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“Night,” I called over my shoulder, feet already steering me back to Holden. “And whatever you do, donotwake Max up unless you can do it from a safe distance.”
“I’ll hurl a stress ball at her from the hallway.” He assured me, a gleeful glint entering his eyes.
That settled feeling reappeared as soon as I turned the corner and saw Holden sitting in the chair waiting for me, one leg thrown casually across the other and eyes focused on his phone. The little furrow between his brows was calling to me.
“Ready,” I announced.
He glanced over his shoulder, rising when he saw me walking toward him. “That was fast,” he commented, turning to walk with me to the elevator. It dinged as soon as he hit the call button, highlighting just how empty the building was on a Sunday evening—er night.
We made our way to his car in comfortable silence. I had to fight a sigh when my body hit the cool comfort of the Range Rover’s leather seats. I also instantly felt a hundred times more tired.
“Are you going to fall asleep on me again?” Holden asked, starting the car and pulling into the sparse Sunday night traffic.
“I make no promises.” As if to prove my point, my eyes slid closed.
“This is becoming a habit, you falling asleep on me.” I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that he was smiling. “At least tell me what you want for dinner before you pass out.”
Dinner — the magic word. I sat up, reaching for my bag.
“I’ll order it,” I volunteered, digging through my bag until I found my phone. “There’s this hidden gem of a Chinese restaurant right by my apartment. It’s my absolute favorite comfort food when my mama isn’t around.”
Everyone from Beacon Hill knew what a phenomenal cook my mama was, and her baking was even better, so I didn’t feel any shame confessing to Holden that her food still had the ability to make me feel better. I had always been surprised that she hadn’t worked at the diner with Cam’s mom. I think she loved making people feel good — and being the first to hear all the best gossip — even more than she enjoyed cooking. That was fine by me. I was more than happy to be the primary recipient of her chef skills.
“Would you like something? I recommend everything, but they have the most amazing black bean sauce, and their dumplings are to die for.”
“I’m fine. Thank you, though.”
“Are you sure? It’s the best Chinese food in Savannah, and probably all of Georgia,” I prodded, pulling up the order-online feature I had added after I’d convinced Mr. Huang to let me upgrade his website. Even though I had insisted it wasn’t necessary, he still put free dumplings in all my orders. And there was an alarming number of orders.
“I’ll try it on a night when you don’t look like you’re three seconds from collapsing.”
“I’m not that tired,” I lied, adding an order of chicken with black bean sauce and a side of egg rolls. “Last chance...”
“I’m good. Just tell me how to get there.”
I directed Holden to the strip mall a few blocks from my apartment. While this area of Savannah was being built up and becoming more trendy every year, there were still areas like this half-abandoned strip mall that remained untouched.
Holden parked the car and turned to look at me. “Are there any places you enjoy eating at thatdon’tlook like they should have been condemned fifteen years ago?”
I rolled my eyes, losing the battle not to smile. “Not all of us can get out takeout from Belagrio’s on a whim. Besides, Mr. Huang always has excellent ratings with the health department. Mao’s Kitchen has been in his family for generations, and their menu has barely changed since they opened. They only give you silverware if you ask for it.”
“The fact that you felt the need to check the health department’s rating wasn’t a red flag for you?”
I shrugged. The place truly did look questionable from the outside.
“Nah, it was close and I was really hungry.” I checked the time. “My order won’t be ready for another five minutes. You don’t have to wait, though. I can w—”
He shot me a withering glare, silencing me mid-thought. “Absolutely not.” I opened my mouth to point out how close I lived, but his expression had me closing it right back up. “I’m not letting you walk home in the dark, so don’t even bother trying to argue.”
I snuggled back in my seat, settling in to wait. “Man, I feel like I’m really getting the full Holden St. James, Esquire experience tonight.”
“Speaking of lawyers,” he said, shifting in his seat to face me more fully. “Greer tells me your friend Maxine seemed to really hit it off with one of the partners at our firm.”
“Ah yes, Richard. It sounds like they really did click.”
The furrow reappeared, and I fought the urge to reach out and smooth it with my finger.
“Is she aware that he’s literally old enough to be her father and has been divorced three times?”
