Vanessa turns, still smiling, though she looks exhausted. “Hey,” she says softly.
“Hey. Ready to go?”
“Yeah. Jamie, this is Mateo. Mateo, this is Jamie.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking Jamie’s hand.
“Likewise,” Jamie says, “Vanessa, you should get out of here before some admin tries to get you to work a double.”
“They do that?” I ask, suddenly uneasy.
“They’ve done it to her,” Jamie replies, giving me a look.
“What? Why?” I reply.
She laughs softly. “Because she’s one of the best, and they wanted to fast-track her. She’s worked a lot of doubles over the last few years. Have a good day, you two.”
“See you later,” Vanessa says, waving as we head for the exit.
We walk to the car in comfortable silence, and she slips into the passenger seat. I think about what she said earlier about playing hard to get, but I don’t know how much longer I can pretend I’m fine with it. The more time I spend around her, the harder I fall, and I’m starting to realize I’m falling in love with her.
TWENTY
VANESSA
Sitting in the car, I debate just pulling Mateo in and kissing him, but I don’t. I need to make him work for it. I can’t look easy or willing to do everything he wants. I sit there in silence, replaying almost every decision I’ve made since all of this started. Damn, I want him. I want him bad.
His voice pulls me out of my thoughts, but I miss what he says. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you were hungry,” he says with a quiet laugh.
“Uh, yeah. I guess I could eat.”
“Let’s go get something then,” he says, opening his door and stepping out.
I start to open mine, but before I can, Mateo catches it and pulls it the rest of the way open for me.
“I guess chivalry isn’t dead,” I mutter.
He lets out a short laugh.
“I should probably change before we eat.”
“Nah, you look great.”
“Thanks, I guess. But I probably smell.”
“You don’t. Come on.” He takes my hand and leads me down the garage stairs and out onto the city street.
We walk about a block before spotting a diner. Inside, we slide into a booth. A young blonde waitress comes over, completely ignoring me as she looks straight at Mateo.
“Can I get you something to drink?” the waitress asks in an overly sweet, fake-high voice.
“Coffee,” Mateo says.
“Sure thing.” She turns like she’s about to walk away.
“Are you going to ask my wife what she wants?” he adds without missing a beat.
