“I’m not worried about it. They can think whatever they want to think.”
“There's that fire.” He grinned.
“Fire?”
“The flames you were spitting at me on that football field.”
I groaned. “Oh Lord, are y'all ever gonna let me live that down? You and your family act like no one's ever challenged you before. Like it's some eighth wonder of the world.”
“It is for me,” he said, looking at me intensely.
“For the record, I never uttered a single curse word.”
“Even worse. When you can make a man feel cussed out without actually cussing? That’s a skill, counselor.”
“Careful. I'm starting to think you actually liked it.”
We stared at each other across the table, the restaurant noise fading into background hum, and those damn butterflies fluttering their way back uninvited.
The server appeared with the check, breaking the moment. Both Julian and I reached for it at the same time, our hands brushed, and I felt it go up my arm like a struck nerve.
Julian's eyes locked on mine as he slowly slid the bill from under my fingers, daring me to stop him. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come. The intensity in his eyes made me falter and catch my breath.
I let go. The slightest curve appeared at the corner of his mouth before he looked away, pulling out a black card from his wallet.
“Thank you,” I managed.
“Always,” he replied, not looking up as he signed the receipt.
Twenty minutes later we were back at the condo building, in the elevator heading to my floor.
“Thank you again. For today. All of it.”
“Family looking out for family,” he replied.
“Is that what this is?” I asked, gesturing between us.
He was quiet for a moment, his eyes studying my face. “Part of it,” he said finally.
“What’s the other part?”
“We'll figure it out,” he said matter-of-factly.
The flatness of his response caught me off guard. I squinted then looked away and rubbed my lips together. When I looked up at him again, his head was tilted to the side, with an amused smile playing at his lips.
The doors opened on my floor and he walked me to my door, waiting while I fiddled with the keypad.
“Goodnight,” he said when I got the door open.
“Goodnight. See you Monday.”
Julian textedme at eight Monday morning:
JULIAN
Cleared myschedule. Pick you up at 11:30.
At a quarter to noon, Denise Parker met us at the park next to the school.
