"It's Brittney," she corrected for the second time.
Ignoring her, he gave me a slow half-smile. "How about a compromise? You replace dinner, and I'll worry about Becky's purse."
I snuck a glance at Brittney. This time, she didn't bother correcting him. But her look said it all. She wassonot amused.
His offer was tempting, but I hated the idea of being in his debt. Sure, the guy could afford it, but I hated owing people. Those debts always came due at the worst time, in the worst way.
Brittney was looking daggers at both of us. By now, I was fairly certain Lawton was a lot better with names than he let on. Was he just goading her? If so, she certainly wasn't enjoying it. With an exasperated sigh, she gave the other blonde a pleading look.
The girl took the hint. "Forget dinner," she practically purred. "Let's get straight to dessert."
Lawton gave her the briefest glance, and then returned his attention to me. "Is it a deal? I'll get the purse. You get dinner."
"A foursome, Lawton?" the second blonde said. "Really? Isn't that a bit much?"
This time, I did blush. A foursome? We were still talking about dinner?
I leaned over and scooped up Chucky. "I've got to go."
"You're not walking back," he said.
"Sure I am."
"In the rain?"
"I walkedhere, didn't I?" Outside, a crack of thunder sounded loud enough to rattle the windows. Chucky whined. I wanted to whine too, but instead I clamped my lips shut and glanced toward the front door.
"Wait here," Lawton said. "I'll pull up the car."
Maybe I should've argued, but why bother? Walking home in a raging thunderstorm was stupid by anyone's definition. And besides, refusing the offer just made everything more awkward. Things were awkward enough as it was.
Still, it wasn't exactly comfortable when Lawton headed out some side entrance to pull up a car.
Brittney and her friend looked at me with undisguised loathing.
"You're not his type, you know," Brittney said.
I grinned. "Whatever you say, Betty."
She scowled. "Ha ha."
Meanwhile, Chucky was looking at their shoes with more than casual interest. As I knew firsthand, Chucky loved to chew up footwear.
Too bad we were leaving. I'd love to give Chucky the chance.
Chapter 7
The car wasn't what I expected. I'd been expecting something late-model and definitely expensive. Maybe a Lamborghini, possibly a Porsche. But what pulled up in the circular driveway was something I couldn’t exactly place.
The car was at least double my age, and nothing I recognized. It was some vintage muscle car. Between the dark and the rain, I couldn't tell the exact color, but just looking at its sleek lines and listening to the roar of its engine, I could tell one thing flat-out. It was a lot like Lawton Rastor, all speed and muscle, not a lot of comfort.
As soon as the car skidded to a stop in the turnaround, I fled Lawton's house, plunging out of the open doorway and holding onto Chucky for dear life. No way the little monster was getting away this time.
By the time I reached the car, the passenger's side door was already open, with Lawton leaning across the seat, his tattooed arm stretched toward the door handle like he'd just shoved at it. Still clutching Chucky, I jumped into the vehicle and closed the door behind me, surprised by how heavy the door was. The thing had to be all metal, compared to whatever they made car doors out of nowadays.
I glanced over at Lawton. His hair was still damp, but at least he'd put on a shirt, some basic black T-shirt with a miscellaneous logo on the front.
When he hit the accelerator, the car's roar briefly drowned out the sound of the rain, and the seats vibrated with the engine's power. When we neared the gate, it slid open automatically, probably on a motion-sensor. A moment later, he pulled out onto the street with barely a glance in my direction. Easy to see why, with two beautiful girls waiting in the wings.
