Beth sighed. “Dating is fine, but I usually know if a man’s right within a few moments, so doing coffee dates or a quick lunch is all I want at this point.” She looked at her cell phone then stood. “Why don’t you find me some candidates? I’ll free my lunch hour all of next week. Do the same for Nick. He needs to see what’s out there. Sometimes the grass looks a whole lot greener until you have to date it!” Beth sent Nick an eyebrow hitch and then stalked away.
Shelby laughed. “Someone isn’t happy about giving up her sex partner. So where should we set up your lunch dates next week? Oh, I know. We could do them at the park . . . on the grass.”
“Funny.” Nick scowled as he plucked the twenty-dollar bill from the holder and slid it in front of her.
“I was just kidding.”
When his jaw clenched and he refused to look her in the eye, remorse sat like a lead ball in her belly.
Okay, clearly he was growing on her. She probably even cared for him a little. But he was still the most annoying man she’d ever met. And the sexiest, but that part she needed to put aside.
She slipped Nick’s twenty to the new busboy as he walked by, and then laid her hand over his big warm one and gave it a squeeze. “What’s wrong, Nick?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.” Then he lifted his head and stared into her eyes as if searching for something.
Confused by the emotion in his gaze, she said, “Are you mad about our kiss—”
“Sorry to interrupt.” Greg slipped into an empty chair across from her. “But Jo said you wouldn’t mind, Shelby.”
She glanced at Nick’s tightly entwined fingers around hers. How that had that happened she wasn’t sure, but it felt nice. Maybe he wasn’t as mad at her as she thought.
But then Greg’s presence reminded her to keep her eye on the ball, so she started to untangle their fingers. When she tried to slip her hand away, Nick tightened his grip.
Dammit. She couldn’t wrestle her hand away without looking like an idiot, but what would Greg think? She’d make Nick pay for that later.
Greg beamed a bright smile at her. “I have to go. I’m going to surprise Dad at his office. But I wanted to tell you that some of the guys from the neighborhood are going to be at the party. We’d hoped we could talk you into playing receiver. The five of us went undefeated that one summer, remember?”
Her stomach took a dive. “I don’t think I’ll be dressed for that . . .”
“Just bring some sweats to change into. We’re all looking forward to it. We’ve all missed you, Shelby.” Greg stood and pushed his chair back under the table.
“Umm. Okay. See you tomorrow.” All the gang missed her, or had he missed her?
Greg lifted a hand in Nick’s direction. “Nice to meet you.” Then he turned to her, “Bye, Shelby.”
She sent him a finger wave with her free hand and then took a sip from her cup as she pondered the situation. One step forward, two steps back. Should she play or not? She wouldn’t want to disappoint him.
After Greg left, Nick slowly slid his hand from hers, then crossed his arms. “So your prince, who you haven’t seen for two years, who your gooey heart longs for, just wants to play football with you?”
“No! It’s just . . . none of your damned business.” He’d hit way too close to the truth, and that holding-her-hand-hostage thing hadn’t been funny. She packed up her laptop and stood to leave. “Did you read the stuff I forwarded you about first dates last night?”
“Yup.” His grin quickly faded as he stood and walked out beside her. He beat her to the exit and yanked the glass door open. “I’m parked just over there.”
She was parked right in front and really didn’t want to talk to him at the moment, so she pressed her fob and unlocked her car door. “I’ll just meet you there.”
“I can’t believe you drive a Prius.” He tilted his head as he circled her car. “Pop the hood. I want to see how many mice are under there.”
“You know what, Nick? It’s going to be tough finding you a woman as hilarious as you!” She slid behind the wheel and slammed the door. She’d had enough of his smart comments.
His knuckle tapped on her window.
She rolled it down. “What?”
Leaning inside, he shot her a big grin. “Is my lunch date a brunette? You said they were better in—”
“Yes. Now go away.” She splayed her fingers across his face, pushed his big head out, then rolled up her window. He’d get a brunette the next time too, all right. And she had just the one in mind. His name was Jordan. A good friend with a wicked sense of humor who was almost as pretty as Nick. Too bad for all the women in the world, Jordan preferred men. Teach Nick to sabotage her quest for Greg by holding her hand like that.