Page 274

I figured as much.

“I already told you I’m paying.”

She doesn’t respond.

“What do you want to eat, Silver?”

When no answer comes, I glance over at her.

No surprise, she’s scratching her head.

“Hey.”

Her arm goes limp and drops, her fingers curled in a fist so I can’t see if there’s blood under those nails. Which means there probably is.

I’ll find out tonight.

“You need protein and carbs.”

“Yup.” She sighs.

“How about a steak and baked potato?”

Her growing smile is all the answer I need.

“What’s a good steakhouse?”

That smile dims significantly.

“Don’t worry about the price,” I assure her.

“It’s not that. Just…what will people think?”

“Of us eating steak and potatoes?”

“Of us out on a date.”

I didn’t think about that, mostly because I don’t typically think about other people, especially not their opinions of me.

Is that why she was so quick to suggest a drive-through? Because she didn’t want to be seen with me? It’s surprising she even let me pick her up. I guess she didn’t have a choice.

“Stepsiblings get dinner together,” I tell her.

“At a steakhouse?”

“Rich ones do.”

It looks like she’s trying to hide a smile but why?

“What?”

“Does this mean you consider yourself rich now?”

“No. Never. I’m just saying that’s probably what people would think of us. That we’re rich.”

How could they not? She’s wearing Lit U gear from head to toe for fuck’s sake.

“Never… Just like you’ll never go to Disney?”