Page 47 of The Love Playbook

A creaking sound draws my attention, and I jerk my gaze from the phone to where Lettie steps over the scarred wooden boards of the porch and onto the grass.

ME:

Oh shit. She’s coming. Gotta go.

I click my phone off and silence notifications before I lean across the car and push open Charlotte’s door from the inside. I totally would get out of the car and open it for her, but she has a look of murder in her eyes, and I’d rather not get kicked in the sack.

“I can get my own door,” she grumps, her voice a barely audible mumble as she slides inside.

“Everything okay?” I ask, watching her closely.

“Fantastic. Everything is freaking fantastic,” she says through gritted teeth.

Yep, she’s angry. Or upset. Or something. Hell, this girl is a puzzle.

“Wanna talk about it?” I ask, even though I know hell would freeze over before she talked to me about her problems.

She says nothing, just continues to stare out the window as my gaze slides to the delicate line of her throat where it bobs as she swallows. “Can we just go, please?”

I nod, tearing my eyes away from her smooth skin and start the car. “Sure thing.”

My mind races as I start down the driveway. I should probably take her straight to the dorms. It’s what a normal person would do. Hell, it’s what a gentleman would do, but even if I weren’t hellbent on making Charlotte fall for me, I can sense she’s upset?more than upset?and I care enough about her as a human being that I can’t let her step foot back on campus without a smile on her face.

I turn onto the street while she leans her forehead against the window beside her, eyes closed, and a frown playing with the corners of her mouth.

By the time I pull into Hobbs’s Diner twenty minutes later, I’m sweating bullets. I think she’s fallen asleep, and I have no idea what her reaction is going to be when she sees we’re not back on campus.

The moment I park the car and turn the ignition off, she blinks her eyes open, and I hold my breath. “Where are we?” she asks, her frown deepening.

“Neither of us have eaten yet, and it’s almost eight o’clock. I’m starving.”

Her mouth parts, and I have no doubt she’s preparing an argument when I press a hand to my forehead and wince like I’m in pain. “My blood sugar is low. I’m feeling woozy. It’s unsafe to drive.”

“Then give me the keys.” She wiggles her fingers out in front of her. “Because I’m fine, and I’d be happy to drive us.”

I nearly choke. “You driving the Boss? Now, I’m really feeling faint.” I fan my face with a hand, and she cuts me with a glare sosharp and so strong, I shift a hand to my junk to make sure it’s still intact.

Yep, all good here.

“Can’t you just go through a drive-through or get takeout?”

“When we’re this close to Hobbs?” I say, like it’s a crime. “Hell no.”

“What the hell is Hobbs?”

I scoff. “What’s Hobbs? It’s only the best diner in the Great Lakes. How can you be from around here and never eaten at Hobbs?”

She shrugs and grumbles something unintelligible, then, “Look, I’m not even hungry.”

“Too bad.”

Her mouth drops open. “Excuse me?”

“Isaid. Too. Bad.” My gaze flickers over her. “From the looks of you, it’s been a long day; you’re tired, and clearly going through something you don’t want to share, so we’re going to get out and eat some comfort food, maybe get a little more caffeine to perk you up, and then we’ll head back to school afterward, and you can go back to pushing pins into the little doll you have of my likeness.”

Lettie snorts. “Okay, but just so we’re clear, I’m fine,” she says like she’s hoping to convince herself. “I’m just . . . just . . .” She trails off, and I can tell by the look on her face, she’s at a loss for words. Even a lie won’t roll off her lips right now.

“Look, it’s not in my nature to stand by and do nothing when a friend is upset,” I say, saving her from herself.

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