“Fine. Fine,” I lie as every little nerve ending in my body is screaming at me to touch him or rub my body on him like I’m a cat in heat.
He takes another bite of his burger and groans, closing his eyes as he chews. My fingers curl, my nails digging into the old wood of the tabletop. Damn it. Why am I reacting this way—and in my family’s bar, no less? I’ve seen a man eat before, but it was nowhere near as erotic of an experience.
When Oliver opens his eyes, they land on me. I jolt in my chair, my hands flying to my burger because I need to put food in my mouth to stop myself from saying something completely embarrassing.
“So good,” I say around a mouthful of burger.
Oliver nods, jamming a few fries into his mouth. They’re great too. The fresh-cut ones that have crispy bits on the ends of the skinny fries. I could eat an entire plate of them with a side of cheese sauce every day of my life and never get sick of them.
When my gaze moves over Oliver’s shoulder, Aunt Daphne and Dad are staring at us.
Oh boy. This isn’t good.
I’m sure she opened her mouth and told him about the upcoming and unplanned camping trip. I’ll hear about this later, but what can Dad say? He can’t tell me Oliver is dangerous because the man literally saved my life today.
I can’t stop glancing in their direction as I keep eating and trying to carry on a normal conversation with Oliver. Before I have the last bite on my tongue, my mother comes rushing through the front door of the bar.
“Where is she?” Ma says, gasping for air like she ran a marathon, and she frantically glances around the dining room until her eyes land on me.
Great. Dad must’ve texted her when I wasn’t looking and told her everything that happened.
“My baby,” Ma says, coming in our direction with her arms open. Before I can react, she has her arms around me, burying my face in her chest. “Thank goodness you’re okay.” She rocks from side to side, making my stomach turn with its overstuffed contents.
“Ma, please stop.”
She only tightens her hold on me. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to you.”
“Sweetheart,” Dad says from nearby, but I can’t see anything besides the color of my mother’s shirt. “You’re strangling her.”
“Oh,” Ma says, finally releasing me. “I’m sorry. I was just… Who’s this?”
I blink a few times as my eyes adjust to the light again. “That’s Oliver. He saved me.”
“Stop saying that, Lou,” Oliver says.
“Lou?” Ma’s eyebrows rise as she turns her gaze toward me again.
“He calls you Lou?”
I nod at her. “It’s my name.”
“Your nickname,” she reminds me.
“And if the guy who saved my life can’t use it, who should?”
“Right,” she says with a curt nod. “How can we repay you?” Ma asks Oliver.
I cover my face with a hand and groan. “Ma.”
“What?”
“I have it handled.”
“You do?”
I drop my hand into my lap as I stare up at her. “We’re starting with a burger.”
“And ending with?” she asks, tilting her head with a weird look on her face.
