Page 63 of Falling for Keeps

I’m not about to let this continue. If Seth is fishing right now, he’s about to realize he’s lost his bait. “How’s your burger? Mine’s great.”

“Come on, Emma.” He fans his hands out. “Isn’t this a little awkward?”

“That you keep talking about it? Yes.”

“We have an actual love triangle in this restaurant.”

I choke on my burger, picking up my water and taking a huge swig. When my coughing subsides, I set the glass on the table with a thunk. “Listen, I’m not asking you all about Demi’s sister or how that’s going. Can we leave that night in the past?”

Seth retreats immediately. “Touché. So, about that movie? How’s tonight?”

“I have to be at work early tomorrow. We both do.” He’s so crestfallen I search for a compromise. “I’ll take a rain check.”

“Okay. I’m going to hold you to that.”

He totally will. This is not an idle threat.

When our meal is finished—he insisted on paying, so point to him there—Seth hurries ahead of me and opens my door. “Can I walk you to your car?”

He’s probably hoping for a good night kiss, and I’m not quite ready for that. “I’ll see you in the morning, Seth.”

“How was this, scale of one to ten? No! I don’t want that. Just tell me if I have a chance.” His brown eyes are imploring, and the date wasn’t horrible. There was a rocky beginning there, but we ended up chatting about books and how we feel about The Hobbit adaptation versus The Lord of the Rings, both the books and movies, and even touched on the newer TV show. When Carson finally left with his paper bag of food, I relaxed, and the rest of the night was much better.

But I don’t know if Seth and I will ever be able to step past friendship. I don’t know if I can feel that way about him.

“I don’t know, Seth. We work together, so it might be easier to stay friends.”

“But you had a good time?” He is not to be deterred.

Honestly, I could say I did. “Yeah.”

He nods and the Dumb and Dumber quote runs through my head. I’m sure he’s thinking there’s at least a chance of us working out. Heaven knows why he cares so much. “Then give me another chance. Go to the football game with me next week. My nephew is playing, and it’s a whole thing.”

I know this already. The homecoming game is a big town event every year. “As friends?”

“If that’ll get you there, then sure.” He hesitates. “I’ll be thinking of it as a date.”

I laugh. “Okay, sure.” I start toward my sister’s inn, where my car is parked out front. “Good night, Seth.”

“Good night, Emma.” He watches me leave for a minute before heading off to his car, which is in front of the restaurant.

Maybe my guard is up because I keep expecting him to be bored and ghost me so he can chase someone else, but so far, he keeps trying to get more and more of me. Just me.

Do I need to give this a better chance?

Obviously, that would require a full and complete eradication of my crush on Carson, which is hard when I love being around him. But he’s been clear about where he stands and I completely respect that.

I slide into the front seat of my car and check my phone, finding a message waiting for me.

Carson

Is your kitchen flooding?

He wants to know if the date bombed, if I needed an out and wanted to get away from Seth. My fingers hesitate before typing. We can talk about these things, but I need to make sure he knows I’m giving dating a solid effort. He needs to understand I’m not hanging around, wishing he would change his mind.

That would be nice, but I have to be realistic.

Emma