“You know you’re not responsible for me,” she pointed out, poking him in the chest with her finger. She missed his chest and got him in the neck.
“You’re shit-faced by noon because of me.”
“Yeah, but also Griffin stupid Gentry. Hepropelleredme. As if I would ever consider going anywhere near his penis again.”
“I’m going to murder him,” Nick announced.
Riley snickered. “You’re cute when you’re mad. But you shouldn’t be mad all the time. It’s not good for your internal organs and stuff.”
He took a deep breath and blew it out.
“Are you trying to be patient with me?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“That’s also very cute. I’m getting less mad at you by the minute. Wait a second. Did your mind tell me you love me?”
He shrugged. “Probably. Because I do.”
Jasmine abandoned her businessman and spun around to make a close-mouthed squeal that drew attention from all corners of the restaurant. “He looooooves you. He wants to make dimpled babies with yooooooou.”
“Well, they don’t have to have dimples. That’s not a requirement,” Nick said.
“Jas?”
“What?”
“Did Nick Santiago just say he loves me and would be willing to make dimpled babies with me if I wanted to?”
“Yep!”
“And is he also looking super cute but also red like a tomato?” Riley and Jasmine leaned in to examine his face more closely.
“Wow! He is really red. I think he’s blushing,” Jasmine decided, poking him in the face with her finger.
“Okay. Let’s get you two home before you embarrass yourselves instead of me,” Nick grumbled, pulling out his wallet.
“He’s buying our drinks! That’s romantic,” Riley said with a lusty sigh.
“Wait. If he loves you, do you love him?” Jasmine asked.
“Of course I do,” she scoffed as Nick’s head snapped up. “I just didn’t want to tell him until he had more time to get comfortable with the idea.”
“You should totally tell him now,” Jasmine decided.
“But what if he thinks it’s because I’m drunk? Like people say a lot of stupid things when they’re drunk.”
“You mean like five minutes ago when you said you wished Santa Claus was real so you wouldn’t have to do your own Christmas shopping?”
Nick rolled his eyes.
Riley shook her head. “That wasn’t stupid. That was smart.”
He pocketed his credit card, apologized to the bartender, and guided them out of the restaurant.
“We should go do karaoke right now!” Jasmine announced.
“Yes! Nick, can you sing any Spice Girls songs?” Riley asked, leaning heavily against him. She felt much happier than she had just a few minutes ago. Her boyfriend was being an overprotective idiot because he loved her. She’d tell him she loved him when the timing was better and she wasn’t burping up tequila.
