I nod. “I heard you.”
“That doesn’t sound like an agreement.” Her brows furrow.
The sun is setting behind her, illuminating the flecks of blue in her gray eyes. She did something with her eye makeup to make them stand out more than usual.
I must be the biggest moron on this planet to agree to drive her to this damn date and chaperone instead of asking her on one myself. Her dark lashes brush across her cheeks as she blinks up at me.
“We forgot to measure you,” I mumble.
“What?”
I lift a hand, getting ready to brush a stray hair out of her face. I pause before touching her.
“At the house, I was going to measure you.”
“You can bust out that tape measure later.” She rolls her eyes, turning away from me.
My hand finally moves forward to touch her cheek, slowly pulling the hair that’s trapped in her lashes aside.
“What are you going to do if he kisses you?”
The words come out like a pathetic, desperate plea, but I can’t take them back now.
She pauses, eyes lifting up to meet mine. She searches my face, but after a beat of silence, she says, “I guess I might let him.”
My jaw tics. I nod, knowing she has every right, and I can’t say a damn thing about it. My chest feels like it’s caving in.
“Then I guess I won’t intervene if he does.”
She nods, slowly turning away from me to walk into the steakhouse. I want to go in with her, to stay right on her heels to let him know he’s being watched. But I hold back, giving her a few minutes inside before walking in.
My skin is tight and somehow clammy. I text Duke.
Sam
You have to chaperone next time because I’m not a babysitter. This blows.
He responds with the laughing emoji.
Duke
I’ll come with you next time and buy you a beer.
I love my sister, but after what happened with Cain, I don’t trust men. There’s no law that says women need to get married. She should at least wait until she’s thirty … or fifty.
I go up to the host stand, tipping my cowboy hat toward the girl standing at it. She has bright blue hair and glasses.
“Did you see a gorgeous dark-haired girl in a frilly pink shirt come in a few minutes ago and meet up with a guy who looks like he should be shining her shoes instead of dating her?”
The girl’s eyes widen, but she nods.
“Table for one. Right beside theirs.”
She leans forward over the wooden stand, whispering, “Is she your ex?”
I shake my head, leaning closer. “No. She’s my best friend’s little sister.”
The girl’s mouth gapes open, mouthing the words,Oh my God.
