“For you, buddy?”
“Lemon grilled shrimp meal.”
“I’ll have ‘em up in about five,” he quickly began gathering the ingredients for their meals.“In the meantime, drinks are in the metal tub and there are a few tables out back.It’ll be twenty-five even for the tacos and sides.”
Connor began reaching for his wallet and Aspen grasped his forearm.
“I’ve got this.”
Aspen unfolded the coupon she’d been holding in her hand and placed the two-for-one printed offer on the windowsill perched against the side of the truck.
The cook grabbed the paper and looked it over in confusion.“What’s this?”
“It’s a Groupon.Two for one.”
The man took the paper with deep creases from being folded and reviewed the printing.“Lady, that’s from two months ago.I’m not going to honor that.”
“No, see, it says right here...”Aspen looked at the date and sure enough, the deal had expired.“Oh, okay.No worries.”
Aspen unzipped her clutch to extract her debit card, embarrassed beyond belief, and also a bit frustrated at herself that she didn’t check the coupon close enough.
“Seriously, BB.I’ve got this.”Connor moved to grab his wallet from the back pocket of his dark-washed jeans.
“No, Connor, I said I was buying dinner and I’m going to buy dinner,” Aspen said with alacrity.
“I don’t care who buys dinner, I just need someone to pay so I can start your orders before the line gets any longer behind you.”
“Fine,” Connor shook his head and stuffed his wallet into the back pocket of his jeans.
“Fine,” Aspen retorted like a peeved teenager and slapped her debit card on the counter for the cook to process.
She and Connor grabbed drinks submerged in a bin of icy water and then walked to a picnic table to settle in and wait for their food.
Aspen was well aware that she’d not been on a date-that-was-just-dinner in a long time, but tonight took the cake for awkward.It was a complete one-eighty from the previous amicable, borderline arousing encounters she’d had with Connor before this disaster.
Silence stretched between them.
Aspen drummed her short nails on the tabletop, while Connor slammed nearly half of his bottled water, his eyebrows remaining pinched.
“Number 12,” a teenager called out to patrons sitting at the small tables behind the food truck.HisTotally Tasty Tacot-shirt stood out in bright contrast with the park’s expanse of brilliant green grass stretching before him.
“Here,” Aspen called and swapped the food for the plastic placard denoting their meal order.
She unfolded her napkin and placed it neatly across her lap, avoiding eye contact with Connor.This meal couldn’t end soon enough.
Could she really have been so wrong about a person?The guy in her shop who flirted and fixed things was the polar opposite of the man stewing across from her right now.
“BB, look at me,” his voice soft and deep and filled with remorse.“I want you to know—”
“—Oh.My.God.It’s Wolfe,” exclaimed a woman who rushed to the table.“Lucia, get over here, it’s Wolfe!I can’t believe it’s really him.”
Aspen’s attention whipped to the woman standing so close to Connor she could have easily been in his lap with just the slightest movement.
Speaking of wiggle, the young woman’s boobs were threatening to spill completely out of her too-tight tank top that just happened to be at Connor’s eye level as she bent over.
“Hi, it’s always great to meet our fans,” Connor replied, his voice in complete control, unlike the exchange between he and Aspen while ordering their food.
“I’m Becca and this is my friend, Lucia, and we are thehugestfans of the Crush,” she gushed, her voice squeaking in delight.“But especially of you, Wolfe.”
