Page 58 of The Pinkie Pact

"Yeah, probably." I slid into the seat. "Thank you."

He nodded his head toward me. "Of course."

I took a second to look at the inside of his car as he came around and sat in the driver's seat. Although cars were so not my thing, I could tell it was something nice.

For a second, I debated asking him about it, but honestly, I didn't give a crap what kind of car it was. I'd made that mistake before with guys, and they ended up rambling endlessly about their stupid car while I had to pretend to care.

He wiped his hands on his pants, glancing at me as he took the steering wheel. "So want to know where we're going?"

I thought for a second. "No. Surprise me. I mean, not that it will mean anything to me really. I have no clue about any of the restaurants here.... what's nice, what's new, what's popular, what's not. Kara and I don't really go out for fine cuisine."

Oh, Lord, I was rambling.

He laughed as he pulled away from the curb, and then I just had to continue. "The finest cuisine we eat is thanks to you and your Trader Joe's trips. I mean, I know you don't really buy it forme. Of course, it's for your sister. But she's so sweet, and she always shares."

Waiting for a stoplight, he turned to look at me, his eyebrows creased together. "Of course, it's for you too. Why do you think I buy so much?"

"Are you saying I eat a lot?" I asked, trying to make him smile.

The light switched to green, and he took off with a grin. "No. I wouldn't dare."

"Well, ahem, either way, it's appreciated. Thank you."

"My pleasure."

Something about the way he said that gave me little spine tingles, and I wondered how I'd get through this night. God, I really needed a drink. "Can we get some wine?" I blurted out.

He gave me a sideways look. "You mean like right this second?"

Clasping my hands tightly in my lap, I had to wonder why I was acting like such an idiot. "Well, not like right this minute. I guess I'm just hoping we're going to have a drink at the restaurant, you know, not go somewhere without alcohol."

He chuckled like it was some kind of inside joke. "It's an Italian restaurant, so I'm pretty sure they'll have plenty of wine."

"Oh, thank God." Oops, did I say that out loud? I was definitely not on my A-game tonight. Actually, I had no game at all. "I mean, it's been a long week, you know?"

"Oh, yeah? What happened?"

Hmm, I wasn't really sure what to say because nothing had really happened. It had just crawled by, making the anticipation for this night build and build until I was a mess... like right now.

But I was saved from answering when we pulled up to what looked like a large modern apartment building, complete with beautiful lit-up trees lining the sidewalk.

"Well, this is it," Kieran said as he stopped the car.

A valet came over and opened my door for me. Ooh, classy, I thought, as I tried to exit gracefully. "Thank you," I said.

Kieran tossed him the keys. "Thanks, man."

Why was that so hot? I couldn't keep my eyes off him as he turned to me and held out a hand.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm." Grasping his palm, I noticed a restaurant tucked into the ground floor.

"This place has been a family favorite for a long time," Kieran said, opening the door wide for me.

"I love that."

Honestly, that was way better than going to some trendy new place. My eyes flitted around trying to take it all in—the white tablecloths, the candles lighting every table, the bottles of wine lining the wall.

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