I nudge him playfully with my shoulder. “Oh, please. That was the most thrilling experience I've had in a long time. I had fun.”
Henry rebuttals with a straight face. “So, your idea of fun is being emotionally traumatized?”
I shake my head and smile again despite my cheeks feeling sore from all the laughing we just did. “If it makes you feel better, I wasn’t really going to sacrifice you to the raccoons.”
He looks at me and something unreadable flashes across his face. “I wasn’t too worried.”
I lean back and prop my hands on my hips. “I totally could if I wanted to,” I defend, suddenly annoyed by his answer.
“Nope. I think you like me too much.”
Heat rushes to my head, but I try to cover up my discomfort with a scoff. “Oh, please. If anything, I can’t afford to lose you until I pass my class. Until then, you’re stuck with me.”
Henry hums, considering what to say. “Let me get this straight. Once you pass your class, then you’ll feed me to the raccoons. Correct?”
“That checks out.” I smile.
He nods. “Fine. At least I have a timeline.”
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms tightly against my body. When I look at him again, my heart flips. His eyes shinebrightly, deeply engrossed in the conversation that flows easily between us. This thing between Henry and me felt effortless, and I liked it a little too much.
“Let’s go,” I pivot, trying not to dwell on the sinking feeling in my stomach. “I’m starving. Do you want to grab lunch?”
Henry looks back at me, his glass slightly crooked and his face flushed from laughing. “Sure. What did you have in mind?”
“You’ll see,” I say with a smile and head toward the car.
As we walk side by side, I try to contain the butterflies bouncing against my ribcage. I try to convince myself that his warmth isn’t chipping away at my heart. I try to hate the way his hand felt in mine. I try to forget about the fact that we almost kissed again in the abandoned building.
I try so damn hard, and yet, I can’t deny that I’m starting to regret putting Henry Castillo in the friend zone.
CHAPTER 9
“This place is cute,” Henry observes, looking around the small diner.
He was being polite. The Country Kitchen Café was a hole in the wall, but this place has been a staple of Honey Grove for as long as I can remember. This is where we’d come after a football game or a long night of drinking.
The diner was the only thing in town open twenty-four-seven, which was probably why they’ve stayed open as long as they have. Everything else in Honey Grove rarely stayed open past eight except for the Rustic Inn on the other side of town. Even their kitchen closed at ten.
“It’s a dive, but I love it,” I sigh. “They have the best country-fried steak. I craved it during my entire pregnancy with Mi. I’m pretty sure I single-handedly kept them in business for nine months.”
“Country fried steak?”
“Hey, don’t knock it until you try it.”
“Okay,” Henry says, placing his menu on the sticky tabletop. “I guess I’ll have that then. The pressure is on.”
My face lights up at his response. I begged Colt to try it formonths, but he always refused. It’s a simple gesture, but it makes me feel like I can float on air.
“I’m not worried. It’s going to knock your socks off,Maestra.”
Henry’s eyebrows raise in amusement at my attempt at giving him a Spanish nickname. I googled it last night and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. “That’s very good,Pajarito, but it would actually bemaestro,notmaestra.”
“Oh,” I say, my cheeks tinting pink as I realize my mistake. “Right. I guess I still have a few things to learn.”
Henry chuckles, his gaze warm. “It’s cute. I like that you tried.”
“What doesPajaritomean?” I ask, trying to roll my “r” but massively failing. The attempted pronunciation makes his face light up, and I decide I’m fine with looking like an idiot if it makes him smile.
