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“Don’t trip,” he called to me cheerfully, watching me climb from the car.
Whoever owned this house had scraped their driveway completely clean of snow and ice, which made my trek to the front door easy. As I got closer, I found myself almost nervous. I just had to hand the bag of food over with a smile—the customer had paid through whatever app Harry had on his phone. Easy-peasy.
When I got to the doormat, I swallowed hard before knocking three times, glancing back at Harry. The headlights were shining right at me, nearly blinding, but I could still see the outline of Harry as he gave me a thumbs-up.
“Eloise, the door!” I heard a voice call from within, sounding very masculine.
It took only a moment for the door to tug inward, revealing a tall, slender girl with dark hair. She seemed to be about my age. “You’re Harry?” she asked with an arched eyebrow, looking me over with a curious expression. “No offense, but you don’treallylook like one.”
“He’s in the car,” I said, feeling a little more than discombobulated. I hadn’t expected I’d be talking beyondhere’s your food. “He let me deliver this one.”
“Bummer,” she said with a sigh, and then quickly added, “Not trying to be rude, but I was hoping for a cute guy.”
I so didn’t blame her. I’d hope for a cute guy too.
Without waiting, I held the bag out to her. “Here’s your food.”
The girl, presumably Eloise, took the bag from me. “Thanks.”
“Have a good night,” I called before she shut the door, milking this customer service thing.
Through the slat, I could hear her laugh. “You too.”
Once I got back into the car, I grabbed Harry’s arm, giving it a squeeze. He watched me with amusement glittering in his eyes. “That was so much fun! She was so nice!”
“They aren’t always. Sometimes they’re grumpy.” He looked me over, laying his hand over mine. “If I’d known you were going to be this excited, I would’ve had you run all of them to the door.”
Honestly, I had to agree. I should’ve asked for a turn sooner.
Even though I didn’t want to, I pulled my hand out from under his, gripping the wheel to get rid of the tingling sensation. “You said you do this a few nights a week, right?” I asked, putting the car into reverse and backing down Eloise’s driveway. “Do you always bring along company?”
“Only the ones who are easy on the eyes.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Which means you invited me along because you thought I was pretty.”
“You said you thought I was cute,” he pointed out casually, voice catching on a chuckle.
He had an answer for everything, and his responses never failed to make me smile. I really liked that about him. “Fine. Just two people spending time with someone they think is attractive.”
“Twosinglepeople.”
My lips pressed together. “On Valentine’s Day.”
“So, a date.”
Date. I decided that I loved hearing it come from his mouth, especially since he was talking aboutme. “A date,” I confirmed, bringing some of my hair over my shoulder, making sure it hid my grinning profile.
I pulled into Le Petit Bateau fifteen minutes before nine, which would give me barely enough time to scrub off the makeup and get home. Cutting it close, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
Even when I put the car into park, neither Harry nor I moved, the two of us looking out the windshield, listening to the radio. “I’m glad I got to spend tonight with you,” he told me after a moment, resting his head along the back of the seat. “Even though you were probably bored out of your mind and wasted half a tank of gas.”
“Are you kidding? Running the last meal to the door totally made up for all of that.” And it so didn’t hurt that Harry Russo sat in that seat beside me.
Though I wanted to sound more teasing and nonchalant, our proximity in the warm car made my words feel much more flirty. Maybe it was because the dashboard lights highlighted all the high planes of his face and illuminated his eyes, which were so endless.
Not for the first time, he struck me speechless. After months of watching him onstage, here I was, sitting with him in a car. Alone. Not even a foot away. No Vincent, no Natasha, no Jonathan—no prying eyes.
My brain seized on a thought while the cabin grew quiet:Is he going to kiss me?
