Page 12 of Danger

“You hungry?” I ask her after we’ve made it a few miles out of LA.

“I could eat.”

“There’s a little diner at the next exit.” I need out of this car for a breather. Being around Monterey for this long makes me feel on edge. And not in a bad way. More in a type of way where if I’m not careful I may open up and spill all my secrets to her.

I take the next exit, parking the Benz at the diner, and we make our way inside.

“Can you please order me a bottle of water and I’ll be back.” Monterey heads off toward the restroom, and I take a seat at a booth near the back.

“Two waters and a coffee,” I tell the waitress. Doreen, her name tag reads, winks at me as her smile widens. “Sure thing, Danger. I’m a huge fan.” She bats her overly made-up eyelashes at me. If I’d been here on my own I’d probably have her legs wrapped around my back. She’s kind of pretty. But, she’s not Monterey pretty.

Doreen is a weed, whereas Monterey is a whole damn garden of roses.

Monterey returns from the washroom at the same time Doreen drops off our drinks.

“Ready to order?” she asks.

Monterey looks at the menu for a second and then smiles. “Just a BLT extra lettuce, thank you.” She hands the menu to Doreen.

“Same.” I hand my menu over and Doreen walks away.

I like a girl who doesn’t need half an hour to look over the menu. But that’s Monterey. She’s never been indecisive about anything in her life. She’s a go-getter. A woman who can make snap decisions in a split second.

“Can I ask you a question?” I pull in a deep breath of air, afraid to even ask Monterey this, but I need answers.

“Sure.” She shrugs.

“Do you personally know Cole Danforth?”

She blinks. “Um, sure. I know of him. I think I’ve met him a few times.”

“He’s that Indy racer that invented that helmet thing we use now, right?”

She nods. “Yes. He is.”

I scrub my hands across my jaw.

“Why do you ask?” She stares at me.

“I’d like to meet him.” I’m not sure what reason to give her, but settle on, “he’s kind of an inspiration to me with driving.”

That works because she smiles. “Actually he’s doing a charity event tonight in Vegas. We could swing by.”

“That won’t make us late to Indy?”

Monterey stares at her phone for a moment. “I don’t think so.” She taps a few buttons. “Nope, we should make it just fine.” She sets her phone down and looks up at me. “Want to go?”

“Yes. I do.”

She smiles, like she’s pleased with the answer. “I would have never guessed you had someone you looked up to.”

I hang my head down. “Don’t start.”

“No, I think it’s cute.”

I stare at her and blink. “Cute?”

“Yes, it’s cute that you have a hero.”

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