“I’ve never tried sushi.”
He glanced around, thinking about where else they could go. “Oh no, you should have said something. We don’t have to eat here.”
She reached out and trapped his hand before he could slide out of the booth. “Sit, you. Of course I don’t want to go somewhere else. I want to try their sushi. You said it was amazing.”
“It is. But they have ramen bowls and pork buns and both of those are really good too.” She’d loosened her hold, but her warm hand was still covering his and both their gazes were drawn there.
Her finger traced a circle at the top of his wrist and then she pulled her hands back into her lap. “Sorry.”
She had nothing to be sorry for, but he bit the words back and let the moment pass so as not to embarrass her further. From the moment they’d met, there had been this connection, one that sometimes jumped over what normally would seem forward. It was why taking her hand to lead her through the crowd at the parade had been a completely natural instinct.
She tapped on the laminated menu, her lips pursing in concentration. “Will you order for me?”
“Are you sure? What if you hate it?”
“Then I can blame you, of course.” She grinned, resting her chin in her hand. “No pressure or anything.”
He laughed as he surveyed the menu. “Do you like salmon?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like cilantro in your food?”
“Yes.”
“What about green onions?”
“I like those.”
“How spicy is too spicy?”
“Um, medium level?”
“What about sweet and spicy together?”
“Yes, please.” Her eyes lit up suddenly. “I totally forgot. You’re a foodie! Now I’m even more excited for you to order for me.”
He rubbed his chest. “Nothing like a little extra pressure.”
“The only thing I don’t like is shrimp. And super raw fish. Can we work from there?”
“Definitely.” He studied the menu for a minute and came up with a plan he hoped she’d like. “So, where does Sandy think you are tonight?”
“With Jill. And by the way, I put you in my phone as Jill S. That way, Sandy thinks it’s her I’m texting with all the time.”
“Diabolical. Have you ever gotten my texts mixed up with the real Jill?”
“Um, yeah. I asked Jill if she preferred hockey skates or ice skates, and she responded with a line of question marks, so I told her I wanted to go ice skating. The two of us are going tomorrow. I should be a pro skater after this weekend.”
“You didn’t tell Jill about our date?”
“I wasn’t ready for a Jill-level freak out. This is the first date I’ve had since… Derek.” She blushed red.
He’d been afraid of that. “Well then, I guess you can only go up from here.”
“Whatever.” She took a sip of her water, obviously trying to hide her embarrassment. “What about you? Did you tell Derek you were going on a date with me?”
“Did you want him to know?” For several agonizing seconds he wondered whether Tara hoped to make Derek jealous. The last thing Luke wanted was to be the rebound guy.
