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He smiles knowingly. “And you decided to order a beer and watch me from afar to make sure I wasn’t a creep.”
“How did you know?”
He laughs. It’s a husky sound, sort of like Trevor’s laugh. I wait for it to reverberate straight to my toes, but nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“I have a sister. She does the same thing. It’s actually really smart. You can’t be too sure these days.”
“Yes. That’s exactly how I feel.”
“Should we grab a table?”
There might not be tingles in my toes, but there’s a definite flutter in my belly, and I find myself smiling back at him. “That would be great.”
Joseph guides me toward a booth at the back of the bar. I slide in, and he sits opposite me.
“Do you come here often?” he asks, picking up the menu.
“Actually, I do. My friends and I come here all the time. One of them owns the place.”
Over Joseph’s shoulder I see Rhett, Trevor, and Lincoln spin on their barstools. Rhett stares daggers at the back of Joseph’s head, probably ready to pounce if I show any signs of distress, Lincoln smiles and waves, and Trevor…well, I’m not sure what’s going on with Trevor because he’s looking at anything and everything in the room except me, which is about normal for him. When I’m around he either flirts or avoids me like the plague. There isn’t a whole lot of in between.
I wave back at Lincoln. Joseph turns around, following my gaze across the room.
“I’m guessing those are your friends,” he says, facing me.
I nod and smile.
Joseph doesn’t.
“I’m sorry. Is that weird? We can leave and go somewhere else if you’d like.”
“No. No.” He shakes his head adamantly and then starts to nod. “Okay, yes, it’s a little weird.” Reaching across the table, he places his hand on mine for a brief second before pulling it back. “But I don’t want to leave. I just hope your friends aren’t putting me under the microscope. That would be awkward for a first date.”
“Oh no, not at all. And I promise they won’t come over here.”
“Thank God.”
I furrow my brow, and Joseph corrects himself.
“Not that I wouldn’t want to meet your friends, because I absolutely would,” he explains. “But you know…first date and all.”
“I completely agree.”
Well, if that didn’t make things awkward. Taking a moment to myself, I concentrate on the menu—even though I already know what I’m going to order. But Joseph doesn’t let me hide for long. He hooks a finger over the top of the menu and pulls it away. His smile is hesitant.
“Can we start over?” he asks. “I feel like I just made things weird right off the bat, and I didn’t mean to.”
“I’d like that.”
We’re interrupted for a second when our server arrives. I’ve known Sean for years, and he smiles when he says, “Good to see you, Claire.”
“You too, Sean. Mo told me you started taking classes again. How’s that going?”
He rolls his eyes. “Exhausting. But I’m getting through it.”
“Hang in there. It’ll be over before you know it.”
“Let’s hope.” Sean’s gaze cuts to Joseph. “What can I get you two tonight?”
