Page 26 of Surprised By Her

“I’m not. There are only so many places to go in this small town,” she said.

“You sound like that’s a bad thing,” I said.

“I like having more options,” she said.

“Arrowbridge has plenty of options,” I said, feeling a little defensive of my adopted town.

“Does it?”

“Yes,” I said.

She arched one perfect eyebrow. I bet she got microblading. No one was born with brows like that. Or maybe she got them groomed in some rich people way that the rest of the world didn’t even know about.

“Name five restaurants in Arrowbridge,” she said.

I narrowed my eyes. “There aren’t five restaurants in Arrowbridge.”

“Exactly.”

I let out a breath. “We don’t need a bunch of restaurants when we have Nick’s.”

“Don’t they just serve pizza? It’s called ‘Nick’s Pizza’.”

“That’s what you think,” I said. “Nick’s has pizza, an entire Greek food menu, and they serve breakfast.”

Ryan’s immaculate brows contracted. “That’s confusing.”

“It’s clever. One restaurant covering several food bases. Where else can you order mozzarella sticks, pancakes, and spanakopita at the same time?” I asked.

Ryan pulled out her phone and typed something before presenting me with the screen.

“These places,” she said.

I looked from the phone to her face. “You like being right, don’t you?”

“Only when I’m right, which is most of the time.”

This was the most she’d talked to me since the time in the guest room and I couldn’t stop the giddy feeling from spreading in my chest. Being around Ryan made me feel…like that first big drop of a roller coaster. Thrilling and out of control and wonderful and too much all at the same time.

“Well, if you like options so much, why aren’t you eating from Nick’s?” I asked.

“I didn’t know about all the cuisine options until now,” she said. “Now I’ll have to go.”

“You should,” I said, and I realized she had given me the perfect opportunity to do what Layne asked.

“You might need some help, you know. Someone who knows what to order,” I said. “I’m very experienced with dining at Nick’s.” I had never felt suave or confident in my entire life, but I think I was giving some approximation of it.

“Are you?” she said.

“I am,” I said. “So, if you’re not doing anything, say, Friday night, I’d be happy to make some room in my schedule for you.”

Who the hell was I right now? Where was this coming from? I had no idea, but I was going to go with it.

Ryan let out an unmistakable laugh. It rumbled through her chest and made my body temperature go up a few degrees.

“It’s a deal. How about I pick you up around seven?” she said.

Oh. I hadn’t counted on that. I assumed she’d just drive herself and I could walk over after work.

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