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“How about I just look up the address and plug it into my GPS? I can get lost in a brown paper bag if I’m not careful.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Connor holds his hand out for my phone. I reluctantly hand it to him before putting the car in reverse and heading down Main Street, toward the highway.
The electronic voice from my GPS fills the car, alerting me I need to turn around. My cheeks pink in embarrassment as Connor’s chest rumbles with laughter. Thankfully, he keeps his comments to himself, and I make a U-turn.
We make it out of town and onto the highway without any more problems before my phone chimes with a text from Love. “Can you check that for me?” I ask as I concentrate on the road ahead of me.
“Way to go, Mom. Now you can nurse him back to health.” Connor reads the message aloud. Of course, Love would choose right now to send me a message like that. She has been talking nonstop about my upcoming datewith Connor for the last few days. I can only imagine all the fake scenarios she’s plotting as we speak.
“Are you going to be my nursemaid?” Connor questions as he puts my phone back into the holder on the dashboard. “Audrey, there’s no need for you to take care of me. They will probably give me some painkillers and tell me to rest for a few days. I can manage on my own.”
I ignore his statement and continue driving. There’s no way I will elaborate on anything Love has to say. I know my girl; her mind instantly went to Connor and me having babies and living happily ever after. She has a good head on her shoulders, but she’s a hopeless romantic, just like me. However, I doubt she would ignore her common sense in favor of someone who said they loved her, which is the exact opposite of me.
I am insanely attracted to Connor, but I promised myself that I was going to focus on Love. Any relationship I could have with Connor is the least of my concerns right now. Just because we got carried away a few nights ago doesn’t mean anything. He isn’t interested in being anything more than my friend, no matter how much I’d prefer something more. Right now, my focus needs to be getting settled into our new life here and my daughter. I refuse to fall head over heels for the first guy I find attractive—again. I doubt it would lead to anything other than heartache.
“Why is it so hard to let me help you?”
“I’m sorry, Audrey.” Connor sighs. “I’ve been taking care of myself and Jade for the last fourteen years, and it’sbeen hard for me to ask for help. I have my parents and some friends to help in emergencies, but it’s always been just Jade and me.”
“I’ve been alone with Love her entire life, too. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it, Connor. Unfortunately for you, I won’t be taking no for an answer. If you need to rest, I will make sure you get it. Besides, the whole reason you fell is because I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
He chuckles, leaning his head back on the seat. “So bossy.”
“I’m a mom. It’s part of my DNA at this point.” I sigh, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. “I’m sorry if this is annoying you, but if you don’t let me at least make sure you’re okay, I’ll worry. And me worried is not a sight to behold. Ask Love. She’ll be begging you to let me help you in some way.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s worse.”
“Okay. I give up. You can nurse me back to health.”
“I’m glad you’re starting to see it my way.” I snicker softly.
“This isn’t what I had in mind when I came to the studio today. I planned on finally setting up our date.”
“Our date?”
“Yes, our date. You said you’d go out with me when I came over with pizza and cookies.” His voice drops slightly as he turns his attention out the window. “Did you change your mind?”
“No. I didn’t change my mind,” I rebut, my hands tightening on the steering wheel. “I thought you were just being nice after getting caught kissing me by the girls. If you really wanted to go on a date with me, I assumed you’d have brought it up during one of our many phone conversations.”
“I’m a fucking idiot and completely out of practice when it comes to dating women.” He reaches across the console, wrapping his large hand around mine. “I was waiting for you to say something. I didn’t want to come on too strong or scare you away.”
“Oh,” I reply, turning over my hand and threading my fingers through his. “I thought you regretted the kiss we shared and only asked me out to be nice.”
“First thing you need to know about me is that I don't do anything I don’t want to do. I kissed you because it was the only thing I’d wanted since I saw you in Just the Drip. I asked you out because the thought of not spending any more time with you made my heart ache. I even cleared my schedule for today to find a way to get over to the studio so I could see you.”
“You don’t have to say—wait, what?” I pause, my head snapping in his direction as the car swerves off the road. The rumbling sound of the strips of uneven pavement on the side of the road fills the inside of my car as I pull over to stop. “You wanted to kiss me the first time you saw me?”
“Yes,” he responds without hesitation.
“But… this makes no sense at all.”
“It makes perfect sense to me. I haven’t been attracted to a woman since my wife died. People have tried to set me up on dates with perfectly acceptable women, but none of them held a candle to you, Audrey.”
Audrey shakes her head, ignoring my statement, as she pulls back onto the highway. Her attention remains focused on the road.
“Just let me take you out on a date. Just the two of us, so we can see what this is between us. That’s all I’m asking for; a chance to explore this connection between us. There’s a chance that we go out and realize this is nothing more than a passing attraction, but deep down in my soul, I know this is more than that. This is the start of something that could change both of our lives forever.”
