I scowl at his brusqueness.
“Thanks for the offer, butIwas planning on drivingmy dateto dinner.” Austin’s tone is somehow simultaneously kind and slightly mocking.
Hunter pauses on the cement stairs, his shoulders tense, and Lou’s mouth opens.
I blurt, “We’ll see you guys there,” before either of them can try to force us to all ride together. I would appreciate the time to talk to Austin without them around, especially since I don’t really know what Talia told him about why I needed a date so last minute.
Lou rolls her eyes but nods. “Fine. See you there.” She hurries after Hunter, who continues to his car without comment.
I shut the door behind me and Austin and then follow him to a sleek, silver Porsche parked behind my Volvo. I let out a low whistle. “Wow. Nice Taycan.”
“You know cars?” Austin opens my door for me—a surprising but welcome gesture.
“A bit.” I smile as I carefully sit down.
Before my dad died, I used to snuggle up next to him on the couch at night while he looked atAuto Trader. He loved looking at all the different cars, dreaming out loud of what he would get. He would tell me all about his favorite ones, their engines and acceleration speeds, and show me different body styles, wheels, and paint jobs. It was his version of bedtime stories.
Once Austin is settled in the driver’s seat and the engine starts with a low growl, he says, “What kind of car do you have?”
“I said I know a bitaboutcars. That doesn’t mean I own anything special.” I laugh. “I work in a bakery. I can barely afford gas, let alone the vehicle that uses it.” Cars are cool and all but not worth the drudgery of a corporate job—in my humble, flour-dusted opinion. Plus, my beat-up Volvo has a special spot in my heart.
“Ah.”
We fall silent as he merges into traffic, his GPS guiding us to The White Chocolate Grill.
“Look, not to be intrusive, but I feel like I need to understand the situation I’m in here. Talia told me you needed a date last second and that he needed to be impressive, so I’m assuming there’s some sort of payback or something going on?” Austin shoots a glance my way as he accelerates onto the freeway, the Taycan purring happily as it surges past sixty in mere seconds.
I scrunch my nose. “Yeah, I don’t usually ask to be set up on last-second dates. But you may have noticed my neighbor is kind of ...”
“Angry? Antisocial? Abysmal at basic social skills?”
I barely hold back a laugh. “Something like that.”
“So, this is about your neighbor. Did you guys date or something?”
We have only four minutes until we arrive at the restaurant, and I have no idea how to summarize why I begged Talia to get me a date in that much time, much less without making myself look like the total loser I actually am. But I’m also terrible at coming up with stories on the spot. So, the very quick truth it is. “No. We’ve never dated. I actually only met him this week. But my roommate—his cousin—asked me to go out to dinner with her tonight, and then,afterI agreed, said, ‘Oh, by the way, Hunter is coming too’—andthenadmitted she told him I had a date and was planning on saying my datebailedon me last second to explain why I was at dinner alone.”
Austin chokes on a laugh, then nods. “All right. This picture is becoming a bit clearer. I’m the date your cousin made up and then was going to have ditch you. And after seeing what a jerk that guy was being, I can understand why you didn’t want him to think your fake date ghosted you. Enter me.”
“Enter you,” I agree with a smile. “Thanks for being willing to show up and save my pride from a potentially mortal wound.”
“Happy to help. It’s no skin off my back to take a pretty girl to dinner.” He flashes me a killer smile.
Player, I remind myself, but I smile back anyway.
“Speaking of skin ... what happened to his face? I don’t want to make him uncomfortable by asking, but you can’t help noticing burns like that.”
I pluck at the collar of my dress. An unexpected surge of protectiveness makes my neck flush. “I actually don’t know all the details, only that he was in a car accident like five or six years ago.”
“No wonder he’s so on edge. That must really suck.” Austin maneuvers his car into a parking space and shuts it off. “Well, should we get this show on the road?” He gets out and comes to open my door before I can climb out, holding out a hand to me and saying, “I promise to make both of them regret ever putting you in such an awkward situation.” His mouth twitches with amusement.
I shake off my lingering discomfort on Hunter’s behalf. Austin wasn’t being rude, only curious, and he had the presence of mind not to say something to Hunter himself. I take his hand, let him pull me to my feet, and smile back. “Let’s do this.”
6.
We’ve been seated for several minutes of stilted small talk and perusing the menus when our server shows up.
“How are you all doing? My name’s Mark, and I’ll be your server for the evening,” he continues without waiting for us to answer. “Can I start you off with any drinks? We have some fun spring-inspired cocktails, or I could recommend a nice white wine?”
