Page 13 of Rewind

They laughed, breaking the tension.

“You know, Amina, I have a name. We’re not in the office. Please call me Ethan.”

“Okay…Ethan.”

“Say it again.”

Was it her imagination, or did his voice drop an octave?

She squirmed in her seat. “Ethan.”

“Good. Don’t forget that. Now what were you about to say?”

“It’s just…I never imagined us going out to dinner together.”

“We’ve been out before.”

She shrugged. “Yes, the time you and Dr. Carter took all the office staff out as a thank you for the hard work. That’s not the same. I mean, just the two of us.”

“True, but I think it’s past time we did this don’t you agree?”

“I’m going to be one hundred percent transparent. When you initially asked me out, I kind of thought it was a joke and I went along with it. But now that we’re here, I don’t know what to say. My nerves have been completely on edge and I feel like I’m deceiving you.”

“Deceiving me?”

“Yes. I…I accepted this date because I was mad at my boyfriend and it was wrong of me. If you want to turn this vehicle around and end things right here, I’d understand. I just hope you don’t think less of me.”

She kept her head down and her gaze focused on her lap, afraid to see his expressions. He had to be completely disgusted with her. She was unsure about being here with him in the first place, especially now that Mark had revealed his true colors sooner than she expected.

To her surprise he pulled over to the side of the road. This was it.

She sighed. This was kind of what she’d been expecting in the first place.

“Amina, I’m sorry but…”

“It’s okay if you want to take me back home. This probably wasn’t a good idea to begin with.”

“Amina, if I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t have suggested us going out. Maybe the timing isn’t the best, but right now there’s no place I’d rather be than here with you. As your boss, I may be crossing the line by telling you this but, I’ve been interested in you for a long time and not just as my office manager. But as a woman.”

There were several things she imagined he’d say to her when he pulled the car over but this was not one of them. Maybe she actually was dead and this was her little piece of heaven.

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack. At the risk of sounding like a complete dirt bag, I believe there’s some interest on your end as well. A spark, if you will, even though I’m aware you’re in a relationship. But I can’t help but think you’re not completely happy in it.”

He wasn’t wrong. Had she ever been genuinely happy with Mark at all or did she delude herself into believing she loved him? Was she simply flattered because an attractive guy who seemed to check all the boxes at the time, showed her romantic interest? The fact that she’d met him so soon after her grandmother’s passing probably had a lot to do with it.

Amina opened her mouth to respond but the words remained stuck in her throat.

Ethan released a heavy sigh and raked his hand through his hair. “I just fucked up didn’t I? I’m sorry for putting you in an awkward position. Please be assured, this won’t affect your job in any way. Forget I even brought this up. I’ll take you home.”

He pressed the button to start the car again and as if her body had a mind of its own, she placed her hand over his. She wasn’t reborn just to make the same mistakes over again. “I don’t want to!” she blurted out.

“Excuse me?”

“I mean…I don’t want you to take me back home. I want to continue with our plans.”

He raised a brow. “Really.”

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