“Oh, I see what you mean.I guess you really aren’t used to small-town life yet, are you?”
“I’m not.”
“Well, you’d better get used to it, because yes, it is always like this.”Her smile faded.“Does it bother you?”
“Hell no.I’m loving every minute of it,” he said with a smile.
~ ~ ~
Jake enjoyed driving the Camaro back around the lake.It was a dream to drive, but he went slower than he normally would have because he wasn’t looking forward to saying goodbye to her.He enjoyed her company, and this afternoon had only reinforced that.
Even though they’d only spent a couple of hours together, and all they’d done was have lunch at the café, he felt as though he’d seen her in many different aspects of her life.Seeing her with Abbie had shown him that she had friends who cared about her.Seeing her with Walt had confirmed what he already knew—not only was she well liked, but it was for good reason.She cared about people and did what she could to help.
And their chat with Cara and Troy had proved the same thing.It was easy to see that she cared—about Cara and about her roommate, Tiffany.He smiled.He hadn’t missed the way she didn’t take all the glory, even though she could have, for fixing Cara’s car the other night.
She looked over at him as he turned onto the old road by the river that led to her apartment.
“What?”he asked when he felt her gaze on him.
“It’s just… where are you going?”
He shot her a quick glance.“I’m taking you home so you can get ready for work.”
He didn’t understand the puzzled look on her face until she said, “I know, but I picked you up, remember?It’s you we should be dropping off at home.”
“Oh, shit.”He felt stupid.She was right—of course she’d come to his place.He gave her a rueful smile.“Sorry.I didn’t think.It doesn’t matter.We’ll get you home, and I can walk from there.”
“Or we can go to your place, and I’ll drive back from there.”
He checked the time on the dash.“We’re already later getting back than we should be.You need to get ready for work.”
“It’s not a problem.I don’t mind.”
“Really, I can walk back to the house.”They were almost to her apartment now, and he pulled up in front of the building and cut the engine.
“All I can say in my defense is that I was too busy enjoying myself—and enjoying your company—to think about practical details like where we were going.”
She reached across and touched his arm.“Aw, thank you.I was the same.It was only when we were almost here that I realized what was going on.I feel bad that you have to walk home, though.”
“It’s okay.You’d better go and get ready for work.I’ll leave you to it.”
He inhaled sharply when he realized they hadn’t made any plans to see each other again.Well, they’d talked about next Saturday night, but…
He turned in his seat to face her.“I had a really good time today, Savannah.Thank you for this.”
She nodded.“I did too.And I know we talked about tomorrow, but I’m not going to be able to make it work.”
“I know.I understand that.I’m glad you’ll get some time with Tiffany.I hope she knows what a good friend she has in you.”
“She does, and it’s very much mutual.But…”
He reached across and curled his hand around the back of her neck.“I know you need to go, but I don’t want to leave us dangling.We talked about next Saturday night—but do you get any nights off during the week?”
She smiled.“I do.I think it’s Wednesday this week.”
“Do you want to get together then?I’d love for us to go to The Boathouse next weekend, but maybe we could get together midweek—just the two of us.”
She leaned in closer as she breathed, “Yes, please.I’d love that.”
