“Speaking of the Date Maker...” Declan leanedforward.
Conrad pushed back his chair and jumped up. “You know what, I actually can’t. I’m going to make sure Laceyisokay.”
He ignored the protests coming from Declan, and walked out of the pizza place, immediately heading in the direction he’d seen Lacey go. It was madness. He didn’t know Lacey and she didn’t know him. There was no reason he should care about her or where she wasgoing.
Especially when he considered how he was just about to sell out the poor girl to Morgan Jones’nemesis.
That didn’t exactly make for a stellaropening.
Hey…I was meeting Declan to talk about your best friend’s shady business practices. By the way, did you know she knew that Trevor was making out with the girl from tonight and didn’t tell you? Oh, and sodidI.
Oh, yeah. Lacey was going to be thrilled toseehim.
And yet he couldn’t convince his feet to stop as he continued down the sidewalk. Conrad picked up the pace, afraid he wasted too much time in Palace Pizza to find her now. He promised himself he would only follow her for so long. He would draw the line if she got into her vehicle. He only wanted to make sure she was okay after what had happened in thepizzeria.
Conrad finally spotted her, walking toward the lake. He wondered what was going on in her head as she stormed toward the grassy area, his garlic knots in her hands. Would she want company? He doubted it, but his desire to comfort her tugged at him so hard, it was practically a physicalforce.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Conrad pulled it out to see a text fromDeclan.
Declan: You’re not going to believe this. That guy and the redhead are DATING. I’m talking on and off again for years. I wish you hadn’t left. This iscrazy!
Conrad typed out a quick response while keeping an eye onLacey.
Conrad: Dude. You’re talking about real people. Try not to get tooexcited.
Text bubbles immediately appeared, but Conrad didn’t give a crap about whatever Declan had to say. There were more important things to worry about right now. Namely, a girl named Lacey who was slowing her pace. She didn’t seem to even notice the passing families or teenage girls taking selfies as she plopped down on thegrass.
In fact, the only thing that seemed to gain Lacey’s interest was the cardboard container she kept inherlap.
Conrad turned his phone on silent and shoved it in hispocket.
As he got close enough to speak to her, Lacey stuffed an entire garlic knot in her mouth. She struggled to keep her mouth closed as she chomped down aggressively on the large piece of dough. Each chew was an assault, and Conrad couldn’t stop the chuckle that came from hismouth.
Lacey’s head snapped up at the sound, her eyes narrowing as she realized who was standing there. He took a step back. Oh, yeah. This girl definitely wanted to be comfortedbyhim.
Seeing her mouth was too full to speak, Conrad said, “You enjoying my garlicknots?”
“Immensely,” she answered, her voice so muffled by the food, it was a miracle he could understand what she said. He laughed again, this time moreopenly.
Lacey quickly chewed and swallowed what she was eating. “Is something about thisfunny?”
“Only that I thought I was coming after you to make sure you were okay.” He sat down beside her. “Looks like I should have been more worried aboutmyfood.”
“You’re not getting them back. I didn’t order them because I didn’t want to have bad breath for Trevor. But after what happened in there, I’m eating every single one of them.” She wrapped both hands around the container filled with garlicknots.
Conrad lifted his hands in mock surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of taking themfromyou.”
Lacey looked at him for several seconds before turning back to the food and shoving another ginormous bite into her mouth. Conrad was careful not to outright stare, but kept stealing glances out of the corner of his eyes. He pressed his lips together to keep the smile from forming when she used the back of her hand to wipe some butter from the corner of hermouth.
There was nothing delicate about the way she ate, and Conrad enjoyed seeing this side of her. He didn’t really know her at all, but was now privy to one of her most painful moments. It was like sharing a secret amongst strangers. He held his tongue, not wanting todisruptit.
After eating another garlic knot in silence, Lacey finally spoke. “Are you following me?” He lifted his brows, too afraid to speak for fear of pushing her away. “You have been there for each of my dates. Was that onpurpose?”
“Nope. The only time I followed you was when you left the restaurant. The other times were dumb luck.” Heshrugged.
“Then why were you there with Declan? It was like you knew my date was going to end horribly. I couldn’t stand seeing the look of triumph on Declan’s face. He must be so thrilled to see Morgan fail.” Lacey’s voice started strong but was barely a whisper by the time she finishedspeaking.
“Is that why you took the food and ran out ofthere?”
