Page 72 of The Girlfriend Card
“Hear that?” I chuckled, leaning closer to Dakota as we left the restaurant together. “They think we’re boning now.”
“Eh, let ’em think what they want,” he said, eyes sparkling as he opened the door for me. “It’s more fun that way.”
“Fun foryou,maybe. You love the idea of people thinking we’re boning, don’t you?”
“Are you crazy? You think I wanna wind up butchered alive and tossed into a dumpster somewhere?”
My laugh tapered off into a groan. “Oh, no, notthisagain …”
“C’mon, Ottavia.” As we walked to his car, he leaned closer and lowered his voice so no one would hear. “You’restillgonna deny Sal’s in the mafia, even when he’s making you marry the future President’s son?!”
“My dad is a lot of things, but he’s nota mafioso,” I said as we approached Dakota’s Porsche.
I pressed the unlock button on the key fob, and the car unlocked with a chirp. My heart rocked against my rib cage asI climbed into the driver’s seat. I was already nervous about driving out of here on my own—I had literallynodriving experience—but once I looked down, I couldn’t help but shake my head.
“Nope. No way. Not happening,” I said, popping my door open again.
“Why not?” he asked.
I pointed at the shifter. “Because your car is astick shift!”
He chuckled confidently. “Yeah, so? You’ll learn. And I’ll be right here to help you. We all gotta start somewhere, you know?”
“Sure, but nothere!Look at all these cars!” I whipped my head around to catch a glimpse of the cars coming and going in both directions. It wasn’theavytraffic, no, but it was definitely more than I was comfortable with, considering I’d never driven a car, ever, let alone a manual.
“My bad. You’re right.” Dakota relented and touched my arm apologetically. “How about this? I’ll take us somewhere you feel comfortable to learn.”
“Deal.” I couldn’t help but smile. Dakota could be a sweetie when he wanted. I loved that he was understanding and not pushy about it.
Even though I wasn’t brave enough to tackle a stick shift in the middle of Las Vegas traffic, I was still so excited to learn. We jumped out to quickly swap seats, trading smiles, our arms brushing against each other as we crossed paths, creating an electric flutter in my stomach.
We settled into our seats, and Dakota began the lesson. “First thing is, to start the car, you have to press the clutch in.” Dakota demonstrated, and the car fired up. “Just like that. Now, to get going …”
While the engine idled, he gave me a thorough rundown on what the clutch did, and how and when to use it. Then we were off, in search of a desolate place where I could practice.
We made small talk during the drive, but I could tell something was on Dakota’s mind. We stopped at a light, and a silence grew between us.
Dakota gave me a curious glance and began, gently, “So … what’s Leo think about your guys’ situation?”
“Well.” I drew a deep breath. “He’s more okay with it than I am. He has his own reasons.”
“Like what?”
“For one, he’s carving out his own political career.” I left the big one unsaid, however. “You know, Dad is convinced Leo is going to be president someday. It certainly wouldn’t shock me.”
“So you’re not going to get any help from Leo, is what you’re saying.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I think, up until a couple weeks ago, I hadsomehope he might be on the same page as me.”
“No luck?”
I shook my head. “He’s fully on board. He says there’s no reason we can’t make it work. As long as we’re discreet, and all.”
“Damn. That’s too bad.” Dakota blew out a breath of air. “So, about Leo.”
“What about him?”
“He’s a handsome guy,” he said.
