Page 11 of Wizard

My tone was serious when I replied, “Never gonna lie to you, baby. I might have to censor what I tell you when it comes to club business, but I’ll always be honest.” I leaned in and kissed her forehead before scooting out of the booth. “See you tomorrow, baby.”

When I reached the door, I glanced back and saw her watching me with a dreamy expression. It took a fuck of a lot ofeffort to walk away, but I reminded myself that I had eyes on her all the time. That would have to suffice for now.

4

THEA

“Are you almost there?” Violet asked.

“Yes, and I need you to tell me again that this was the right choice,” I demanded, glaring at the red stoplight through my windshield.

Five days ago, I had finally confided in her about meeting Wizard and him asking me out—although I hadn’t told her how often it had happened. She had told me that he was a great guy and urged me to give him a chance. Between her coaxing and finding out a few days later that he’d actually read my books and not just the sex scenes, I finally agreed to our date today.

Now that I was actually on my way to meet him, I was having second thoughts. The kind that told me to turn the car around and go back home because I was way too nervous to actually go through with my first real date.

“You’re going to have an amazing time even though you would only agree to lunch, which is kind of lame for a first date.”

Her teasing relieved some of my nervousness and made me giggle. “Like you have any room to judge. Echo is the only guy you’ve ever gone out with, and where did you guys go on your first date? Your apartment? Does that even count?”

“Fair point,” she conceded.

“I’m going to assume what you meant to say was that my first date with Baylor is much more normal than how you and Echo started your relationship,” I quipped, turning into the parking lot and pulling into a spot near the front door of the diner.

Violet laughed. “You’re the famous romance author, so I guess I’ll let you stick with that story if it makes you happy.”

“Hardly famous.” I snorted, shaking my head.

“Quit arguing with me and get in there,” she ordered. “I’m sure Wizard is already waiting.”

It was weird to hear Violet use his road name, but I guessed it was even odder to her that I used his real name since bikers tended to limit how many people were allowed to do that. Something I hadn’t considered until now.

“I’ll call you when I’m headed back home.”

“Don’t rush. Enjoy your date!”

I tucked my phone in my purse and climbed out of my car. Violet was proved correct in her prediction that Baylor would be waiting for me when I walked through the door and spotted him at a booth in the back corner.

As though sensing I was near, his head lifted, and he stood. I wasn’t aware of anything other than the intensity of his dark gaze as I made my way over. When I got close, he stepped out of the booth and guided me into his spot. Then he nudged me over to sit next to me.

Pointing across from us, I murmured, “There’s a whole other half to this booth.”

“Yup.” At my questioning look, he added, “Took me too damn long to get you to agree to this date. Now that I have you here, I don’t want to let you get too far.”

“Oh.” I usually had no problem thinking of something witty to say, but his words left me nearly speechless. It sounded exactly like something I would’ve written for one of my heroes.

“You good with me here?” he asked.

I flashed him a shy smile. “Yeah.”

The server stopped next to our booth, interrupting our moment. “Hey, Wizard. Now that your woman has joined you, are you ready to order?”

I wasn’t surprised she knew Baylor since this place was so close to his club’s garage. Judging by how she spoke to him, I assumed he came here often. Turning to him, I asked, “Which burger is the best?”

“The smash burger with cheese if you like to go the traditional route, or the biker barbecue if you’re good with onion strings, tangy sauce, and bacon.”

“Yum.” I licked my lips and grinned. “Sounds perfect.”

“Two with fries?” the server asked.

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