Page 33 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“Nope. I know somewhere better. Less crowded.”

“It’s almost nine. Are you sure they’ll still be open?”

“Yep. They’re open until midnight. I checked before coming to pick you up,” I say as I quickly get our waitress's attention to get some boxes.

“You planned out more than just dinner?”

She seems confused by this, and it’s kind of adorable. Oh, Willow, you’ll see soon enough. I’ve planned out our entire fucking future, Little Rabbit.

Our waitress quickly brings over the boxes and the bill. I don’t bother looking at it and just hand her my card. The sooner it’s paid, the sooner we can leave.

“Of course I did. Just in case I had to bribe you, you know.”

I wink at her before dividing up the burgers between the two of us.

“Okay. Let’s go play some arcade games,” she says, excitedly.

“What’s your favorite?” I ask.

“Hmm. Probably air hockey or ski ball. I suck at ski ball, but it’s fun,” she says as she stands.

I grab her jacket off the chair and hold it up for her to slip it on. I help pull her hair out of the jacket, letting my fingers brush against the side of her neck.

Damnit. Big mistake. Just the slight feeling of her skin beneath my fingertips has my heart racing. My throat suddenly feels tight and it’s like everything else in the world goes quiet.

“Thank you,” she says breathlessly. As if the minuscule contact had just as much of an effect on her as it did to me.

She grabs her bag as the waitress comes back with my card. I quickly sign their copy and grab her by the hand.

“Come on, Little Rabbit. Time for me to kick your ass at air hockey.”

CHAPTER 17

WILLOW

Little rabbit.

He’s called me that twice now. It’s a cute nickname, but something about it feels so…familiar.

As we’re driving through the city, he slowly slides his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together again. It’s weird, not because he’s holding my hand, but because of how easy this feels with him. I’ve never felt like this before, and honestly, it’s nerve wracking.

“I can see the wheels turning in your head. What’s wrong?” he asks as we stop at a red light.

“You’re supposed to be paying attention to the road. Not to me.”

“You’ll come to learn I’m a great multitasker, Willow,” he chuckles as he gives my hand a gentle squeeze.

“I was just thinking about the job.”

“Is that your way of saying you accept?”

He smiles over at me, and it’s taking everything in me not to just say yes already. I know I want to work there, but I kinda want to see what else he might try to bribe me with. Is that terrible?

Jenna would say no. She’d probably be telling me to try and convince him he has to give me a full body massage as a bribe or something. She’s the wild one out of the two of us, not me.

“Not yet. I told you I’d tell you in the morning.”

“Fine. But I’m going to get you to say yes before then.”