Page 84 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
“Aww. You didn’t have to. This isn’t actually a date, so . . .” She trailed off, noting the brief glint of disappointment in Matt’s eyes. Who was she kidding? This night had all the makings of a date, including the sparks. “Um, thank you for the corsage. It’s beautiful.”
“It goes on your wrist. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to. I know you have your charm bracelet, which is way more important. I just know a lot of the kids get them for each other at prom, and I thought you should have one.”
“I want to wear it.” She held out the wrist that wasn’t wearing the bracelet. “Will you do the honors?”
Matt looked almost embarrassed, which struck her as odd. And sweet. He slid the flower on her wrist and met her gaze. “There you go.” Gesturing toward the passenger seat, he said, “Your chariot awaits.”
Liz reminded herself to stay in the moment as she stepped into his truck.
“Here we go,” Matt said as he got behind the steering wheel and cranked the engine.
“You do realize that this ride is going to be way worse for me than a driving lesson. That I might freak out, as Rose puts it, or throw up or . . .”
He reached out and touched her arm. “I know what I’m getting myself into, Liz. I always have.” With that, he faced forward and reversed out of her driveway.
What did he mean by that? By saying he always had.
As if hearing her thoughts, Matt glanced over and smiled. “It’s no secret that I like you. I don’t eat all those muffin bites for my health.”
Liz’s heart raced. “You don’t eat them all anyway. You give them away.”
“I eat half of them.” He grinned. “And I’ve always known my chances with you are slim. Like I said, I know what I’m getting into.”
“And what’s that?” she asked.
“A strictly friends relationship that I’ll always wish was more.”
Liz clutched the side door, heart racing, thoughts completely on Matt as he drove. “Any other guy probably would have moved on by now, and asked someone else out.”
Matt was driving exactly the speed limit and keeping both hands on the wheel. Liz suspected he was working hard to make sure she felt safe. He always made her feel safe, ever since the accident. “Call me an eternal optimist, but I believe one of these days, you’re going to look at me and see the man of your dreams.”
Liz understood that he was joking. At least she thought so. “Or, one of these days, you’re going to realize I’m not the woman of yours.”
“Nope.” He slid his gaze over for just a moment before returning his focus on the road. “One thing about me is that I know what I like and I never stray from it.”
“So, you like petite woman with brown hair. Glasses. The nervous type.” Liz slowly released her grip on the door’s grab bar. She pulled in a shallow breath and then another, keeping her attention on him while he kept his eyes straight ahead.
“I like theyoutype.”
He was laying it all out for her on this ride. Part of her wondered if it was just a distraction technique to keep her mind off the road and where they were headed. If so, it was working.
“I like you, too,” she confessed. Maybe she was working hard on distracting herself as well. “I don’t think you realize just how hard it would be to date me though.”
He glanced over. It was just for a moment and then he returned his gaze forward. “Dating me wouldn’t be a cakewalk either, trust me. I like to think the good outweighs the not-so-good though. I think that’s probably true in most relationships. And just so you’re aware, I’m not afraid of hard things.”
Liz felt a little flutter inside her chest. “Good to know.” She was glad he was facing forward so he wouldn’t see just how hard she was working to hold back a giddy grin. How could she be grinning at a time like this? She was on her way to prom, the very last place she would ever want to go.
Finally, he pulled into the parking lot for the high school gym and cut the engine.
He released his seatbelt and looked over. “We made it,” he said in a near whisper.
She rolled her lips together, wondering if she should ask the question on her mind. “Did you, um, mean what you said? Or were you just trying to distract me?”
“Did I distract you?” he asked, pulling his hand back and straightening in his seat.
She remembered to breathe. “I guess what you were saying did keep half my thoughts on you. Was it true though?”
Something about him looked suddenly vulnerable. It was a rare look for him. “Does it matter?”
