Page 129 of On The Rocks

And she did—at Mach 2. Lennon on the highway was a little terrifying. I held onto theohshithandle when she zipped over to the off ramp—without looking—and then we were heading for an underpass that looked sketchy as hell.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Best Mexican in the United States.” She turned down streets that had no names, then aimed down an alleyway that made me fear for the tires on this car.

“Just don’t get us carjacked.”

“Nah. We’ll be fine.” She gave me a wicked grin. “Okay, maybe we’ll take it to go.”

“Good plan.”

It was another hole in the wall, this one, with a neon sign declaring it was Maria’s. She nipped inside before I could attempt to get out.

Less than ten minutes later, she was back out with a white bag and two Fanta sodas. She handed me the bundle, then she got in. “Let’s go eat this on the beach.”

“We’re near the beach?”

“We’re always near the beach.”

And then, we were off. We were closer to the water than I assumed, and she stopped by a line of picnic tables just off the road.

The sun glinted off the water and she was correct—they were damn good tacos. Along with an empanada that made my soul sing.

It was a helluva way to end our day.

I’d started the morning thinking I might be losing her.

It could still happen, but knowing she had feelings for me shored up the worry and allowed me to put it out of my mind.

Instead of denial, I let it steep in hope for once.

And that was better than any other plan I had right now.

When we got back to the hotel, we were too stuffed to care about anything other than a nap on the balcony under one of the umbrellas. Shower sex and then a very creative evening of checking off a few more things from her “list” wrapped our Miami trip with a bow.

I’d found a return flight for the next morning and swapped our tickets.

Since she liked the convertible so much, I tossed her the keys the next morning and only prayed for my life twice before we got to the airport. It was worth it for the smile on her face when she parked.

This time, the airline gods were kind, and we landed in New York before lunch.

By the time I saw my truck, I was so glad I could have kissed it. “Coming home with me?”

“I need to go to my place. Think you can survive a night without me?” She clicked her buckle in place.

“Not sure I can handle it.”

She laughed. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“You’re very welcome.”

It was a quiet ride to her place. I dropped her off, kissed her senseless to make sure she regretted her decision, then I headed back to the orchard.

I used the in-dash to call Kain.

“Yo.”

“You guys' home?”

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