Page 25 of The Maverick's Homecoming

Lauren replied with an easy shrug and a soundlessLater.

* * *

For Finn, the day turned out to be just about perfect—once he got through the speech and the schmoozing. He had a great time hanging out with Kenzie, eating bur­gers and joking around with friends.

He’d turned off his phone when he left his house and he didn’t turn it on again all afternoon. So what if he lost a sale? He had Kenzie at his side and they were just hanging out, being together. The hours sped by much too fast.

They didn’t climb back in his pickup until seven that night. Halfway to her house, his stomach growled.

She heard it, too. “What? A brontosaurus burger, fries and a stegosaurus shake not enough for you?” she teased.

“Hey, that was lunch. We haven’t had dinner. You hungry?”

“Well, I…” She hesitated. He knew she was thinking that she should ask to be taken home. But the look on her face told him she didn’t want the day to end any more than he did.

“How about Mexican?” he offered.

She gave it up. “I could eat a chicken taco or two from Castillo’s—I mean, if you’re going to twist my arm.”

“Consider it twisted.” He turned onto Central Avenue and parked in the lot behind the popular restaurant. “Eat in or takeout?”

She met his eyes across the console. “Takeout at my place?”

“Done.”

They went in together. Castillo’s was packed. They put in their order and stood around by the door until the food was ready, exchanging greetings with friends and neighbors as they came in and went out.

More than one acquaintance stopped to tell him how excited they were for the Titans this year and how much they’d loved seeing him up there on the amphitheater stage at the Dinosaur Center that afternoon.

Kenzie leaned close and whispered, “You’re the man of the hour, for sure.”

He chuckled, then leaned close and confessed, “We both know I’m a hopeless extrovert, but at this point, evenI’mgetting a little tired of all the attention.”

She unleashed a full-out laugh at that, her head tilting back. “Get used to it. It’s not going to stop.” He wanted to grab her close and kiss her right there in front of half the town.

But, no. She’d made it way clear that they werejust friends.If he tried to get too close too fast, he would lose what ground he’d gained with her. The ideal would be for her to make the first move.

But was that ever going to happen?

Well, if it didn’t, he might be tempted to cross the friends-only line and make the move himself. That would be dangerous. The chances were too high that she’d gent­ly inform him—again—of how she only wanted his friendship and maybe it would be better if they cooled it for a while.

No.

Uh-uh.

He wasn’t ready to take the chance of blowing it completely.

Not tonight, anyway. Tonight, they were just good buddies sharing take-out tacos at her place…and maybe honesty, too.

If she didn’t want anything romantic with him, at least she might welcome the truth from him. After all, friends should be straightforward with each other—especiallyinvolvedfriends, the kind who had history. If he couldn’t have her in his arms, he would really like to be able to talk frankly about the past.

At her house, she led him through the living area to the kitchen. They ate at the big oak table in there. He devoured a couple of excellent tacos and chugged half of his Topo Chico Saboresorange soda before he felt ready to bring up the past.

And by then, she was on to him. “Okay.” She set down the remaining half of her second taco. “Just tell me. What’s on your mind?” She grabbed a paper napkin and wiped the taco sauce from her fingers.

Now that the moment was actually upon him, he didn’t know where to start. “Well, I, uh…”

She sipped her red hibiscus soda. He watched her smooth throat move as she swallowed…and still had no clue how to continue.