“You don’t have to rush off, do you?” Maisie asked, making her way over to us.
“I do,” Waverly said. “I have a busy weekend.”
“You do now, anyway,” I cracked wise.
“Thank you for a lovely dinner,” Waverly said.
“I’ll wash your pie plate and Gio can return it during his next appointment,” Maisie offered.
“There’s no rush.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
“Oh, no, you’re busy. I can find my way,” Waverly countered, smiling down at me. “Thank you for inviting me. This was really fun.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded and made her way out. Maisie followed, although, she waited a few minutes, and I heard the beep of the alarm before Devon turned toward me. “So, why did I have to remove my cut before we met this woman?”
“We’re keepin’ a low profile,” Hatch said.
“In your ownhome?”
“She’s had a rough go of it with bikers,” I added.
Poppy and Maisie shared a look and Poppy gasped. “No, seriously?”
Maisie nodded. “Yes, lovey.”
“What?” Devon asked.
“Nothing, honey,” Poppy said. “Girl thing.”
I had no doubt she’d fill him in later, but for the moment (at least), he dropped it.
Waverly
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, I was standing in my closet trying to figure out what to wear for my dinner date. I’m embarrassed to admit, I’d been standing here for twenty minutes and still hadn’t picked anything.
As I continued to ponder (panic), my phone pealed on my nightstand, so I made my way to it and picked it up. “Hello?”
“Hey, beautiful.”
I bit my lip and smiled. “Hey, yourself.”
“You doin’ okay? You sound weird.”
I sighed. “Well, if you must know, I’ve been standing in my closet for about a year trying to figureout what to wear tonight.”
“A whole year, huh?”
“Pretty much.” I unplugged my phone and stepped back into my closet. “It would help to know where we’re going.”
“Katie and I’ll pick you up—”
“You’re picking me up? Wait. You andKatieare picking me up? I thought we were meeting somewhere?”
“What kind of man makes his date meet him?” Gio countered. “And I figured you’d feel more comfortable with Kate since you’ve met her.”
