Lisa
I change my outfit three times before Blake even arrives. It’s both embarrassing and deeply unnecessary, considering I already bought a dress specifically for this date. I also promised myself I would not overthink it like a teenager preparing for her first school dance. Yet, somehow I still find myself standing in front of Zane’s hallway mirror adjusting the sleeve for the third time as though the fabric might suddenly decide to behave differently if I just give it enough attention.
“You’re going to create a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that.”
I turn around and find Zane leaning casually against the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal in his hand. He’s watching me with the exact expression he used to wear when I was twelve and pretending I wasn’t nervous before competitions.
“I’m not pacing,” I say immediately, even though I absolutely am.
“You’re pacing.”
“I’m walking.”
“You’re walking in circles.”
“That still counts as walking.”
He raises one eyebrow slowly, clearly unconvinced.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
“Out.”
“With who?”
“No one.”
“Lisa.”
I sigh dramatically, grab my purse from the couch, and finally give up pretending this is casual.
“Fine. A date.”
His eyebrows lift higher.
“With who?”
“A guy.”
“A guy,” he repeats slowly, like he’s testing the words to see if they make sense.“That narrows it down.”
“You don’t know him,” I lie automatically.
He watches me for a second longer than necessary, and I wonder if he is aware that I am lying and is waiting for me to admit it.
“Well,” he says finally, taking another bite of cereal,“tell him he has to bring you home before midnight.”
“I’m not twelve.”
“Still applies.”
I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling when I step into the hallway. There’s something comforting about the fact that even after everything that has changed in both our lives, Zane is still the same big brother I grew up with.
Blake is already waiting outside the building when I step through the front doors. He’s leaning casually against the passenger side of his car like he has nowhere else in the world he’d rather be. It shouldn’t surprise me because Blake Saxon is exactly the kind of man who arrives early and pretends he didn’t plan to. However, it still does something unexpected to my chest when he straightens the second he sees me.
And then he just… stares.
“Well?” I ask, lifting my hands slightly as I walk closer.“You said live music, not a runway show.”
