Page 91 of The Billionaire's Teacher

Her eyebrows lifted. “Those aren’t Italian.”

I shrugged. “They’re still yummy.”

“Sure. I’ll give it a whirl.”

I added an order. “Tiramisu or cannoli?”

“Leave the gun.” She glanced over at me.

I grinned. “Got it.”

“Oh good. I was worried that movie reference was going to sail over your head.”

“Are you kidding me? It’s a classic.” I finished the order then twisted in my seat and reached for her hand. “That said, can we make a pact?”

“Maybe. What’s the pact?” Wariness entered her eyes.

I frowned slightly and worked to keep my voice light. “I get that I’m younger than you. I do. But it doesn’t bother me. I don’t want it to bother you. If you make a reference or a joke and I don’t get it? Explain it to me. But don’t make it weird. I’ll do the same. Okay?”

After a moment, Sunshine closed her eyes and nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

“Pfft.” I waved that off. “These are things we work through. That’s it.”

I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed her knuckles.

Sunshine drew in a quick breath and I glanced over, a question in my gaze. She gave a tiny shake of her head.

I squeezed her hand before letting go so I could put my phone into its cradle, shift into drive, and get us underway.

It wasn’t a long drive from the airport into Old Town. I pointed out the few things that I thought were interesting or noteworthy as we passed them, but it wasn’t like we were seeing monuments or anything else that made DC exciting. Mostly it was the Potomac River and neighborhoods.

Once we reached Old Town, I maneuvered the series of one-way streets so I came down the correct side of the road to pull into one of the curbside spots the Italian restaurant had reserved. Then I reached for my phone to let them know we had arrived.

“Shouldn’t be long. They’re pretty on top of things.” I’d barely gotten the words out when the door opened and a server wearing all black and carrying a large white bag with the restaurant logo came out.

I lowered the window on Sunshine’s side.

“For Mr. Allen?”

“That’s me.”

Sunshine reached through the window and took the bag. She settled it between her feet on the floor. “Thanks.”

“Have a nice night.” The server waved and turned to head back to the restaurant.

“Ready?” I looked at Sunshine and wanted to pinch myself. She was here. Sitting in my car.

“Now that I can smell the food? I really hope you don’t live far.”

I laughed and clicked the button to raise the window, then, after checking for traffic, pulled out into the road. It wasn’t far to my house, but it was Saturday night in the summer and Old Town was bustling. Groups thronged the sidewalk. They waited at corners or took their chances darting across the road when they saw an opening. Even though I only lived a few blocks from the main shopping area, it took close to twenty minutes between traffic and stop lights.

Finally, I pulled into the driveway behind my townhouse.

Sunshine leaned down and looked out the window. “It’s cute.”

“Thanks.” I didn’t love the word cute, but it probably applied. The whitewashed brick had been a major selling point for me. It was a contrast to the boring red brick that most of the other houses in the area used. Of course, a few doors down, one of the neighbors had painted their brick a sort of neon green. If nothing else, it gave me a landmark to tell people if they needed directions.

I pushed open my door.

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