Page 37 of Hypnotized By Love

I did not believe him.

And when he looked at me with those pleading, gorgeous eyes of his, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that I’d be able to behave, either.

CHAPTER TWELVE

As if he sensed me weakening, he said, “You can be my fill-in Uber driver. I’ll even tip you and leave you a five-star review, if that helps.”

At his mention of a star rating, my mind went immediately to all the bad reviews Timothy had left me online, and I wondered if Mason’s suggestion was a thinly veiled jab, but he wasn’t wearing a sneaky or underhanded expression.

Although I supposed that was how the devil got you—by showing up looking like an angel.

“I’ll be waiting forever for a rideshare to show up out here,” he said. “That adrenaline is wearing off, and I kind of just want to go home and crash.”

He was right. We weren’t near any major cities, it would take a long time for a car to get here, and we were going to the exact same place. It made logical sense, even if I wasn’t in the mood to be logical. I sighed loudly. I could give him a lift.

It was very big of me. Somebody should have given me an award. “Okay. I’ll give you a ride. But you have to sit in the back seat.”

He looked like he wanted to ask me if I was serious, but he must have seen in my expression that I was. If I was going to be stuck in acar with him, I would make sure that there was some kind of barrier between us. I didn’t need him sitting next to me, taking up the entire front seat and looking the way he did and smelling good and my body figuring out a way to touch him somehow and ...

“Sounds great. Thank you,” he said.

I nodded and grabbed the bag of food. I felt him standing right behind me, dogging my steps as I went out to my car. The hostess told us to have a good evening, and I smiled at her while Mason thanked her. I opened the front door and hurried across the wooden bridge, unwilling to think about those moments that he and I had shared on it.

Better to put that behind me.

I unlocked my car with my key fob, and as I opened the driver’s-side door, I expected him to make a play for the front seat. To my surprise, he didn’t and slid into the back on the passenger side without complaint.

It was probably a bit cramped for him back there, but that was not my problem. I started the car up and headed out of the parking lot.

“I never thought our first date would involve a third person,” he announced, startling me, and I nearly slammed my brakes in response.

“That was not a date,” I said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

“You say not a date, I say most definitely a date. We went out, I paid.”

“I didn’t order anything!” I protested.

“I still paid. And now you’re taking me home with you.”

He was not as charming as he thought he was. “I am driving you to your mother’s house and leaving you there.”

“It’s a long trip home. The night’s still young. Things can change.”

I grit my teeth in anger. The night was still young? Things could change? Like I was going to have some kind of epiphany on the freeway that I couldn’t possibly miss out on the chance to be with Mason Beckett and insist we drive to the nearest hotel. As if I were going tojust take Bridget’s place and try to hook up with him tonight. Why was he always pushing my buttons? It was like he knew exactly what to say to infuriate me.

“How about some music?” I said, reaching for my console.

“No thanks.”

“I wasn’t actually asking.” I turned the music on loudly, determined to drown him out.

I looked in the rearview mirror again, and he was grinning to himself, like he had some kind of private insight and thought this was hilarious.

He actually managed to stay quiet, though. I couldn’t really hear what was playing—the only thing running through my mind was my desire to drop him off and get as far away from him as possible. I might have driven just a tad over the speed limit to hurry up and get us home.

I got all the way to the outskirts of our town before he slid forward and used his long arms to turn the music off.

I had just come to a stop at a red light and was about to yell at him to leave my music alone, but then he asked the one thing that would distract me.

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