her fingers tightened in his. She’d never done anything that had included thoughts about running from the cops. Right or wrong. The police were the good guys. You didn’t run from them. Because if one wasn’t doing anything wrong, one didn’t need to.
This was all a new mindset for her.
She tried to turn the thought in her head. Was it okay to run from the cops if she wasn’t doing anything wrong?
“You know what, forget it. Let’s just go see a movie or something. I think that’s what normal people do on dates. It was dumb of me to suggest anything else. I guess I just wanted to see how the truck would run, since I put it together.”
He tugged on her hand, and they started out of the garage. He held the door; she walked through. He shut the lights off, closing the door and locking it, and they started up through the parking lot. Toward the sidewalk.
“I’d like to see it, please. I’d like to see the truck you put together.” She had known that going out with Blade, even having a fake relationship with him, would take her out of her comfort zone. This definitely wasn’t in her comfort zone. Wasn’t even in the same state as her comfort zone. Possibly watching street racing was a completely different language than her comfort zone.
But he wasn’t asking her to do anything illegal, and she wanted to be with Blade. Wanted to see his world.
“I was thinking,” he said as they walked along. He seemed to search for words before kicking a stone with his boot and looking off over the tops of the buildings. “Would it embarrass you if I go to church with you on Sunday morning?”
She wasn’t a fast walker, with her limp. Usually, they strolled at a moseying pace. But with those words, she stopped cold.
He stopped almost as fast, attuned to her.
“That’s not something you have to do.” She didn’t know what else to say. She wanted him there, sure. That was probably as much a part of her as street racing was to him. But she didn’t want him to go just to make an exchange for something that she did for him.
“I didn’t figure it was. I wanted to.”
He didn’t say anything more, and she didn’t push it.
They started walking again and made it past the bar without her saying anything.
“You seem to be taking an awful long time to think about this. If you don’t want me in your church, just say so. I can find another one. That’s not the only church in town.”
His words made her smile, and she looked up. Yeah, he was joking.
She was glad her silence hadn’t offended him. “I’d be honored if you go with me. I guess I was just trying to decide if you really wanted to, or if you’re only doing it out of a sense of obligation.”
“That’s funny. Here I was this whole time thinking that you were weighing your parents’ reactions, your father’s in particular, to seeing me beside you in church versus whether or not you really want to go through that.”
She snorted, acknowledging that he had a point. “I can’t really think of too many things my dad would hate more than to see me in church with you. But I think that speaks to his character more than yours.”
“Ouch. That was a pretty big slam on your dad. You don’t have to do that for me.”
“Hey, my dad, like every human, has a sinful nature. He also has good points and bad points. I like to think he’s a really good man. But he has some blind spots. And you’re definitely one of them.”
“I’ll say it again. I don’t want to put you through hell with your family, just because of me.”
They’d reached her steps. And she stopped. Every time he walked her home, he stood on the sidewalk while she walked up the steps and through the door.
But he tugged on her hand tonight, and they took the steps together. He’d bent his elbow, folding her hand with his and tucking her arm against him. Served to give her more balance on the steps, and he walked up slowly beside her. It was such a nice gesture, and one she figured he’d thought about, that it almost made her cry.
They stopped on the stoop in front of her door. He turned to face her.
“Thank you.” She swallowed through her closed throat. “If I go through a hard time with my family because of you,” she said, looking up at him, “it’s okay. Because you’re worth it.”
He shook his head slowly, his expression hard. “You’re the only person in the world that would ever say that to me. I don’t deserve it.” He lifted their joined hands, kissing her knuckles. His lips lingered, and his eyes met hers.
Her body had frozen. Breath. Brain. Everything. If it hadn’t, she would have moved closer. Because it wasn’t her knuckles that she wanted him to kiss.
“Go on inside. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Her eyes fell. As nice as his words were, and even though they’d agreed to a date, and he’d asked to come to church with her, she figured, maybe, all that was just in payment for her agreeing to their fake relationship. Because, obviously, she still wasn’t the kind of girl he wanted to kiss.
Chapter 13
Blade pulled his bike along the street in front of Libby’s house. He parked, knocking the kickstand down with his boot and resting his hands on the handlebars. Just sitting there.
He’d gone out on plenty of dates before. Before his prison time, he’d even taken girls on his bike. But he’d never been with anyone like Libby.
His stomach bucked and dipped, and his neck felt tight and hot. His hands were sweating. And it had nothing to do with the hot Virginia day.
He wanted to show up with flowers. But she arranged flowers beautifully. Seemed kinda silly to bring her some. Not to mention flowers didn’t really ride well. And she probably wouldn’t be thrilled to see flowers from the flower shop that let her go.
That was it. He really didn’t know that
much about Libby.
And honestly, it had been a long time, if ever, since he cared about the impression that he made enough to be this nervous.
Well, he couldn’t sit in front of her house all night. So he swung a leg over, got in the saddlebags for the gift that he had brought, and took a deep breath before walking across the sidewalk to the stairs to her door.
He had his hand raised to knock when it opened. That should ease his nerves some, and it did. She’d heard him, or she’d been watching for him. He wanted to think the latter. But he didn’t ask.
If he’d been watching himself, he would’ve laughed at the awkward way they stood and stared at each other in silence for a few moments. He sure wasn’t acting like a late twenty-something adult, who had plenty of experience in taking girls out.
He could only imagine that this wasn’t Libby’s first date either. But that was something he’d never talked to her about.
He supposed she might get upset if she knew that’s what he’d been thinking. He wasn’t sure why. Other than maybe his attraction to her really shocked him. So maybe, he’d be surprised at other men’s attraction as well, but he knew he didn’t want to go there. He could only imagine she’d get upset. And although he kinda liked it when her cheeks got red or her eyes flashed, he’d prefer it wasn’t at him.
“Hey,” he said, feeling like an idiot. He had lines. Sure he did. But none that seemed right for Libby. Because he didn’t really have any lines that truly said how he felt, and that felt like the way he should be around her. Real.
She smiled at him. Maybe his eyes got a little caught on her lips. He wasn’t an expert, but he didn’t think she had makeup on. But maybe she’d been biting her lips, because they looked a little red.
Her eyes dropped, and he remembered the package in his hand.
“I picked this up for you.”
He wanted to explain to her his thought processes and how he had ended up with that instead of flowers, but his lips weren’t working. He was enjoying watching her face anyway. Because her eyes lit up, and her mouth formed an “O.” They lifted to his with her brows raised, like she was asking if it was really for her.
Made him wonder if maybe his first hunch been right, and she wasn’t used to going out on dates. She definitely acted like she wasn’t used to getting gifts. Or maybe that was just her wonder with the world. She did seem a little innocent, sweet, and special.
She looked back to the package, and he held it up, suddenly nervous.
“Oh my,” she said, putting a hand to her chest. “I was not expecting anything like this.” Suddenly, her eyes got big, and her gaze flew to his. “I didn’t get you anything. Was I supposed to?”
He laughed. “You’re making supper, aren’t you? I think that counts. But no, I certainly wasn’t expecting anything. I think...” He cleared his throat to give himself some time, since he’d never really thought about it. “I think it’s just the guy who’s supposed to bring a gift.” He kinda tilted his head. He wasn’t sure why, but yeah, that’s what he’d always thought. Just the guy needed to bring a gift. “That’s kinda sexist though, isn’t it?”
“Maybe it’s old-fashioned?” Her shoulders lifted, and she took the package from his hand. “I wouldn’t know.”
The questions were right there to ask about her dating history. Certainly, she didn’t have to tell him, but he was curious. She probably would; he couldn’t imagine that she’d say no.
“Oh my goodness.” She lifted the vase he had bought out of the package. “This is beautiful. It looks like an antique.” Her eyes lifted to his.
He nodded. “It probably is. We walk by it every day when I walk you home. I’ve seen you looking in the window and wasn’t sure if you were looking at the vase or not. But it seemed like someone who arranged flowers might like a vase.” His last sentence kinda faded off, because he wasn’t sure of himself. It was funny how Libby brought out all his insecurities.
“I can’t believe you noticed.” She pressed her lips together, and he thought that she was pretty happy with his gift. “You’re right. I’ve looked at it every time we go by, I think. I didn’t realize it had this little etching on it.” Her fingernail pointed at a spot on the vase. He hadn’t noticed it either.
She admired it a little more, seeming to swallow hard. Finally, she looked up.
“I’m cooking steaks for supper. But I didn’t want to put them on the grill until you got here. My sister, Justice, lives with me, but she teaches a class on Saturday nights, and she won’t be home until later.”
He followed her inside and shut the door behind them, thinking it was kind of funny that she seemed to be rambling a little bit. Maybe she was nervous too. Which was weird because they’d spent a good bit of time together, between being at the shop together and walking home.
Normally, Libby wore a skirt or dress pants to work. He knew for a fact that Foster had told her she didn’t need to dress up, but she had said maybe she should do it until they got the contract.
Regardless, she wore jeans tonight, and his eyes followed her as she walked ahead of him. He supposed he should’ve been paying a little bit more attention, because she stopped quickly, and he almost ran into her before he stopped too.
“Oh no!” She stood in the doorway to the kitchen, and he looked over her shoulder. The top of her head came to his chin, and he looked over it easily at the dog that was sitting in the middle of the floor, licking its lips.
“That’s where the barking comes from every time I walk you home.”
Her head moved up and down. Since her elbow was still bent, he assumed her hand was covering her mouth. She spun around. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I really am sorry.”
He meant to hold his hand out, but his hand ended up covering hers and pulling it away from her lips.
“What are you sorry about?” His eyes roved over her face. It was easy to see the distress there. Her wrinkled brow, her pursed lips, her squinting eyes.
“Casey ate the steaks.” She said it like she was announcing that his mother had died.
He could’ve told her she didn’t need be so dramatic; he hadn’t seen his mother in years. But that probably wasn’t the point. It sounded a little calloused anyway.
He had to assume that the mutt sitting in the middle of the floor was Casey. He lifted his brow at the dog. “I’d say they were probably pretty good steaks. Casey looks happy.”
“I don’t think I can joke about this yet.”
“Why not? I kind of think it’s a little funny. Although I want my vase back.”
She snorted. “Stop trying to make me laugh. I need to be miserable for a bit. This is a huge catastrophe. I’m embarrassed.” She covered her face with her hands. “I’ve ruined our date.”
“No, it was Casey that ate the steaks. Unless you had him put you one back for later.” He ran a thumb over her knuckles. “If that’s the way it’s gone down, then yeah, you just keep feeling bad while I look for the steak.”
She snorted again, then she laughed. “All right, you’ve talked me out of it. I’m not unhappy anymore. How can I be miserable when you keep cracking jokes?”
“Well, there’s no point being miserable. We’ll just go with plan B.”
“I like that attitude. Let’s go with plan B.” She nodded decisively.
They stared at each other. She chewed on her lip. Lifted a brow. Shuffled her feet. Finally, she twisted her hand in his, linking their fingers together, and said, “What’s plan B?”
“I suggested it. That was me doing my part. You’re the one that has to come up with it. You need to do your part too. Maybe I’ll let you keep the vase.”
“Excuse me for one second while I take the vase and put it somewhere you can’t get it, because I’m not giving it back to you. You need to quit threatening me with it.”
But she didn’t make any move to walk away, and he was kinda glad about that, because he enjoyed holding her hand.
“I do have baked potatoes. And broccoli.
And I’ve got cold cuts in the refrigerator. If it’ll work for you, we’ll just load the potatoes and have loaded baked potatoes.”
“That works.”
She turned away, and her hand slipped out of his. But he moved with her, and they finished making supper together. Rather than eating at the table, they went outside on the back porch steps. The yard wasn’t large, but it was a nice evening out, and they ate and chatted a little about the shop.
Chapter 14
Maybe there was a reason she hadn’t been asked out on too many dates. Libby couldn’t help but think that that was probably true. Still, she ended up having a good time. Not because of her, of course, but because of Blade.
He’d taken Casey’s eating of the steaks pretty well. He’d been happy with the loaded baked potatoes. She’d enjoyed sitting and talking to him. They didn’t talk about anything deep. There were a lot of questions she had that she’d really like to know the answers to. But that hadn’t seemed like the time. Somehow, the hard questions were always easier to ask in the dark.
Maybe they’d have some time after the street racing, whatever that ended up being.
They’d taken their things in, and he helped her with the dishes. The kitchen was cleaned up and everything put away. It was dark out.
“There won’t be anyone at the dip for another hour or two. Would you like to go for a ride?” Blade asked as she put the last dish away.
“I’d love to.”
“You’ll need a coat.”
“It’s not that cold out.” They’d been outside when the sun had set. “It’s actually pretty nice.”
“It’ll cool down some before we get home. And it’s always cold with the wind on the bike.”
She’d already gone to the closet and grabbed a jacket.
“I don’t have helmets. I hope that’s okay. I meant to bring one for you, but I forgot.”
“For me, but not for you? What makes you think I would wear one if you’re not?”
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