“I get it, and we’re good. We’re on the same page.”
Rob nodded. “What time are you picking her up?”
“I’m leaving now, actually. I just wanted to make sure you don’t need anything from down that way before I go.”
“I think we’re good.” He chuckled. “And I doubt Kenzie wants to be dragged around stores during her time off.”
“She wouldn’t mind, but yeah. I’m trying to think of something fun to do as a treat, but I don’t get out much.”
“You can take her to Jasper’s. You know Uncle Kevin would love to meet her.”
Danny grimaced. Their dad’s brother owned Jasper’s Bar & Grille in Concord. Great atmosphere, great food and definitely a great owner, but he’d rather not. “If I take her in there, Uncle Kev’s going to assume she’s my date, and the family group chat will blow up, and I’d rather not deal with that. And also, I wasn’t really thinking sports bar.”
“It’s a great place forfriendsto hang out,” Rob countered.
“I’m leaving now. I’ll see you some time tomorrow afternoon.”
When he pulled into the driveway his GPS said was Kenzie’s, the first thing he saw was the house. It looked sunny and cheerful, and perfect for Kenzie. And then he saw her, sitting on her front porch. He waved as he came to a stop, and by the time he’d put the truck in Park, she was walking toward him, bag in hand.
It was clear he wouldn’t be getting a tour of the house, which disappointed him. Even though it would only torture him in the long run, he really wanted to see her bedroom. Not because he thought anything would happen there, but just because he wanted to see where she slept. Did she keep it simple, or was it decorated with pillows and art and knickknacks? Did she have a plain bedspread, or maybe an old quilt?
But when she tossed her bag into the back seat of the truck, next to his, and then climbed into the passenger seat, the only thing he felt was happiness to see her. “Sorry I’m a few minutes late. I ran into the store to say goodbye to Rob, and you know how that goes.”
She laughed, reaching for her seat belt, and then she looked at him. “Did you tell him I’m going with you?”
“I did,” he said, not sure if that was the right answer. “He thought it didn’t make any sense to go down and come back instead of just staying down there, so I had to. But I did stress to him we’re just friends.”
“Good.” She nodded, snapping the seat belt buckle in. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to remember not to mention it, but that’s not a problem because you went with the truth.”
The truth, he thought wryly as he shifted the truck into gear. But not the whole truth, as far as he was concerned. But he kept that to himself because there was nothing he could do about it, and he wasn’t going to break his promise to keep this weekend friendly.
It might kill him, butjust friendsit was.
Chapter Fifteen
The closer they got to Danny’s house, the more anxiety poked at Kenzie’s nerves. She was really doing this, and it felt unreal. And when he turned on his blinker to get off the highway, she had to take a deep, shaky breath to steady herself.
It wasn’t as if she could jump out of the truck and walk all the way home—they’d been driving south for over two hours—but she didn’t like not knowing what to expect. Her life had been predictable for years, every day like the last except for the rotating specials board, and this was a big step for her.
And she didn’t want to jump out of the truck, anyway, if she was being honest with herself. There had been very few things in her life she’d looked forward to as much as this trip with Danny. It was just…nerve-racking.
“My house probably isn’t going to be what you expect,” he said while navigating turns through a busy suburb.
She laughed, and then winced because it was noticeably high-pitched. “What is it you think I expect?”
“I don’t know. People get weird ideas about how much some authors earn and how they live and stuff.”
“You mean I think we’re about to pull up to the castle you live in while you and your brothers work your asses off to make a go of a campground up north?”
He laughed. “It’s mostly my brothers who work their asses off at the campground. But, yeah, like that. I don’t live in a castle.”
“Damn. And I worked so hard at learning how to curtsy without falling over.”
He snorted, and then looked over at her. “I don’t know how anybody does that.”
“Rhylee and I tried to figure it out after watchingBridgerton, but I almost pulled a muscle and she ended up with a bruise on her forehead, so we gave up.”
“Did you tell her you were coming down here? With me, I mean?”
