Under Fire (Love Over Duty #1)(19)

Dinner with Six felt like a trap. Restaurants, people, servers she'd need to answer. She hadn't wanted to eat out with her mother or Lucan either, but they'd reserved a table at a spacious restaurant, and her mother had assured her it wouldn't be overly busy.

"Don't worry, Lou," he said, taking her hand. "Just stay with me and we'll figure this out."

She could always hop in her car and head back home. It would take less than ten minutes given the traffic at this time of night. She could call in an order to her favorite deli in Little Italy. They'd even pop outside and hand it to her so she didn't need to go inside. But she couldn't tug her hand away from his. For some reason, staying with him seemed the most compelling of options. 

"Want to join me for tacos?" Six asked playfully. "I know a great place just south of here that does incredible seafood."

"I'm pretty much a vegetarian," Louisa said, ready for the awkward comments about her choices, but Six didn't even blink.

"Well. I'm sure you can find something on the menu that works. If not, we'll just head somewhere else instead. There's Café Gratitude. They do a really good vegetarian Indian curry bowl."

Louisa grinned.

"What?" Six asked, looking at her curiously.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. How on earth had she ended up going to dinner with Six? Was it a date? Or was it just an act of mercy? If that was the case, someone should put her out of her misery now.

"So do you live locally?" Six asked, leading them purposefully. His hand was wrapped tightly around hers. It was an anchor to hold on to as she navigated the busy street.

"About ten minutes away. I'm in Mission Hills."

"Nice neighborhood. One second," he said, leading them into a Mexican restaurant that had bright yellow umbrellas and tall wooden tables. There was a large crowd of people around the bar, and most of the tables were full. Six placed his mouth close to her ear. "Does outside work for you? Or is it easier for you inside? And if it's too busy for you, we can just go somewhere else."

It was too busy for her. She glanced back through the window and noticed a couple leaving a corner seat on the patio. "If we could sit there it would be fine," she said, gesturing toward it.

Six spoke to the hostess, and within moments, they were seated in the corner, Louisa with her back to the crowd. The only thing to focus on was Six, and at moments like this, she really wished she wasn't quite so  …  inept. She'd noticed the way the hostess had looked up at him and done every enviable girl trick to flirt with him, from twirling her long ebony ponytail around her finger to fluttering eyelashes that had to be fake. Because nobody's eyelashes were that thick naturally. Yet Louisa could barely look at him. It was taking every ounce of energy she had just to deal with the crowds around her.

"What were you thinking?" Six asked, and she realized she hadn't even looked at the menu. "I'd recommend the mahi-mahi tacos normally, but I have no idea what's good vegetarian-wise."

His blond hair fluttered in the warm breeze, making him look even more  …  gah. Food, she needed to focus on food. She picked up the menu and hid behind it. Quickly scanning the menu, she chose the first vegetarian thing she saw, a mushroom, spinach, and avocado quesadilla. It sounded perfect, but her stomach was so squeezed with nervous excitement, she wasn't sure she could eat it. She returned the menu to the table and looked up at Six, who looked concerned.

"Are you okay, Lou?" he asked, quietly.

Louisa looked around behind her. "It's just  …  a lot," she said, not feeling the need to hide behind her stoic mask.

Six reached across the table. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

She nodded. "I do."

"Hey, I'm Carrie. Can I take your order?" the server asked as she approached them.

"Yeah. Can we get it to go? We just found out we need to leave."

They told Carrie what they wanted and she hurried away to deal with their order.

Relief battled with disappointment. She wasn't certain how much longer she could have sat in such a busy restaurant, although it had felt nice for a millisecond to act like a normal person. But disappointment washed through her. Going home to eat her Mexican alone instead of sitting outside and enjoying Six's company sucked.



       
         
       
        

When the food arrived at the table in one big bag, Six settled the bill and led Lou quickly away onto one of the quieter side streets. "Breathe, Lou," he said as he walked toward his silver truck. He grabbed a blanket from inside the truck, then handed her the bag of food before he pulled down the tailgate.