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“But it is. All of this drama is because of me.”
I could feel the emotion start to rise. I could feel it hammering in my chest.
Who starts a relationship this way?
Who comes with this kind of baggage?
When I’d texted Aubrey, it had given my brain a rest. But now, it was right back to the reality of the situation.
“Fuck, Brady, this is nuts. Every bit of this?—”
“No, we’re not going there. We’re not letting him ruin another second—do you hear me?” He was at a red light, so his eyes were on me. “That dude isn’t fucking special enough to warrant any more conversation about him. This is about us, not him. He doesn’t have a place in this car, and he sure as hell doesn’t have a place in this night I have planned.”
I flattened my hand against my chest. “You’re right.” With my other hand, I squeezed the top of his fingers. “This is about us.”
“I don’t want you to be wrecked over this. I want us to have a good night—a night you deserve, baby.”
The smile wasn’t like the one I had given him earlier. It was smaller, weaker. Like a scab that was about to fall off. I wasn’t going to continue to make David the topic. I was moving on from him completely, shifting my concentration, so I added, “What do you have planned?”
“I was going to take you down to Malibu and hit up Nobu and walk the beach after dinner but …” His voice drifted off as he analyzed my face. “You know what? I have a better idea.”
“Yeah?”
He chuckled. “Tell me, Lily, are you afraid to get dirty in that dress?”
“Dirty?”
“And possibly messy.”
I shrugged. “I have no idea what you mean … but as long as I’m with you, I’m not afraid of anything.”
“The list of reasons I’m so fucking wild about you keeps adding up.”
I giggled as he flew through the green light, weaving down several streets before he pulled into an In-N-Out Burger. I thought he was just turning around until he circled the lot and got in line at the drive-through.
That was when my laugh reached a much louder volume. “Burgers? That’s your idea?”
“You hate it?”
“No.” I moved my hand from his fingers to his arm. “I’ll take casual over fancy any day.”
He grinned at me and rolled down his window, saying into the speaker, “I’ll take two Double Doubles with chilies and two Animal-Style fries.”
“Anything else?” was said through the intercom.
“Two Cokes.”
“You can pull up.”
He paid at the window, collected the bag of food and parked behind the restaurant, handing me my wrapped burger and container of fries, positioning my Coke in the cupholder.
“I’m going to tell you two reasons we’re here right now.” He popped a saucy fry into his mouth. “The first is that even though Nobu is a restaurant I can’t live without, I’ve been there before with other women. You deserve better, and I should have thought of that when I planned our night.”
I unwrapped my burger, and the slippery bun, the chunky slice of tomato, and melted cheese proved just how messy this was going to get—and I loved it. “It doesn’t offend me, Brady. I don’t have jealousy issues like that. I know you’ve gone out with a lot of women. I would think there are very few restaurants in LA where you haven’t taken someone.” I winked. “But I’ll also say this: I wore this dress because I knew you were going to take me somewhere nice. I’m just as happy—honestly, I’m even happier—in yoga pants and a T-shirt, wolfing down a Double Double and Animal-Style fries.”
He wiped his fingers on a napkin and moved them to my face. “Something else that’s so fucking hot about you.” He finished chewing. “Reason two is that I’ve never brought another woman here before.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Considering who you are and what you can afford, I’m sure they wanted the best.”
