She laughs harder, looking over at me for a split second and wagging her brows.
“Eyes on the road, Hamilton. Jesus Christ, how fast is the speed of light? I think I’m gonna pass out.”
“Oh, grow a pair, ya big baby.” She shimmies her shoulders. “This car’s fucking sexy.”
We pull to a whiplash stop at the light, and she lets out aWoo.
But I’m not feelingwoounless the rest of her sentence iszy. Because I think I’m having a heart attack and maybe about to puke.
“What is wrong with you?” I say, half-breathless, realizing just how much of an old woman I sound like. “You’re too small to act this big. Jesus Christ, let a guy call a few people to say his goodbyes before you make his life flash before his eyes.”
She laughs again, and despite the fact I may have shit my pants, it’s becoming my favorite sound.
The light turns green, so I make the sign of the cross and grab the oh-shit bar, holding on for dear life. If I hadn’t been convinced before that we should date, I’d be cemented now, because if I survive, then I simply deserve her as the reward for the trial by fire.
Evie
“Stop staring at me,” I gripe.
“I’m not staring at you,” he chuckles back.
Bullshit. He’s been doing it since we arrived. I drop the white peonies from my face and turn toward him, motioning around to the busy farmers’ market.
“I thought you needed help? Like, another set of hands ... but all we’ve been doing since we got here is browsing vintage T-shirts and looking at flowers.”
He shrugs, grinning that grin that makes his dimple show. I’m glad it’s still there. A part of me worried I’d permanently scared the smile off his face driving here.
“Sor-reee,” he dramatizes and side-eyes me playfully. “Forgive me for trying to enjoy a peaceful moment between us. Especially after the car ride.”
I have to bite my bottom lip to not laugh because his scream was surprisingly high pitched for somebody with such a deep voice.
“You know, I always wanted to be an astronaut when I was little,” he continues. “But after that car ride, I’m positive I’d never have made it through reentry.”
“Stop it,” I whisper, then smile.
I’ll never tell him that I may have driven even faster just to torture him.
Chase walks over to a stack of records, thumbing through them as he speaks. “But seriously, would it be so terrible if we used some of today to actually get to know each other?” He glances over at me, and it’s ... I don’t know ... almost nervous. “Like maybe fix why you hate mewhileyou save my ass.”
Oh.Hate him?I almost sayDon’t overexaggerate your importance, but I don’t because damn, he’s being sincere.
He softly taps the tops of the records, waiting for me to answer as I blink, and a pit grows in my stomach.
I feel like such a jerk.
Because Iama jerk.
Yes, Chase is annoying. And yes, I’m annoyed at how attracted I am to someone who isso annoying, but I don’t hate him. Not for real. I mean, I say that, but that’s just what we do.
He tells me I’m pretty, I say die. But I don’t actually want him to get hit by a bus. It’s just that he seems to push all my buttons at once.
“I’ll make you a deal,” I level, stepping in closer. “You try not to say something that embarrasses me in front of conservatively two hundred people, and I will do my very best tostoptreating you like human sewage ... because I don’t hate you, Chase.”
“No?” he says in question.
I shake my head. “No. I’m just intolerant of you. You’re like cheese.”
“They have pills for that.”
