Page 85 of Clean Out of Luck

I stand in front of a car, staring at the parking ticket now stuck to the windshield for taking up two parking spaces. I can’t laugh.

I open my phone and make a call.

“Is everything okay?” Wade asks as he answers the phone.

“Yes,” I say. “You won’t believe this, but I got a parking ticket.”

“You got a parking ticket? With your bike?” he asks with a laugh.

“No, I got a parking ticket on a car.”

“I am really confused right now. But however it happened, I’m proud of you.”

“Do you have time to have dinner tonight? I’ll make you something delicious at home,” I say shyly. It’s weird to think that we can just make dinner plans together now.

Wade chuckles. “Is it Captain Crunch?”

“No, I just got a new box of Froot Loops.”

“How aboutImake dinner at my house, and you tell me everything?” Wade suggests.

“It’s a deal. But first, I have to return the car. I don’t want to drive one for a long time now.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Scarlett

Forget goingon dates at restaurants. I want to spend every night having Wade cook me dinner. He made sourdough bread, steak, salad, and roasted vegetables.

The guy can cook a meal.

We ate the most delicious food possible and are now sitting in the living room on his couch.

I’m tucked under Wade’s arm, leaning against his side. His other hand is resting on top of my thigh, which is draped over his legs.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” he says softly when I finish telling him my story from today. “You not only did something that was really scary, but you did it for someone who probably didn’t deserve it.”

“Well, Claire might not be my favorite person, but she’s honest, and she is good at her job.”

“For what it’s worth, I think she likes you,” Wade says as he moves his hand to the back of my neck and starts squeezing gently.

Oh. My. Word. I didn’t know having Wade’s hand on myneck was on my bingo card of things that make me melt…but here I am.

“How do you feel after driving today?” he asks as he continues gently kneading with those strong fingers.

“Ungghhuh.”

He chuckles. “You did it. You told me you were almost there, and you were totally right.”

He keeps rubbing my neck, and I wonder if he’ll find me less attractive when he notices the drool.

“I still don’t want to go buy a car,” I admit with a sigh.

Wade shakes his head. “That’s okay. You don’t need to. I think you might have needed to prove to yourself that you could do it. And now you have.”

Wade adjusts my body and pulls me more onto his lap as he continues to rub my shoulders and neck.

“You’re tense,” he observes.

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