When I slide my hand into his to get into the cab, a zip of energy walks down my spine. Does his hand linger for a fraction of a second longer than it needs to?
While I wait for him to get in and start the engine, I spin the little bracelet around my wrist. Does he think I’m brave? Or does he want toinspire meto be brave, especially tonight? How does he know that I’m holding tight to so much hope about the outcome?
“Should we get a few of our facts straight before we get there?” I ask as he turns out of my driveway.
“What facts?”
“Like did we start dating before we got stuck doing community service together or after?”
He twitches his lips. “Before.”
I nod. “Did we have a meet cute?”
“What the hell is a meet cute?” he asks with a scowl.
“It’s a moment early on in a relationship when two people notice each other. It can be funny, or heroic, even embarrassing.”
“Right,” he says, though it sounds faraway. I’m losing him.
“We can just go with the truth. That we’re neighbors, and you asked me out.”
“Why can’t you askmeout?”
I try to give him a stern glare, but his cocky grin makes it impossible. “Fine. I threw myself at your feet and begged.”
“Was that before or after you got naked?”
Are my hair follicles on fire? “You wish.”
He laughs a full-belly laugh that lights up his eyes. “Okay. So you asked me out, and?—"
“You askedmeout!” I cry, jabbing him in the shoulder again.
He pretend winces while rubbing his shoulder. “All right, shortcake, I asked you out. Where did I take you and what did we do?”
“You took me to dinner and a movie.”
“That’s your idea of a perfect first date?”
“You have something better, let’s hear it.”
He taps his chin. “I took you on a hike complete with a gourmet picnic, then we went out on the boat to watch the sunset. Then we went dancing.”
“Not bad,” I say with a nod while my insides turn to mush. “Give me a quick bio of your family.”
“You already know Everett,” he says, shifting into a higher gear. “Edie’s the youngest. Mom and Dad’s only biological kid and the only girl. The rest of us are adopted, though Ev and I are related by blood. Cam’s my youngest brother. He’s a cowboy for Crescent Bar Ranch. Then there’s Sepp. He’s the physician’s assistant who works with Ev’s fiancé, Vivian, at Finn River Pediatrics.”
I try to catalogue all of this intel but it’s dense. Linden’s adopted? All of his brothers are adopted too? But what comes out is, “Everett’s engaged?”
“Yep.”
“When’s the wedding?”
“September twenty-seventh.”
“Are we going?”
His eyes narrow in confusion. “Do you want to?”
