Page 29 of Spark

Shaking her head, she took his hand and led him to the door. “Let’s get you fed. You’ll be no good to me if you swoon from starvation.”

“Don’t swoon, sweetness. I’m a man.”

“Okay, faint.”

“Don’t do that either.”

“Collapse?” She was giggling, and the sexy grin on Dex’s face was irresistible.

“Nope. A man passes the fuck out.”

“Well, if you pass out, I’ll have to go home, and Bob and I will be forced to have fun without you.”

Dex paused at the bottom of the stairs and, God, he looked devastated. “Bob? What the fuck, Hattie? You’re seeing someone else?”

Hattie’s eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. “No. B-O-B. My battery-operated boyfriend.” When Dex just frowned harder, she said, “My vibrator.”

He sucked in a sharp breath. “Jesus, for a minute there I thought…” He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out the keys to his truck. After a couple of slow breaths his gaze slid back to her. “Vibrator, huh?”

Was he blushing? He was. He totally was. Or maybe the idea of her using it while she was on her own made him hot under the collar?

“I have a couple.” She didn’t comment on his reaction to the thought of her seeing someone else, or how horrified she was at the thought of him thinking she’d do that. They were casual. No one had said the word exclusive. She’d already told him she didn’t want serious, and right then she didn’t want to look too closely into the way they’d both reacted to the idea of Hattie dating another man, so she added, “Maybe next time you can stay at my place and I’ll introduce you to Bob?”

He tugged her in close and kissed her again. “Yeah, fuck, I’d like that.”

A short time later, they pulled up outside Abella’s. Hattie grinned to herself when Dex rushed around to open her door and all but dragged her into the place.

Dex asked what she wanted, and Hattie hung back while he went up to order their takeout since they didn’t do deliveries. He was talking to the guy there for a couple of minutes, then came back to her.

“They have a table available if we want it. Someone canceled,” he said, unable to hide how happy this made him. “They have these breadsticks when you eat in.” He licked his lips like he could already taste them. “They’re really fucking good.”

How could she say no to him? His excitement was insanely adorable. Also, he looked like he was about to start eating the furniture. “Okay. Sure.”

He grinned, and her breath got stuck in her throat.

He took her hand and hustled her through the restaurant, following a server to their table. They took their seats, ordered drinks, and Hattie sat back as Dex made short work of the famous breadsticks. She had one as well, and he was right—they were ridiculously good.

“How did you find out about this place?”

“Hugh, Joe, and Adam, all of them, they come here a lot. Joe wouldn’t stop going on about it, so I came and checked it out.”

Their drinks arrived and they ordered their meals. For a minute, Hattie thought Dex had ordered for her as well, considering all the dishes he rattled off, until he looked up at her expectantly, waiting for her to do the same. She had no idea how excited Dex could get over food. It was oddly endearing.

“So how are you liking your new job?” she asked him when they were on their own again.

He leaned forward, resting his solid forearms on the table. “Good. Different. But good.”

“Have you always liked working on cars?”

He took a sip of his beer. “Yeah. Before my dad fucked off, we used to do that stuff together. My first job was in a garage, a good one. Learned a lot more. Always thought I’d come back to it one day.”

“And working with family? How’s that going?”

His expression was a mix between exasperation and humor. It looked very good on him, the way his lips curled up a little on each side. “Hugh’s a little like me, I guess, which makes things easy. Adam is straight up, no fucking around. The guy’s preoccupied with Lucy and the baby they’ve got coming. And Joe…” He scrunched up his face. “Fucked if I know.”

Hattie laughed. “He’s different.”

Dex chuckled, and she loved it. Loved anytime she could get Dex to laugh or smile. It warmed her somehow, made her heart beat a little faster, sent zaps of pleasure through her belly.