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Lexi’s insides werea bowl of nerves as she stood on the small stoop by her front door. “Thanks again for the ride home.”
“Of course.” Trevor’s eyes glanced around at the other houses. “Looks like a pretty nice neighborhood.”
“It is. I think I’m the youngest person on the street, but the neighbors are all really nice.” Lexi pointed to the ranch-style home across the street. “Mrs. Siemens loves to bake, so she’ll sometimes make extra and bring it over to share.”
“That’s nice.”
“It is.”
Gah!What was the matter with her? Making small talk was practically a job requirement, yet she couldn’t think of what to say now to save her soul.
After a few beats of awkward silence, Trevor cleared his throat and said, “Well, the guy from the tow company assured me your car would be ready first thing in the morning.”
“What time did you say they open?”
“Seven.”
“Okay, good. Gina works breakfast shift tomorrow, and she doesn’t live too far from here. I’ll just have her pick me up before she goes in and drop me off at the garage.”
“If she can’t, just give me a call, and I’ll come get you.”
“Thanks. I will. And I know I’ve said it about a billion times already, but I’m really sorry about tonight.”
“And I’ve toldyouabout a billion times to stop apologizing. I had a great time.”
Lexi rolled her eyes, channeling her inner Caleb for a sarcastic “Okay”.
“No, really.” Trevor stepped in a little closer. “This was the best first date I’ve ever had.”
Another sarcastic quip was about to fall off her tongue, but then Lexi looked into his eyes and saw that he was being serious.
“Really?”
“Promise.”
She exhaled softly. “I had a great time, too.”
Minus the tow driver’s impeccably bad timing.
“Enough to go out with me again?” he asked with a smirk.
Lexi loved how hopeful he sounded. “Well...” She pretended to think on it. “Technically, we didn’t actually gooutthis time.”
Trevor narrowed his eyes. “You’re gonna cause me trouble, aren’t you, angel?”
“Me?” She smiled innocently. “Never.” Lexi opened her mouth to say something else, but it was lost when she began to yawn. Embarrassed, she covered her mouth until it was over. She felt herself blush. “Sorry.”
Strangely, a heated look flashed across Trevor’s face, but then it was gone. “Don’t be. It’s late, and I should probably get going.”
Lexi smiled up at him, determined not to let her disappointment that he was leaving show. “Yeah, and I want to be at the garage early to make sure everything gets taken care of before I have to get to work. Oh, I forgot to ask. Did the guy happen to mention how much the new tire would be?”
Once they’d realized who the person pounding on the diner’s door was, Trevor had insisted on going out and talking to the guy alone. Said he didn’t want the man to know there was the possibility of a woman being there late at night.Such a protector.
Trevor’s eyes skittered to the side then back to hers. “Uh, I don’t think he mentioned a price. I wouldn’t worry too much, though. Your car takes pretty small tires.”
“Thank God for that,” she mumbled more to herself than him.
