“If you’re sure,” she said, straightening in her seat.
“I am.” He turned the SUV in the direction of the fast-food restaurant he knew she liked. “You want chicken strips and fries?”
“Yes, please.”
He pulled into the drive-thru and gave their order to the crackly speaker. Once he was sure they had it right, he pulled forward and paid for it.
“Here you go,” the teen at the window said as she handed him a drink tray and then a bag.
“Thanks.”
Amelia took everything from him, then held it on her lap as he pulled out of the drive-thru lane. Rather than turn out onto the street, he guided the SUV into a parking spot under a lamppost.
“Is it okay if we just eat here?” Ben asked.
“Yes. That’s fine.”
“I just need to text Luca so he’s not blowing up my phone wondering where I am.”
“You could just drop me off at home with my food,” Amelia said. “If you need to go back to the estate.”
“Not a chance,” Ben told her as he tapped send on the text message he’d composed for Luca. “I just need to let him know about my change in plans.”
“Are you armed?” she asked as she moved the drinks from the tray to the drink holders in the car.
“Nope, but I’m sure it’s fine.”
Amelia handed him one of the orders of fries and the burger he’d ordered.
Ben lowered the windows, then turned off the SUV.
“Do you remember when we used to do this?” Ben asked after he’d taken his first bite of the burger.
Amelia took a bite of a fry, then nodded. “I do.”
“Do you still eat your fries first?” he asked.
“Of course.” She sounded indignant. “I like cold chicken strips more than I like cold fries.”
Ben chuckled, enjoying the moment, just the two of them. They hadn’t eaten junk food often back in the day, but when they had, it was usually after a long week of training for Amelia. It had been an indulgence for her. One he’d happily paid for.
His dad had finally given him a car for his seventeenth birthday, and he’d loved to drive Amelia around. Of course, back then, he’d always had a tail. He was glad that Luca wasn’t pushing back when Ben insisted on taking Amelia home alone.
Amelia shifted, putting her back to the door and facing him more directly. It was the same position she used to sit in when they’d done this as teens.
She held the fry container in her hand, plucking out one fry at a time and eating it. Ben’s heart pulsed with an ache of remembrance.
He’d missed these quiet moments with her. She’d always been so easy to be with. For all her intensity about skating, she’d been very laid back when it was just the two of them together.
She’d never had any expectations of him other than just being with her. She hadn’t pushed to go on fancy dates or for lavish presents. She’d seemed to be happy to just spend time with him.
When they’d been together, they’d talked about everything. And sometimes, nothing. There had been no pressure. Only the joy of being with each other.
It was why he’d struggled to understand at first why she thought he’d be a distraction. Things had felt so easy between them. It hadn’t felt like pressure.
Had she felt differently?
Well, of course she’d felt differently because she’d ended their relationship.
