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“That was the point, Sanders.”
Oh. I liked that snappy little comeback. Reaching over, I gripped her knee and squeezed for a few seconds. “I really like you too, Auds. This is gonna be a great night.”
Audrey wore a half smile the entire dinner. It was so different than her serious, no-nonsense expression I was used to. Her eyes sparkled as she glanced around the restaurant, her glee evident. She kept twisting a lock of her hair before meeting my eyes, blushing, then repeating the process.
If I wasn’t charmed before, I would be now.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” I nudged her knee with mine under the table. We both ate our side salads, and our main entrees were on the way. She’d ordered a white wine, and I’d opted for water. I was driving, plus, I tended not to drink much to prepare for the season.
“This is wonderful.” She scrunched her nose, and a giggle escaped her mouth. “Everything smells so good, and the people-watching! I’ve heard others talk about how they love watching others and guessing their story, but I never understood it until now. Like, the couple in the back who can’t keep their hands off each other. Or the family a few tables to the left. Are they celebrating?”
“What do you think they’ll say about us then?” I reached across the table and ran my fingers over her palm. “That we’re on our first date and that I’m counting down the seconds until I can kiss you afterwards?”
She pressed her lips together and rubbed them before her eyes lit up. “No. That we’re estranged lovers who spent a year apart. We’re different people, so we’re deciding if we want to date again.”
I shook my head. “Of course we do.”
“Okay, hm, what if we’re stepsiblings who fell in love? That’s taboo.”
“Audrey Hawthorne.” I grinned. “Scandalous.”
She laughed, the sound becoming familiar to me, and relaxed more into her seat. ”I am funny sometimes. No one knows that about me though.”
“Mm, what else don’t people know about you?” I wanted all her secrets to myself. Call it irrational or weird or protective or obsessed, but after hearing her orgasm for the first time, I wanted to know everything. Even if it was a tiny, silly confession.
“This might not surprise you, but I’m a homebody and shy. I don’t do things like this.” She waved her hand around the restaurant. “My ideal Saturday night is a book and watching a show in my bed.”
“I know you mentioned you haven’t dated before. Did you ever see anyone in high school?”
She shook her head. “I kissed someone sophomore year, but he was popular, and I wasn’t. I’m quiet, introverted. I don’t need to be at parties or have everyone stare at me. Attention from others isn’t what I crave. Then, well, someone was always sick in our family.”
“What do you mean?” She’d mentioned her dad passing, but this sounded serious. I continued running circles on her palm with my finger. Whenever I stopped, even for a second, her eyebrows pinched together. She might not tell me she liked it, but her body reacted like she did.
“My dad battled his sickness for a decade, and most of my childhood was going to visit him in the hospital or watching my brother. My mom dedicated her life to helping him, but then she lost her parents and her sister all within five years. Grief and illness follow our family. So, it never made sense to grow attached to anything because well…” She shrugged, and a dark, grief-filled look crossed her face.
Because well what?
“Anytime I found a groove and tried something, someone would get sick. Nursing and helping others are the only things that’ve been a constant with in my life.” She swallowed and glanced around the room, her gaze hesitant and her posture rigid.
An aggressive, overwhelming urge to protect her grew in my gut. I didn’t have the time or the energy to add Audrey into my circle of people who I cared for and would do anything for, but she was there, wedged next to my siblings. Her attention landed back on me, and one side of her mouth curved up.
That gesture had my throat tightening with emotion. “Thank you for sharing all that.”
“You’re so easy to talk to.” She chewed her lip, red painting her cheeks, when her eyes widened at something over my shoulder.
“No.” She gasped and ripped her hand away from mine. “Who is…what…I can’t…” She pushed from the chair before I had a chance to stop her.
“Audrey, what’s happening?” I craned my neck to search behind me, but no bad guy or person stood out. The momentary bliss of her opening up was shattered as I snapped my attention back to her, but she was gone. What the fuck?
My pulse raced as my gut churned. Who had spooked her this much? Who or what caused her to leave mid-sentence, without a word? It wasn’t me. I was confident about that, but where had she gone?
She left her damn phone on the table, so if she was making a run for it, it wasn’t great she forgot this. I pocketed hers, annoyed now I couldn’t call or text her to see where she went. The entrance was the opposite way, so maybe she was in the restroom? Back hallway?
Would she leave the restaurant entirely?
Fuck.
My jaw tensed as annoyance worked its way to my muscles. She needed to be safe, and leaving in that fucking dress, without her phone, wasn’t the best decision. My senses went into hyperdrive as I checked the two restrooms. Nothing in there.
