His eyes crinkle at the corners. “Are you still goin’ to want dinner when I pick you up, or should we do somethin’ else?”
At the mention of him picking me up, something real close to embarrassment starts to burn up my throat, which makes no dang sense. I certainly didn’t set my store ablaze and in turn, make myself homeless—but that’s just what I am, homeless. I shouldn’t be ashamed of it, but even though I didn’t intentionally keep it from him, I still feel badly about it.
“How about we just leave from here?” I offer lamely. “Save you the trouble of havin’ to drive an hour from here to Law Bone, when we’re both in Wire Creek.” Of course, in my quest to save him some gas, I don’t realize my mistake until it’s too late.
“Uh-oh,” Lucy whispers loudly with a giggle, clearly coming to the same conclusion.
“Why would I be drivin’ out to Law Bone tonight to pick you up if you aren’t helpin’ out at Hazel’s when you live here, darlin’?”
I hear Luke laugh, but I don’t look away from Clayton. “I was goin’ to tell you,” I rush out, proud that I don’t feel my cheeks getting red.
He lifts his head more and looks at me with one brow up, waiting for me to continue.
“You see, there was a tiny problem with my place. . . .” I bite my lip and wince. “Okay, so maybe by tiny I mean real big, but that was before well, you, and I really didn’t think to mention it last weekend when we were at your house after the shower and, to be honest, it kinda slipped my mind with the whole head-on-collision horse-crash thing and runnin’ into my mama and well, you. . . .” I stop talking, thankful that my mouth finally just decided to snap shut when my brain wouldn’t stop the flow of verbal diarrhea.
“She had a fire at her bookstore. She doesn’t normally work at Hazel’s—she only does that now because her place is gone. Tried to get her ass at Luce’s and my place, but she’s a stubborn one, our Carrie,” Luke mumbles around a slice of pie I didn’t even notice had arrived.
“Caroline,” both Clayton and I tell him at the same time, breaking our staring contest in the process.
“Jesus Christ, not you too!” Luke grunts in annoyance.
I look back to Clayton just in time to see a mean-as-heck expression on his face, aimed at one of my best friends for something as simple as using a nickname that he now knows I don’t like. I have no idea why that’s so hot, but it makes my belly flutter in the most insane way.
“I really was goin’ to tell you—it just didn’t seem like the right time,” I defend weakly.
Clayton looks down at the table and shakes his head, but I know he isn’t that mad, because there’s a slight tip to the side of his mouth. He mumbles something, but it’s so low I can’t hear him.
“What?”
He slants his head my way. “I said, you’re lucky I find just about everything you do cute as fuck, Linney, because right now I want to pull you over my knee and tan your goddamn hide for thinkin’ there wasn’t a ‘right time’ just once during this whole week to fill me in. Talked to you every day and a few nights until you fell asleep. Tons of times in there you could’ve mentioned that you owned a bookstore, which you just so happened to live above; that it burned down; and that you don’t really work at a place that makes me uneasy just thinkin’ about you bein’ in.”
“Aww!” Lucy gushes. “Did you hear that Luke?”
“I’m sorry,” I offer lamely, ignoring Luke’s grumbles about me being safe at his bar.
Clayton nods and reaches out to pulls me back into his side before placing another kiss to my temple. That move would make my knees weak if I was standing.
“We can talk about it later, darlin’.”
Lucy pretty much holds a one-woman conversation for the rest of our time at the diner. Luke leaves right after he finishes his pie when a pretty redhead walks in. He throws some cash on the table without saying a word and takes off toward the back of the diner in hot pursuit.
I spend my time listening to Lucy talk to Clayton, his deep voice rumbling against me when he answers, but I don’t say much, not when all I can think about is what will happen later when Clayton and I talk.
I should’ve told him, he’s right. I make light of it because if I don’t, I’ll break down in tears thinking that someone might’ve intentionally set that fire, and I don’t want to ruin this evening.
Tonight is something I’ve been looking forward to. Not just because it’ll be another milestone I reach. Ever since John, I haven’t dated. Clayton’s the first man I’ve wanted anything more from. Not only that, but it’ll be my first date with someone who isn’t a teenage boy. Well, my first planned date after the unexpected first one. And now, like it or not, I get to start it by telling him I’m homeless, technically jobless, and one hot mess.