Page 22 of Healer’s Betrayal

I shake my head. “Laugh it up. Thank you for watching Noah.”

She waves me off. “You already thanked me. Now get going so you can enjoy your hot date.”

“Stop calling it a hot date,” I say on my way to the door. “See you, Noah.” He waves and then goes back to his book. “Thanks, Renee.”

“Have fun; don’t hurry home on our account,” Renee says with a wave.

I leave in plenty of time to make the walk to my “fake” house. Thankfully, I’m early. I walk up and down the sidewalk a few times before I see him. I smile as I walk towards his car and open the passenger seat door. “Hey.”

“Hey, Kayla. How are you?”

I close my door. “I’m good. How are you?”

“Good. I’m looking forward to tonight.”

“I am too.” I find that I actually mean the words. I’m nervous, but I’m looking forward to the evening. He starts driving, and I sit back against the seat. “This is a nice car.” I know it’s a classic car because it’s old; beyond that, I have no idea.

“You like it? It’s a 1970 Pontiac GTO. I restored it myself. It took me about two years.”

“That’s great.”

He glances over at me. “You into cars?”

“No, I don’t know anything about cars.”

“Guess we’ll have to change that.”

The chitchat is easy, and I find myself relaxing. He parks, and we head inside. “Have you eaten here before?” Cole asks as we follow the hostess to a booth.

“No. It’s looks great, though.”

“It’s really good.”

We sit, and I settle in my chair and open the menu. “So, what’s good?”

“Everything,” he says in return, causing me to smile. “The lasagna is really good, the chicken masala, the chicken alfredo.”

“Mmmm, that all sounds so good.”

“Oh, and the garlic bread they bring to the table is amazing,” Cole adds.

Before I can say anything else, our waiter appears. “Good evening. My name is Craig, and I’ll be taking your order. Can I get you a drink to get started?”

Cole orders a beer before looking across the table at me. “You want a wine?”

I swallow and force myself to focus and not get thrown off. “Uh, I’ll just have a water. Thank you.”

“Are you sure?” Cole asks.

“Yes.” I force a smile. “An ice water sounds good.” I pull up my menu and take a deep breath and remind myself that if Cole wants to order a beer, he can. He's his own person. Mentally, though, I’m spiraling. I’m calculating if it will be safe for him to drive home. Visions of my very drunk uncle flash before my eyes, and I remind myself that Cole is not him.

“Did you decide on something?” Cole asks.

I close my menu. “Yes. The lasagna.” It’s the only thing I remember him saying.

He smiles. “Good choice.”

Our waiter comes with a water for me and a beer for Cole. I force my eyes away from the glass. “Are you ready to order?” Craig, our waiter, asks.