“Damn it. You keep feeding me dinner. The least I can do is offer some lunch.”
Maggie scowled, and he refused to tell her how attractive he found her when she was telling him no.
She got so adamant, a waiter swung by to see if everything was all right.
“It’s not,” Maggie said, glaring at Reggie. The guys at the table behind Maggie gave him the eye. “Because he keeps trying to buy my lunch.”
The guys relaxed and turned back to their food.
Maggie smiled at the waiter. “Which was fabulous, by the way.”
The young guy flushed. “Oh, great. Did you want dessert?”
“Only if I’m paying,” she shot at Reggie.
“Oh, for fu—fudge’s—sake, fine. Bring her the lunch bill, please. And she’ll take the dessert.”
The waiter grinned. “Yes, sir.”
“But I’m tipping,” Reggie told her. Which started another argument.
By the time they’d finished eating and “discussing,” he felt as if they’d crossed a major hurdle. “Hey, was that our first fight?” They walked down the road toward the car.
She laughingly let him open the car door for her. “I guess it was. And you lost.”
He got in next to her and drove them back to his place. “Yeah? How do you figure?”
“Reggie, you don’t have to buy me things. I have my own money.”
“What if I want to?” And he did. Maggie didn’t sit and wait for him to grab the check. She didn’t let him pay for her groceries he was eating. And she got prickly if he even hinted at trying to help her with anything she could do with one hand.
On the opposite spectrum from Amy.
“Reggie, what was your ex-girlfriend like?”
“Amy?” Odd to bring her up since he’d just been thinking about her. “She was like you in some ways. Kind, sweet, pretty.” He smiled at her, and she smiled back. “But she had a tough time raising Rachel.”
“Right. So you helped her out. Maybe buying dinner? Groceries? Some odds and ends?”
“Yeah, sometimes.”
“Did you ever fix her car? Things around the house?” She put a hand on his leg. “I love spending time with you. But I don’t want your money or for you to constantly do things for me.”
“But what if I want to help?”
“Ask me. And if I say no, respect I said no.”
He sighed. “Fine. But I still think you should have let me buy you those earrings. They can be an early birthday present.”
“My birthday is next year.”
“Christmas then.” That was six months from now, which meant he was thinking long term. Would she understand what he meant? He felt her gaze on him.
“Okay. Christmas.”
Good thing he’d bought them when she hadn’t been looking.
Her hand remained on his leg.
