She leaned in closer to me as if to offer a secret of her own. “Maybe not so much mischief for you.”
I tweaked her braid. “I can’t make any promises.”
Nicole walked back to the door. “What are you two whispering about?”
I straightened and put on a Shakespearean air. “You can torture me, madam, but I’ll never tell.”
I winked at Sierra. She tried to wink back, but her face mostly smooshed together. She reached a hand up and physically closed one eye.
Man, that kid was cute.
“Don’t stay up too late.” Nicole grabbed the door handle and paused. “And only one show on TV.” She worried her lip.
I watched the display, wondering if I should say something. Nicole seemed nervous to leave Sierra. Should I offer to grab take-out? We could do a picnic on the living room floor. I opened my mouth to offer at the same time as Sierra planted her free hand on Nicole’s back and shoved.
“Go, Mom. I’ll be fine. I’ll even take care of Grandma.”
Nicole stumbled over the threshold, and I reach out and steadied her with a hand to her elbow.
“Okay, smarty. No need to use force.” Nicole faced the door, preparing for another last-minute instruction when Sierra slammed it in her face.
She turned to me, an apologetic, abashed look on her face. “Well, I guess that tells me how she feels about tonight’s events.”
I stuffed my hands in my front pockets to keep myself from reaching out to touch her. “And how doyoufeel?”
Her gaze dropped to the ground, and she clutched her purse handle in front of her. “I’m a little nervous, to be honest.”
“Good.”
Her head whipped up. “Good?”
I let a small smile unfurl. “I wouldn’t want to be the only one with a case of the nerves.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she shook her head at me.
I hooked my elbow out toward her like a gentleman from another time. “Shall we?”
She placed her hand on my arm. “We shall.”
I opened the passenger door of the Suburban for her. “Didn’t I tell you the next time we went on a date I’d pick you up in my trusty steed? Bet you thought pigs would fly before that happened.”
“You weren’t serious then.” She clicked in her seatbelt.
I waited until she met my gaze. “Wasn’t I?”
Instead of waiting for her reply, I shut the door and rounded the hood.
It took about ten minutes to get to the restaurant, during which we bantered back and forth. When I pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine, I found Nicole staring at the industrial sign with hand-painted lettering.
“Is this okay?” I asked, beginning to feel I’d made some kind of mistake.
“You’re taking me to Eden’s?” There was a tone of something I couldn’t identify in her voice.
“I checked the reviews and people seem to like the food, but if you’d rather go someplace else, we can.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…you know this is a vegan restaurant, right?”
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “And you’re vegan.”
