“Date two.”
“Sheesh. What did he do wrong?”
“He, uh, he wouldn’t stop flirting with our waitress during dinner. When I came back from the bathroom, he was asking her for her phone number.”
“Jackass. If I was lucky enough to have dinner with you, I wouldn’t notice anyone else in the room.”
His words send something wild and unwelcome fluttering in my chest, but I breathe in, pretending his comment doesn’t faze me. “What about you, Mr. Faraday? How do you think two people fall in love?”
He shrugs. “Depends on the people. Some people start as best friends and then grow to love each other. For others, it’s love at first sight.”
“You believe in love at first sight?”
“Absolutely.”
“Has that ever happened to you?”
His eyes linger on me a little longer than they should. “Definitely. You should try letting your heart fall in love that way.”
“I did try it that way and—” my voice trails off when that horrible night flashes through my mind. I don’t realize I stopped walking until Duke steps in my path and peers into my face, his hands barely hovering over my shoulders.
“Roxanne? You okay?”
I pull his jacket tighter around my shoulders. “Yes, I … anyway, what you think of love at first sight islustat first sight. It’s your midbrain liking that person’s facial symmetry. You can’t really fall in love until you know if they return shopping carts to the corral.”
His eyes widen. “I’m not sure you really know what love is, Trouble.”
“I know enough to know that it doesn’t happen overnight.”
“Yes, it does.” His voice rolls out like a low rumble of thunder. “Love is wild and startling and takes a hold of you when you least expect it.”
“Sounds like a bout of indigestion.”
My mouth tugs into a smile when he throws his head back and laughs.
“Yep, I guess that’s another way to describe it,” he says. We start walking again, closer now to the lights and low hum of conversation of the others still enjoying the Nook. “You deserved better than whatever man did this number on you.”
I inhale slowly. “He taught me a valuable lesson about prioritizing your head over your heart. I’m better off because of it.”
Even as that last line leaves my lips, I’m not sure I believe it.
“I look forward to working with you,” I continue. “But let’s be clear, this …the tension, the staring, the bickering … It’s… it’s a distraction. For both of us.”
“I agree,” he says.
“It’s best if we do keep things professional.”
“And you think that’ll work?” he asks.
“I need it to,” I say. “My job is on the line. We need to work together and …” My words evaporate into the night as his eyes pin me in place. Damn this man and his stare. I talk a good game, but my defenses are no match for his handsomeness and his forearms. I shake my head. “… and I need to stay focused on what I came here to do.”
Something shifts in his expression. It’s not quite a smile, not quite a frown, it’s acknowledgment. He nods once. “Professional it is.”
Allie spots us emerging from the forest. She waves and then quickly turns her heart eyes back to Topper. Leo is deep in conversation with Georgia. Rusty sits at the table with another older gentleman with tattoos on his forearms.
“Goodnight, Mr. Faraday.” I peel the jacket off and hand it to him.
“Goodnight, Tr—Ms. Denning.”
