“Uhm—well, I was going to ask you—” She turned her chin up to meet my gaze and the lights of the church illuminated her face. Her eyelashes casted a slight shadow over the tops of her cheeks. She was smiling, but her brow furrowed with curiosity. Although washed out by the fluorescent glow, her soft pink lips were inviting as all get out. I tore my eyes away and rubbed the back of my neck. “I can drive you and maybe we could grab some dinner? I know it might be a bit too late, but—“
“No.” She cut me off. I stopped breathing for a second. “It’s not too late at all. That sounds perfect.”
Relief washed over me and I grinned, probably looking like a total idiot. “You have any favorite places around here?”
She tapped a message into the Uber app and threw her phone into her small, black purse. She met my gaze again, eyes twinkling. “Oh yeah. Do you like steak?”
“I wouldn’t be a man if I didn’t.”
She touched my forearm and laughed. “Medium rare ribeye is my bread and butter. I could eat it every day.” Her words grew faster. Warmth flowed through my veins as her excitement grew. She wasexcitedto be with me. The realization stirred something deep inside I hadn’t felt in a long time. “There is this place about fifteen minutes from here. I went to high school with the chef, Benjamin, and he is a rare talent. I mean, the dude can grill a steak.”
She followed me to the Tacoma and stepped inside, chattering on. I listened and nodded as she talked about a restaurant she ate at in Florida, where the waiter absolutely insisted she try her steak medium rare and how she’d been eating her steak that way ever since.
I didn’t know very much about Julia, but I was learning. She loved beef, which I found endearing, and her flip-flops, which I didn’t understand in the slightest. When she laughed, her head tilted back far, making her hair look long and exposing her graceful neck.
“I’m sorry.” She waved a hand in the air. “I’m talking too much.”
“Not a bit.” I meant it. I liked hearing her talk. She amused me.
“The grill is a fifteen minute drive.” She winced a little. “You sure you want me back in your truck for that long?”
It took me a few beats to realize she was referring to the Saturday night ordeal. I cut the wheel hard right to exit the parking lot. “Of course. Fifteen minutes is fine.”
She grew quiet for a moment and fiddled with her purse strap, twirling it around her thumb.
I stopped at the road and turned to her. “Don’t be embarrassed about Saturday. There’s no judgment here at all. Just glad you weren’t by yourself.”
Her face was somber as her eyes searched mine. I wondered what thoughts were bouncing around up there in her head. Hoped she believed what I said because I was the last person on the planet that should be judging others. She patted my arm and quietly responded. “Thank you, Pat. Seriously.”
I turned back to the road and hovered my hand over the turning signal. “So, you navigating or what?”
She laughed again. “Sorry, turn right.” I turned right and my heart started thumping. Conflicting feelings warred inside me. My palms dampened with sweat, and I turned up the AC. Pain surfaced in my chest, which was terrible timing. I took a quiet, deep breath and willed myself to lean into the positive feelings. Was it possible to let go of the pain and simply live?
Jules leaned back over the console and fished out my blanket. Didn’t ask. Just grabbed it and tucked it around her. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I was glad she made herself comfortable.
New determination overtook me. I was going to live. Just for tonight.
FOURTEEN
Julia
“This is not what I expected.” Pat’s face scrunched in confusion as he looked around the tiny dining room. His hands were in his pockets, tapping his thighs.
I knew the eclectic décor screamed ‘trashy hole in the wall,’ but the food was the real experience. “You gotta trust me on this, Pat.”
“If I’m in the bathroom all night, it’s on you.”
There was a glimmer in his eye, but he wasn’t smiling. I laughed as the hostess approached and we followed her to the table. Being with Pat confirmed what I already knew; I liked him. He didn’t talk a whole lot, but it was worth listening when he did. His company was a welcome relief from my usual solitude. He didn’t seem to mind my prattling on about random things, which was nice since I couldn’t seem to stop for some reason.
Once seated, Pat surveyed the place. “What in the—” His words trailed off as there was no way to describe the messy fish net full of plastic fish hanging on the wall across from our table.
I giggled and held out my hand to stop him. “Come on, give it a chance. This place puts their money where it counts.”
“Whatever you say.” He tapped his straw on the table and scrunched the paper down. “As long as they don’t buy their beef at garage sales.”
I laughed again, hoping the sound wasn’t annoying to Pat.
“So describe the jump.” The corners of his mouth twitched up.
