Page 23 of Love to Prove You Wrong

He smiled at the waitress and placed his order. Then he folded his hands, giving me that same look hisIn Dire Needcharacter gave his girlfriend right before he told her he loved her. A flutter of tingly sensations went through me, even though I knew that look didn’t mean anything. I was flattered nonetheless.

“What’s tonight’s theme?” I asked. “Didn’t you say this place has themed nights?”

I needed to change the subject, to talk about something else. Anything that didn’t involve him making me feel… special. Because I knew that was all my imagination’s doing. The way he charmed everyone was nothing more than a habit he’d cultivated while living in Hollywood. It had to be.

He nodded at a door leading to a room in the back. “Everyone who buys a meal gets a free ride on the mechanical bull. The person who lasts the longest receives a voucher for a free meal. There’s a winner every hour.”

“Let me guess. You want us to try and win?”

His face lit up. “Oh, yeah, I do.”

I let out a laugh. “I’m not going to stop you from climbing onto that bull, but I’d rather stand by and watch.”

I thought he was going to push it further, nag me to join him on the bull, but all he did was shrug. “Sure. You don’t know what you’re missing, though. But I respect your decision.”

Our food arrived and we both dug in. I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was until I took a bite of my hamburger.

Justin motioned to my burger with his head. “So, what do you think?”

“You were right. Best burger ever,” I said in between bites.

Another grin made his eyes sparkle. “I hate to say I told you so, but…”

I rolled my eyes at him, feigning irritation. His comments had started to feel familiar and safe instead of insulting or arrogant. I couldn’t even remember why I’d made such a big deal of going out with him. This wasn’t so bad. We were both enjoying ourselves and the burgers were delicious.

In the background, some indie rock blasted through the speakers, making me bob my head.

“Well? Is it working?” Justin asked.

“Is what working?”

He popped an onion ring in his mouth and chewed it before answering. “This. Are you having fun?”

“Yes, I’m enjoying myself.”

It was true. I spent so much time holed up in the inn and my own little world that it felt good to go out and enjoy an outing like this.

“Good. You needed it,” Justin said.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“You’ve done nothing but work your ass off these last couple of weeks. For Asher’s wedding, your inn customers, the Spring Picnic… I figured you might want to forget about your responsibilities for one night. And judging by the smile on your face, I was right.”

“Nothing beats helping the girl who loves helping others, does it?”

Justin put his hamburger down and folded his hands. “It’s not as if I get a kick out of it. I think you might be working too hard. It’s not healthy to push yourself like this. You were the same in high school. Always putting everyone’s needs before yours. Studying hard to get straight A’s and keep your GPA average above four point two.”

I laughed. “How can you even pretend to know what my GPA was, let alone what I got up to after school? You hardly talked to me in high school, Justin. And when you did open your mouth to speak to me, nothing great came out.”

He stared me down, that look in his eyes sending goosebumps all over my body. “That doesn’t mean I didn’t have my eye on you the whole time, Addy.”

His words took me by surprise. I wanted to ask him if he was joking, but before I could speak, a group of giggling girls appeared at our table.

“Justin Miller? Oh my God, I can’t believe it’s really you. Will you sign something for me?” one of the girls asked.

She was about to flash her boobs to Justin, but her friend stopped her just in time. Good. This wasn’t a brothel, and Justin was having dinner. I was positive they would come to their senses and leave us be any minute now.

“Can I take a picture?” another girl asked, shoving her phone in Justin’s face without waiting for his reply.

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