Page 30 of Finding Her Strength

We drive for a little longer until he pulls into the parking lot of one of my favorite restaurants in town, Cantina Laredo.

“I hope Mexican food is okay. I was going to take you to La Mensa, but they didn’t have any reservations available on such short notice.”

“It’s perfect. Mexican food ranks right up there with Italian for me.”

“Totally agree. Chips and queso will always be one of my favorite snacks.”

As we walk toward the restaurant, Levi stands close but doesn’t touch me. For the first time ever, I’m wishing he would. When we get inside, the smell of Mexican spice hitsmy senses, making my mouth water. All the cliché Mexican restaurant decorations are scattered around the room with the exception of one completely random thing. The trunk of a turquoise Oldsmobile sits off to the side, and a full nacho bar is set up inside of it. I have no idea where the idea came from, but everyone loves it. It’s become a huge draw for the town.

We sit down at the table the hostess leads us to and start digging into the chips and salsa.

“How did your week go?” Levi asks before crunching on his chip.

“Fine. I’ve been getting busier with different events, which is great for recognition, but exhausting. How was your week?”

“That’s great, although, being overwhelmed with business can be hard. I heard back from my realtor yesterday. I’m officially closing on my fixer-upper.”

“Congratulations!” The passion in Levi’s voice when he told me about buying his own fixer-upper while he helped me move was inspiring. I could tell it was something he’d wanted for a long time by how animated he got talking about it.

“It’s going to take a lot of work, but I’m looking forward to it.”

“Are you doing it by yourself, or will some of your crew help you?’

“My crew will definitely be helping. It would take me forever to finish it by myself.”

We keep talking about his house while we wait for our food to arrive. The longer we talk, the more I settle into the moment. Despite the butterflies still flapping around, I’m finally finding my groove. I just hope I can hold on to it for the rest of the evening.

17

LEVI

Excitement buzzes through my system with every glance I steal at Hope. Dinner was amazing, and I’ve learned so much more about her than I ever thought I’d get the chance to learn. Things like how she wants to go on adventures but has never had the opportunity or how witty she is when she’s finally comfortable in a situation.

We’re back in my truck now, headed to our next stop. This is either going to go fantastically or disastrously. I didn’t want to take her on the cliché dinner and a movie date, but now that we’re on the way, I feel like this could potentially backfire. If it doesn’t, I know we’ll have a blast.

“So, where are we going?” Hope asks, her melodic voice filling the quiet cab.

“A place in Westlake.”

“You’re still not going to tell me?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, then. But I reserve the right to say no,” she murmurs.

Kind of an odd thing to say.

“Of course. That was always a given.”

“Not always,” she mumbles.

“Hey.” I glance over at her to make sure she’s looking at me. Her features are shadowed in the dark truck, but I can see the hesitation in her eyes. “I would never ask you to do something you didn’t want to do. I promise. You always have a choice.”

She sighs, a small smile pulling at her lips. “Thanks.”

“Has that happened before?” I ask slowly, worried about wading into territory I probably shouldn’t.

She pauses, almost as if she is debating whether to answer my question or not. Finally, she says, “Yeah it has. My dad wasn’t the nicest person to me. He didn't care much for what I had to say and made a lot of plans without consulting me or giving me a choice.”

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