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“I wasn’t even paying attention to the song.”
For just a second, she wondered again if she’d said the wrong thing.
She shouldn’t keep hinting at, or admitting, that her feelings were more than friendship.
But he didn’t say anything, and his arms tightened around her slightly.
They swayed to that song. Then another. Then another. She didn’t know what band this was or what album it was, but she appreciated so many slow songs in a row.
By the time Beau’s phone dinged with a message, and he stepped back from her, Becca realized she was far too comfortable in this man’s arms for them to be friends only. This might be a problem.
Still watching her, he pulled his phone from his back pocket, glancing down.
He chuckled. “My mom is wondering if we’re coming down to dinner.”
Becca shook her head. “So, she locked us in up here and is now wondering what’s taking so long?”
“Well, we have been up here for an hour without protest, and when they came up to listen at the door—which you know damned well they did—they wouldn’t have heard anything to give them a clue as to what’s going on. Their curiosity is finally getting the better of them.” He grinned. “Of course, if I tell her no, that we’re staying up here a while longer, she’ll be thrilled.”
Becca’s eyes widened. “We’ve been locked up here for anhour?”
He nodded. “I don’t know when they locked the door, but we’ve been up here for an hour.”
It had really felt like just a few songs. So, she had just been pressed up against Beau Hebert, swaying to love songs for an hour without realizing it?
Yeah, convincing everyone once they were done being locked in together that everything was just fine and they were friends only, was maybe going to be more difficult than she’d expected.
“So, are we going down to dinner?” she asked.
“I think we should definitely get dinner. Together. But I think we should go to Ellie’s. No doubt, my mother has already told several people about this whole attic thing. If we walk out of here, grinning as if nothing unusual is going on, and then head down to Ellie’s for burgers, it will really make everybody wonder.”
She liked that idea. Not only because it would torture all of these people who thought they knew so much, but because it would be easier to hang out with him in public, rather than sitting around his mother’s dining room table with his mom, her best friend, and maybe even Becca’s mom watching every single move, gesture, and expression for signs of romance.
“And we need to get something with onions, and something with garlic,” she said, grinning. “Really make them wonder how this night will end.”
He chuckled. “I think this game of ours is going to be fun.”
Fun. That was probably one word.
Torturous might be another.
nine
Beau watchedas Becca stopped at the table just inside the door to Ellie’s to give Toby and his fiancé, Sam, each a hug. They were at a table with two other teachers. Beau had said hi to them all on his way in as well, but he and Becca had decided to arrive separately and a few minutes apart. Unlike two people on a date. More like two friends grabbing a casual dinner together.
She’d also stopped at home to change clothes and dress down. Thank God. She was now in a simple t-shirt and denim shorts instead of the dress she’d been wearing earlier. Not that she didn’t look amazing in the shorts as well, but her dresses…well, those reminded him of when she’d been his. She knew he loved her in a skirt and she’d always worn a dress or skirt for him when they’d been together.
He smiled at her as she crossed to the table where he was already seated but didn’t greet her with too much enthusiasm. He didn’t pull out her chair. And he hadn’t waited for her to order his own beer and an order of onion rings for them to share.
“Everyone’s watching us,” she said, taking her seat across from him.
“Of course they are.” He picked up his beer and took a long swallow. “You ready for the show?”
She slung her purse strap over the back of her chair and studied him. “It’s not a show though, right? It’s us. The real us. The show was pretending to not be annoyed being locked in the attic together.”
Right. He’d been annoyed by that.
Except he hadn’t been. Not even a little. He’d been worried about it when he’d first discovered the door wasn’t budging. Because he knew that there was only a fifty-fifty chance that Becca was leaving that attic unkissed. But he hadn’t been annoyed.
