Chapter 38
—Kasey—
The au-dac-i-ty!
I itched to wipe the smug smirk off his handsome face, but my heart fluttered at how infectious his smile was. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried to maintain a huff while riding shotgun, he had the kind of face that I couldn’t stay mad at.
I glanced into the backseat of his two-door coup and eyed the installed base for the baby seat. Oh yeah, that’s right. I was dating a single dad.
Reed divided his attention between both side mirrors as he reversed down Banks’s driveway.
“I need a different car,” he mused out loud. “Getting Posie’s baby seat in and out of the back is a nightmare.”
“Can’t it go in the front seat?”
He shook his head. “It’s not safe. Especially with the front airbags.”
“Oh…” If that wasn’t a sucky reminder of how I wasn’t cut out to be a parent, I didn’t know what was.
I looked out the window at all the expensive lake houses as Reed slowly cruised down the street.
He hummed. “I didn’t realize either until Mom helped me install the base. There’s nothing like a reminder of how much shit you don’t know until you have a tiny life to care for.”
While he was trying to put me at ease, anxiety kept compounding in my chest. I focused on the flashes of lake between the fir trees to take my mind off the burning embarrassment.
Glimpses of the lake soon gave way to the marina and boat ramp, then the pub, then the shops and cafes as we drove down Main Street. We went around the clock tower in the center of town, then the main shopping district eased into residential.
Reed pulled to the side of the road and parked. He thumbed across the street. “I’m just gonna grab a few things from Miss Angie’s. Wanna come over and say hi?”
I eyed the diner, deciding it was time for another caffeine hit. “Sure.”
We met at the hood of the car, then crossed in a break in traffic. Reed’s hand didn’t leave the small of my back until he’d guided me through the diner door. The place was quaint with a modern retro feel about it. As we crossed the black polished concrete floor, a loud gasp drew my attention from the white flecks in the concrete to a rotund, smiling woman coming at me with her arms wide.
“Kasey, darlin’!”
I braced for impact as Reed murmured a quick explanation near my ear, “This is Miss Angie. She’s been asking about you every time I come in.”
She hit me like a semi and squeezed me hard enough to have my ribcage protesting. I winced while hugging her back.
“Hi,” I said around the squeeze.
Miss Angie pulled away and held me at arm’s length, looking me over. “I see you two worked things out. Have you moved here now, darlin’?”
I shifted nervously under her acute attention. “No. I’m only here for a few days for Simone’s birthday…”
Reed stepped forward, taking the heat off me. “I’m showing her around today. We’ve come in for coffee and treats. Water and Dr. Pepper, too, please.”
Miss Angie’s entire expression lit. “Come over to the counter.”
She scurried away while I gave Reed a bombastic side-eye. “I don’t like Dr. Pepper.”
He snorted. “Don’t lie. It’s your favorite.” The proud puff of his chest quickly deflated when doubt crept in. “Unless your tastes have changed…”
I sassily arched one eyebrow, smirked, tossed my hair to the side, and left his ass hanging as I perused the food cabinetry.
Reed scoffed but otherwise didn’t say a word while Miss Angie loaded sweet baked goods into a box without asking what we wanted. She clipped it closed with a flourish. Into a paper bag it went, along with a bunch of napkins and two bottles of both water and Dr. Pepper. The barista rounded out the wordless order by placing two takeout coffees on the counter with a friendly smile.
“And here you go. Long black for you, Kasey darlin’, and a cappuccino for you, Reed,” Miss Angie announced proudly. “Y’all enjoy your day. Take care and kiss that gorgeous little girl of yours from me.”
How did she know how I took my coffee? I uttered a shocked thank you, and Reed made his promises. “I will. Thanks, Miss Angie.”
“Bye now.”
Coffee in hand and with Reed holding the diner door open for me, I saved my questions until we’d settled in his car.
“She knows me well?”
Reed nestled his coffee into the cup holder on the driver’s side. “Not super well, but she’s always super welcoming and friendly. She loves new people in the Falls and took an instant shining to both you and Simone. Mostly because you’d go to the diner the morning after drinking and regale her about the shit you guys got up to the night before.” He laughed at a memory, then turned his dark gaze on me. “Her favorite was the skinny-dipping then getting arrested story. It kept her going for weeks.”
I laughed despite not remembering the event. “It sounds like my kind of fun.”
Reed buckled up. “It was.”
I buckled too. “So, where are we going?”
He grinned the grin that made my heart flip-flop. “Out of town.”
My chin tucked back. “Why?”
A wicked snicker entered the air. “Because today I’m going to share my favorite memories of you, with you.”
“What’s special about this specific one?”
The indicator ticked on and off as he waited to pull into the street. He shot me a smirk. “It’s the time you sped into town, and I pulled you over, gave you half an orgasm… then a ticket.”
My jaw hit the floor and an incredulous laugh escaped. “Are you fucking serious?”
That smirk of his hit me right in the feels again. “Yeah, darlin’. I am.”