“Hmm. I’m sure you did well.”
He sucks in air through his teeth, bending to pick up her car seat. “Yeah. You heading out now? My car is in Lot E.”
“The shuttle is on the other side. I’ll be fine,” she says, gesturing toward Lucy. “Get her home. You don’t need to walk me.”
He exhales, stepping forward. “You’re not taking the shuttle, I’m giving you a ride, and I’m not taking no for an answer, Jones.”
“Roman—” she starts to protest, but before she can finish her thought, he grabs her bag and walks out the door. “No—hey?—”
“I’ll be in the car,” he calls over his shoulder, moving out the door.
She stands in the office, tapping her foot, wondering if she really needs her bag. After remembering her keys to the house are in there, she follows after him, something unfurling within her chest.
CHAPTER 19
MOTHER KNOWS BEST
ROMAN
“Seriously, thank you again. I owe you big time,” Roman says, easing the car out of the campus lot. He adjusts the mirror, watching as Lucy’s head rolls to the side, her lips puffed as she breathes out. He’s trying to distract himself from the fact that Jahlani is in his car.
Finally.
“Roman, please. It was nothing.” She leans back against the headrest, closing her eyes. “Besides, we had a great time. She’s incredible.” Jahlani opens one eye to look at him from the side. “She’s smart. Makes me wonder where she gets it from.”
Roman shakes his head, shifting in his seat as he rolls the car to a stop. “Funny.”
She laughs softly, looking out the window at the darkened streets. The dashboard reads half past seven, and he wonders how he can drag out this ride. His eyes flit to the navigation on his phone.
The streetlights are blown out on some of the roads, making it difficult to see, and he catches her squinting. She leans forward until her nose is pressed against the glass.
“Roman, where are we?” she asks, turning back to look at him. His hands tighten on the steering wheel, and he puts his foot back on the accelerator.
“Made a wrong turn,” he mutters under his breath, not looking at her. “Sorry. We should be there in another … fifteen minutes?”
He watches from the corner of his eye as she chews on her lip, her forehead creasing.
He clears his throat. “Penny for your thoughts?” he asks, glancing over to read her.
She tugs on her bottom lip, smiling. “Nothing. Just thinking about how nice it was hanging out with your daughter today.”
He hits a pothole, and they jerk forward. She turns to him with wide eyes, and he clears his throat again, his hands tightening.
“Shit, sorry. I didn’t see it.” He looks up in the rearview mirror to see if Lucy is still asleep and notices that Jahlani has turned to check on her too.
Fuck.
Jahlani shakes her head, and a strained chuckle escapes her. “Floridians really don’t know how to drive.”
“Guilty.”
“Your poor daughter,” she says, turning to look at her again. “How does she sleep so well?”
“Hey, I’m not that bad—I didn’t see it.”
“Sure,” she says, not sounding convinced as she leans back in the chair. They drift into comfortable silence for a few minutes before Jahlani sits upright, turning to face him.
“Can I ask you something?”
