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“Good point.” She sighed. “Don’t blame him for being protective—he’s had to raise three daughters in this crazy, messed-up world.”
“Oh, I—”
“Hey, Mi!”
They turned to see Del jogging over.
“What’s up?” Mia asked.
“In case Dad mentions seeing something behind my shop, don’t panic.”
Her gaze flashed briefly to Alex, who most definitely began to panic. Del had insisted Mia wouldn’t see his Rover behind her shop but failed to mention there could potentially be other wandering eyes. Now what was he supposed to do?
“One of my plant reps stopped by and got a nail in his tire,” Del continued. “I let him leave his SUV behind the greenhouse while he searched for a new one. Guess the place in town was out of stock or something.”
Alex nodded, pretending to sympathize with the guy while silently admiring Del’s ingenuity. And hating that it was even needed. He’d find a way to smooth over their little fib eventually, though.
“Anyway, Dad saw it and is now hinting that he thinks it was his Christmas present from the two of us.”
“Let me guess—it was red?” At Del’s nod, Mia shook her head. “Silly Dad. Like we have that kind of money to buy him a new vehicle for Christmas.”
“Right?” Del laughed. “Okay, I gotta go help Chase finish closing up. Catch ya later!”
Alex waved, hoping he would, in fact,notget caught later. Mia’s hands claimed his, diverting his attention.
“You should come over tomorrow,” she said. “For dinner. Brooklyn will be leaving for her father’s for the weekend, so it would just be the two of us.”
“You don’t say?”
“Mmm-hmm.” She offered him a demure smile.
“But what if it gets to be too late for me to drive back to Indy?”
Because if they had dinner together, he’d offer to cook. Something Italian with a side of wine. And dessert? Well, he’d prefer that to be Mia.
She trailed a finger down the front of his coat, one brow lifted. “Then I guess I’ll just have to make room for you at my place again. On the first floor, this time.”
Yes, her thoughts seemed to be in line with his. He almost hoped the chief was right about this supposed snowstorm—it’d be all the more reason to stay in bed on Saturday. And, if Alex was lucky, Sunday, too.
He met her gaze and said, “How can I say no?”
Chapter Eleven
If overthinking hadbeen an Olympic sport, Mia would have won gold Friday. From the moment she woke to the minute she got home after school, her mind was going a hundred miles a minute. All her fault, the suggested evening alone with Alex to blame.
The first major dilemma was what to wear for their first official date. Did she own a pair of jeans that squeezed everything nicely into place without giving her a muffin top? And speaking of tops, should she go crew neck or V-neck? Sweater or no? Perfume or no?
Unable to make a decision on any of it, she’d hurried to the kitchen to get things in order out there. Alex had offered to cook, but since it was her place, shouldn’t she contribute to the offerings? Maybe a better question was, what could she add to the menu that didn’t suck?
An appetizer? Dessert?
Did she even own a decent bourbon Alex wouldn’t scrunch his nose at?
“Hey, Mom?”
“What?” She spun from the refrigerator to face Brooklyn and belatedly realized her answer had come out entirely too loud. And maybe a touch frantic. “Sorry, sweetheart, I, uh, thought you were still in the other room. What’s up?”
Brooklyn gave her a flat look, not buying the lie. “I just wanted to let you know that Alex just pulled up.”
