He was all smiles when he pulled back. “Now, enjoy the tour. I think this is going to be a good one.”
It didn’t matter if it was going to be a good one or not. The night was already a winner simply because we were together. “Bring it on.”
WE’D HAD A LATE LUNCH IN ANTICIPATION OFthe tour, but we were both famished once we were finished. I was ready for cocktails and food. The tour had been amazing, my favorite one yet.
“How do you feel about Mexican?” he asked as we surveyed the offerings. Jalapeños Mexican Grill was just across the road.
I nodded without hesitation. “Let’s do it.”
He held my hand to cross and didn’t let it go until we’d been seated at one of the tables with bright-red chairs. Selecting food was easy. I always got the same thing at Mexican restaurants.
“Steak fajitas,” I said to the server. “I’ll have the paloma margarita as well.” When I looked up, I found Brody watching me with unreadable eyes. “What? Why are you looking at me that way?” I immediately rubbed my finger between my front teeth, worried that there was something stuck there.
“Do you ever get anything other than fajitas when eating Mexican?” he asked.
I sighed. “No, but I really love fajitas.”
He didn’t give me a hard time about it. He just laughed. “I’ll have the monster margarita—I think I’m going to need it—and the combination plate with the chicken burrito, beef taco, and chicken enchilada please.” Once the server was gone, he focused on me. “Maybe we should make it a goal to go out to a restaurant once a week and during that outing, youhaveto try something new.”
I frowned. “What if I don’t like the new thing?”
“Then you can order something else.”
“That seems like a waste of money.”
His frown grew deeper, to the point where I averted my gaze. He could read me too well. He would understand that even though I didn’t need to worry about money the way I had when I was a kid, I still did. This whole career could dry up without me having any control over it. That was a fear I couldn’t get past. He didn’t immediately speak, which meant he was thinking things through.
I took advantage of his distraction and pointed. “Isn’t that your superfan?”
I honestly didn’t think it was her at first, just somebody who looked like her. Then I realized it really was Blair and darted my eyes back to him so I wouldn’t inadvertently make eye contact with her. “Don’t look,” I hissed.
It was too late. He was already looking over his shoulder. He did make eye contact with Blair. She seemed as surprised as I felt when she registered who was in the restaurant with her.
“Oh, crap,” Brody muttered as he jerked his chin back so he was facing me. “What are the odds?”
That was a good question. The server who had just left our table was at Blair’s table now to take her order. That meant she’d just sat down, which was … weird timing.
“We should leave.” He almost sounded desperate.
“We just ordered,” I argued.
“We can cancel the order.”
“They’ve probably already started making it.”
“I don’t care.” He shook his head. “I’ll pay, and we’ll go somewhere else.”
I balked. “No way. That’s wasteful.”
He gave me an exasperated look. On this, however, I stood my ground.
“I know you don’t get it.” I chose my words carefully. “You can’t. I’m incapable of being wasteful with food, though.” I looked down at my hands, my fingers gripped together. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t,” he said softly. He reached over, grabbed my hand, and carefully extricated my fingers from one another. “I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry about?”
“Because I’m wasteful, and I don’t even think about it.”
