Page 63 of Not Fooling Anyone

“You all finished Miss Bookkeeper?”

She nods, covering her mouth with one hand as she yawns.

“Mind if I walk you out? I’m done, too.”

She gives me a once-over, gaze lingering on my shirt. “You’re not showering?”

Ouch. “Nah, I’m fine.” I wouldn’t get to walk her out if I did.

“I’m surprised you aren’t trying to show off your abs to everyone again.”

I grin at her. “You miss the show?”

I savor her eye roll, letting her lead the way out, and grab my gym bag before we make it to the door.

“I was thinking of going to the diner,” I tell her as we walk up the steps back to street level. “Want to join? My treat.” She’s sure to say no if she has to pay. Is she still having money problems?

She hesitates, sticking her hands in her hoodie pockets, and I sweeten the deal by adding, “I’ll even change my shirt.”

Her lips quirk, but she says, “No. I have to get home.”

Instead of letting her be, I ask, “Why?”

She shrugs, hunching her shoulders. “I’m tired.”

“It’s not because of earlier today? With the kissing?”

She’s silent, coming to a halt in front of her car.

I’d already assured her it wasn’t a big deal, hoping to put her at ease. In truth, that kiss had been all I could think of even as I’d said that to her.

“I know you said it would be… weird.” I still hate that she used that word. “But I hope it wasn’t that bad.”

She leans against the hood of her car, her thigh next to a spot where the paint has peeled off. “It was fine.”

Fine is one of those words that doesn’t mean what it’s supposed to, right? “Is this where a girl says things are fine, but they really aren’t? And then you silently seethe about it and meanwhile, I’m a clueless idiot?”

A full smile graces her face then, an actual honest-to-God chuckle escaping her. My chest glows with pride in response.

“It really was fine. Better than I expected, actually.”

And that doubles the warm feeling going on inside me. “We can kiss anytime you want.” I tack on a grin so she doesn’t take me seriously. Even though I’m completely serious. There’s no way today could have been our only kiss.

She reaches out, lightly nudging my shoulder. “Don’t push your luck.”

Yeah, I think I might be doing more of that soon.

“I finally got a fight scheduled,” I tell her. “Your dad set it up.”

Her brows raise. “Congratulations. You ready?”

I rub the back of my neck, a shiver running over me. “As ready as I can be, I guess. I’m training with Lawrence again on Sunday. Did he, uh, say anything about me when he went in the office?”

She shakes her head, her hair swinging. Did she do something different with it? “He asked if I wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow night.”

“Well, talk me up while you’re there. I want him to keep training me.”

“I told him I couldn’t. We have that study group with Amber and Christian.”

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