Page 94 of If Love Had A Manual

“In the dark?”

“Well, it tends to get dark at night, so also yes.”

His jaw clenches. “Yeah, that’s nothappening anymore.”

I roll my eyes, nudging him playfully as we fall into step. “Oh, please. I have pepper spray, and I walk the main road. I’ve never had an issue.”

“Still not happening.”

“Are you seriously telling me what I can and can’t do?”

“Yes, and now I’m telling you that I’m walking you home.”

I blink up at him. He’s so damn tall, I need to crane my neck back just to meet his eyes. “You really don’t have to.”

“Too bad.”

“You’re stubborn, you know that?”

“I’m aware.”

I give in with a loud sigh. “Fine, but you’re carrying my bag.”

He gives me a dry look that screams he wouldn’t be caught dead. “It’s already on your shoulder.”

“It’s heavy.”

“It’s the size of a shoebox.”

“Filled with emotional baggage. Besides, it’s the principle.”

He groans, but to my surprise, he takes it from me, and we fall into step beneath the glow of streetlights. There’s something strangely intimate about walking next to him like this.

I take the moment to glance at him, noticing how different he looks in this light. Less guarded. Less burdened. More him.

“You look nice tonight,” I say and wait for the embarrassment to bubble, but it never does.

“I look the same as I always do.”

“Nope.” I shake my head. “You usually look like a hot mechanic who’s too grumpy to function. Tonight,you’re more like a hot mechanic, but approachable.”

His lips twitch. “So still hot?”

I open my mouth to argue, but I don’t because he’s not wrong.

He smirks, clearly picking up on my hesitation.

“Don’t get cocky.”

He barks a laugh. “Too late.”

“You’re such a pain in my ass.”

“Maybe,” he says, eyes dipping to mine. “But you weren’t smiling like that five minutes ago.”

Why did he go and say that?

Suddenly, this doesn’t feel like just a walk home. It feels different. Like we’ve slipped into something we weren’t meant to, yet neither of us is pulling away. Neither of us is stopping it.

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