Page 85 of Made Better Together

“Are you a wine guy?”

He crinkles his mouth. “Not really. But I thought it would be a good place to start. Grace and Avery both love this place.”

Wait. “Could they show up here?”

“No, they traveled to the Waves game.” It’s away this week, in Pittsburgh. The Surge got knocked out of the playoffs a few days ago, so it makes sense Avery could attend.

“Your whole family went? Would you have wanted to?”

He gives me a wide grin. “I had better things planned.”

My chest warms, and I dip my eyes down to the menu. “Like Peach Cobbler Chardonnay?”

He shakes his head, grin still firmly intact. “No, not that.”

A blush rises as he holds my gaze, allowing me to recognize a shift in him for the first time. He may still have his glasses on, but it’s like the curtains he’s had drawn over his emotions have been pulled back.

Waiting for me there is the real Connor. Hope in his eyes—hope for the evening, hope for us.

My blush fades, replaced by a smile to match his. An acknowledgment that we’re finally here, after so many obstacles, on a date, together.

He steadily locks eyes with me, his own grin remaining too. The look is interrupted only after a server comes by to take our orders.

“What can I get you two?”

Connor glances down at the menu, giving me a chance to push out a breath. “I’m going to get a glass of red wine,” he says. “Pinot Noir, I think.”

“And you, miss?”

I order the only thing I remember. “I’ll try a glass of the Peach Cobbler thingy.”

After the waitress leaves, Connor’s hand inches up to his glasses, and he peers at me as he leans back in the chair.

“I like how your cheeks get rosy when you blush.” His voice is quiet, with an edge to it that I don’t anticipate.

“Rosy? Blush? Never…”

We both know I’m lying, but he lets it go.

“So did you tell Bree?”

“I did. She’s…supportive of the whole secrecy scenario. So don’t worry.”

“That’s nice. It’s good you have a friend like that.”

“Do you? I mean, you said Rawley is your closest friend?”

He rolls his fingers over the table. “He is, on the whole. I trust him…as much as anyone. I’m not the best at being open about everything.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” My turn to be dry.

The ends of his lips turn up. “Yeah…yeah.”

“Does he know anything about…us?”

“No.” He flattens his hand on the table. “I-It’s not that I don’t want to share with him. But if I did, he’d be forced to keep it a secret from Grace, because of her job at SLP. Putting that burden on him feels wrong.”

Understandable. Not to mention it’s only our first date. “It’s okay, I get it.”