Page 29 of When We Burn

“Oh, thanks for letting me know. You must have to work?” She chews on her lip and frowns. “Not that it’s any of my business.”

“No work,” I reply easily. “I have a date.”

She blinks, and hurt moves into her eyes, and I feel like a giant asshole.

“Oh, how nice. Have fun.”

“No.” I step closer to her. “Sorry, that was a really bad way of saying, I’d like to takeyouout on a date.”

She swallows, licks her lips, and then glances up at me. I hate that she still gets so nervous around me, so apprehensive.

I want her to trust me.

“What time were you thinking?” she asks, trying to keep her voice casual.

“Seven. I’d like to take you to dinner.”

“You would?”

I can’t help but feel a mixture of humor and frustration. “Why wouldn’t I, Dani?”

“For a whole host of reasons.” She blows out a breath. “Yeah, dinner at seven sounds good. Casual?”

“I was thinking pizza or BBQ. Are you craving anything?”

“Pizza sounds good, actually.”

“Pizza at seven, then.”

“We can just order it in, if that’s easier for you.”

God, I want to touch her. We’re going to have to talk about this rule of hers. “No. It’s not easier for me. I want to take you out to dinner, Dani. Seven o’clock.”

“See you later.”

I wink at her and then return to my truck. I have flowers to buy, and I need to make a phone call.

The phone rings through my speakers, and Holden answers on the second ring.

“Hey, man,” he says.

“Hey, are you busy right now?”

“I’m just working on some paperwork in my office. What’s up?”

I clear my throat. “The office at your barn at the ranch? Can I pop out there?”

“Sure. Door’s open.”

He ends the call, and I head out of town, toward the Lexington ranch. Holden inherited it after their daddied earlier this year. One of the first things he did was have me and my guys come out and burn every building to the ground to purge the property of his bastard of a father. It was a great training exercise for my guys, and as the flames destroyed everything, I could almost see the weight lift off my friend’s shoulders.

I’m glad that I could be there for him and help with that.

I also wonder if Dani’s been out to her family’s property since she and her sisters collected whatever they wanted from the farmhouse.

It’s a twenty-minute drive to the turnoff that leads me to the barn, and I park next to Holden’s truck, then hop out and walk inside, finding my friend in his office.

“Hey.” I grin and lean against the wall opposite him since he’s in the only chair in the room. “How’s Millie?”

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