Page 61 of The Forever Rule

“Well then I’m glad that you came.” I reached out for her hand and brought it to my lips like I had that first time. We both froze, and I shook my head, letting her hand fall after I gently brushed my lips against her skin. “I still don’t know why I do that.”

“And I still don’t know why my heart flutters every single time. It’s very noble of you. And very weird.”

My lips twitched. “Noble and weird. I suppose I should put that on my business cards.”

“It would probably work,” she said with a laugh.

“So, late afternoon coffee?” I asked, wondering what the hell I was doing.

“That sounds delicious to be honest. And then, do you want to go for a walk? I mean, I already went for a walk today, but I could use another one.”

I tilted my head. “You did?”

“With my mom. Not with another man.” She paused. “I don’t know why I said that.”

“I suppose that it’s good that you didn’t have anotherdate this morning,” I said, that odd sense of jealousy dissipating.

“So this is a date,” she said softly.

I nodded. “A coffee date. I’m not good with labels, nor am I acting very smooth. But sure, let’s go for that walk.”

We made our way inside, and I pressed my hand to the small of her back, letting her walk in first. Once again, the action felt normal, as if it was something that I did often. I wasn’t sure why the feeling continued as if we’d done this countless times before. Somehow it was as if it were a mix of anticipation and comfort at the same time.

We ordered our iced coffees and made our way to the other side of the café to wait for our order.

“So you’re an iced coffee guy?” she asked, a smile on her face.

“It’s warm outside, and I felt like it. What, is iced coffee not real coffee?”

“There was this guy that I dated who said black coffee was the only way to drink it. Maybe espresso if you are in Italy. But adding cream or sugar would just desecrate it, and iced coffee? That was just something that was so millennial-coded that it was a disgrace to all coffee.”

I snorted. “That sounds like he’s compensating for a few more things if he’s that adamant about coffee.”

“I wouldn’t know. By dated, I really meant I went on two dates with him, and then walked away very quickly.”

“Where did you meet him?”

“At the gym.” She grimaced.

My lips twitched. “Really? The gym? What line did he use on you?”

“What? I met you through a text message. I suppose one should be cliché, the other should be really random.”

“I guess so. But for the record, drink your coffee however you damn well please.”

“Thanks for the permission.” She rolled her eyes and my smile widened.

“So, you met this guy at the gym. What did he say to lure you out to a condescending date?”

“Um, I think he mentioned something about the TV show that happened to be on in the background, and we laughed. I don’t really remember much. The only thing that wasn’t forgettable about him was his disdain for coffee orders.”

I already didn’t like the guy and decided to change the subject to something better than her dating past.

When our names were called, we went to pick up our drinks, and made our way outside of the suddenly very busy café. We bumped into a few people, and I noticed the way men’s gazes went straight to Blakely. There was just something about her, and it was with immense pride that I stared every single one of those men down.

She was with me. If only for the moment.

Yes, I was in trouble.

---