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“A food truck? You’re so afraid of people talking you brought me to a food truck for breakfast?”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his disappointment.
“You’ll be thanking me in about fifteen minutes.”
She pushed him forward to get in line. There were several students with backpacks, their faces buried in their phones, ahead of them, and half of the picnic tables were already full, ranging from men in suits to construction workers. Once she ordered for them both, she led him to sit at a bright pink painted picnic table and pulled out her notes.
“So, the fundraisers,” she said.
“Ah, yes, the pretense for us to spend time together. Let’s get this out of the way. I agree with all your plans. Just tell me where and when to be there.”
Huffing, she opened her notebook. “Great. Then I’ll start advertising and putting the tickets on sale for the sparring match you agreed to. It will be next Friday night. I took the liberty of phoning that gym to confirm they were ready for us.”
“You doubted me?”
“I like to be thorough and wanted to confirm how many seats the venue can hold.”
“You’re a micromanager.”
“I’ve never worked with you before and wanted to be sure this was a successful event.”
He leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest, and smiled wide, but his eyes were hidden behind his shades as the morning sun shone down. He was handsome in an obvious kind of way, like how the sky was blue and water was wet. But there was always something more about him that intrigued her, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. She wanted to know what he was thinking, especially now as he stared at her.
“What?”
“Oh, I’m just wondering if you’re this thorough and dedicated in every aspect of your life. Little Miss Hannah Paletti, all grown up and double-checking my work.”
“I never liked that nickname, Little Miss.”
“Is that right? Because you’re blushing. Little Miss Beautiful.”
A voice hollered out the number on her receipt. Saved by the bell. But before she could get up to get their breakfast, he stood and gave her arm a squeeze.
“I got it,” he said in a whisper.
Another wave of heat ran over her skin and surged down to her toes. How was it possible that one person could wreck such havoc over her mind and body?
He sauntered away to get the baskets with their breakfasts as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. She took a long pull on the straw in her ice water and tore her gaze away from his wide shoulders covered by a fresh, gray, tight fitted T-shirt. He must have changed it out in his car, and she felt robbed of the chance to see his muscles.
Several other women were also enjoying the view that was Conner Maguire. One of the young students was blushing and smiling after she realized she was blocking the napkins Conner was reaching for. Another woman was leaning in her seat to get a view of his well-defined backside. When he turned back toward her, Hannah caught another young woman snapping a picture of him with her phone.
“Breakfast is served, madam,” Conner said as he set down her basket, a napkin and a plastic fork on top.
“Do you even notice?”
His head swiveled around as he scanned the morning crowd dramatically, as if he would catch someone with binoculars at the next table. “Notice who? Are one of your brothers watching us?”
“No, but just about every woman here is drooling over you. One chick just took your picture, and that woman at the green table almost fell out of her seat to get a look at your assets.”
Conner didn’t crack a smile as he placed his sunglasses down on the table, then sat across from her, his fork hovering over his steaming hot basket. Even with the sun in his eyes, he looked at her with a seriousness she didn’t expect from him.
“You know it’s hard work being treated like a piece of meat, women throwing themselves at me, but I persevere.”
His smile exploded, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
When they were young, he was the class clown. It had always been easy to be around him, until it wasn’t.
They both dug into their food, unable to resist the sight of crispy tortilla bowls heaping with fried potatoes, shredded pork, tangy jalapeños, and steaming eggs covered in a special hot sauce that was equal parts spicy and sweet.
