Page 20 of Fade (Fighting Fate)

Without looking back, I walked beside Daniel to his mom’s car and waited for him to open the door for me while Mom yelled at me to come back. When we were both seat belted in and on our way out the gates, I touched his hand.

“I’m so sorry.?

?

He laughed, confusing me. “Why are we always apologizing to each other for other people’s bad behavior?”

I smiled. He was right. Between Ryan and my mother, we were both affected.

“Okay, then. From now on, no more apologies unless they’re our own.”

He squeezed my hand. “Agreed.” Letting his gaze sweep down my body, he inhaled deeply. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

I felt my cheeks heat instantly with his smoldering look. “Thanks.” Clearing my throat, I tried to get the topic off me. “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”

Giving me a knowing smile, he redirected his attention back to the road. “I’m taking you on a picnic.” He glanced at me, suddenly appearing nervous. “Is that okay?”

Ryan had never done anything like that for me. “That’s perfect.”

His shoulders relaxed, and he gave me a sheepish grin. “Mom helped me pack it.”

I tensed. “Oh, I thought she went to San Francisco,” I said. I wasn’t sure why, but I suddenly wondered what Daniel’s mom thought of us going on a date.

“Stop it,” Daniel said.

I didn’t even pretend not to know what he was talking about. We’d had this discussion many times over the last week. After growing up extremely conscious of other people’s perception of me, it was hard to let go and not worry about what people thought.

“Did she think it was weird that we were going on a date?”

“I said, stop it, but no, she didn’t. She seemed happy about it.”

That surprised me. Every time I saw her when I was with Ryan, she appeared as though she didn’t like me being with her son. “She did?”

“Yeah, she said she didn’t think Ryan was right for you.” He grinned widely.

I laughed. How right she was.

“And yeah, she’s gone to San Francisco. She’ll be back tomorrow. And Ryan’s gone up to Redding—he said something about a party with Corey.”

“Okay.”

He gave me an anxious look. “I thought this was a good idea, but now I’m not so sure . . . ”

My breath stuck in my throat.

He frowned at me, then his eyes widened. “Not the date,” he said quickly. “The date was the most brilliant idea I’ve ever had. I meant the picnic.” He hesitated. “I thought because the house was empty, we could make use of it, you know, watch that movie we missed the other day, but I don’t want you to think I’m just trying to get you alone, which I’m not—I mean, I am, but . . . ”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. He was literally rambling. It was so cute.

He gave me a sardonic look before sighing. “Are you okay with us being alone at the house? I’m sorry. I should’ve asked before now.”

“It’s fine. I’m actually really looking forward to it. It sounds nice.”

He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, good.”

I was nervous when we reached the house a few short minutes later, and I couldn’t help but notice it was a different kind of nervousness to what I’d had when I knew I was going to be alone with Ryan. With Ryan, it was a kind of dread. Trailing Daniel into the house, I was filled with nerves bordering on anticipation. It was exciting yet confusing at the same time.

Taking me into the den, he spread a blanket out on the carpet and placed a few pillows on top. “There you are. Make yourself comfortable and I’ll just go get the food.”

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