Page 42 of That Rush

“It’s information.”

“About how much you enjoy turning me down?”

“About what you’re asking me to give up.” The corners of her mouth ease, though her voice stays direct. “I like my Fridays, Aiden. I’m not trading one for a vague plan where you pick me up, decide what we do, and drop me back home after I spend the evening fitting into your schedule.”

I was prepared for her to tease me. I wasn’t prepared for her to tell me exactly where I keep getting this wrong.

Every invitation I’ve made has required Paige to leave her life and step into mine. Even now, I’m asking her to surrender the night she protects while offering nothing more specific than dinner.

“What if you kept the cabin?” I ask.

“And my book.”

“I’m beginning to resent that book.”

“You haven’t met this one yet.”

“What if you kept the cabin, the book, and the food you like?”

Interest flickers across her face. “That would depend on what you’re proposing.”

“I’m working on it.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“I plan things for a living.”

“Yes, and so far, your plans keep assuming I’ll rearrange mine.”

“Let me get it right this time.”

Paige studies me, then walks behind the checkout desk and pulls a square of paper from beside the computer. She writes something down, folds it once, and holds it out.

I take it from her. Her cabin address runs across the center.

“This is permission to ask me again,” she says. “It isn’t a yes.”

“I understand the difference.”

“And if the answer is no?”

“I leave.”

She searches my face, waiting for an argument. When she doesn’t find one, her fingers loosen from the paper.

Saying it settles something in my chest. The possibility of hearing no still sets my teeth on edge. Knowing she believes I’ll respect it makes the risk worth taking. I want her to open the door because I gave her a reason, not because she thinks refusing me will become a negotiation.

“Then maybe I’ll answer the door.”

I tuck the address into my wallet and pick up the trail guide.

Paige looks at it. “Are you actually checking that out?”

“I’ve become concerned Texas erased more than I realized.”

Her laugh follows me through the doors.

I came here intending to get a date. I leave with an address, a challenge, and no promise at all.