Her spine stiffens and the hair on the back of her neck prickles. But before she can respond, the cashier's voice cuts through the air, calling for the next person.
Delilah swallows hard and then walks until she’s in front of the cashier.
After she orders, I move next to her and add in my drink, then pull out my wallet.
"I could've paid," she says softly, watching me.
"But then I couldn't call this a date." I wink, then hand the cashier my card.
A look of confusion spreads across her face. I probably shouldn't have said that before we had a chance to discuss the situation between us, but it's too late now.
Once we move to the end of the counter and wait for our drinks, we both start talking at the same time.
"Sorry, go ahead," I tell her.
"No, it's fine. You go."
I shift my weight uncomfortably, trying to come up with the words I want to say without scaring her away. Being in the middle of the airport where it's loud and chaotic isn't helping either.
"Uh, well..." Licking my lips, I scrub a hand across my jawline. "I wanted to tell you that takin' time apart didn't help me get over my feelings. Not that I truly thought it would but..."
I'm interrupted by the barista handing us our drinks. "Thank you."
Delilah grabs the two drinks for her and Mrs. Fanning, and I grab mine. Then I follow her to the table where her mom's waiting.
"Hi, Wilder." She smirks suspiciously at me, grabbing her coffee cup.
"Hello, Mrs. Fanning. How're you?"
"I'm lovely, thank you." She takes a sip of her chai tea, then shifts her gaze to Delilah. "I'm gonna walk around the gift shop and find a new book to read. I'll meet you back at our gate, sweetheart."
"Oh, are you sure?" Delilah looks panicked but her mom puts her at ease.
"Of course. That way you and Wilder can talk in private." She flashes her a wink before she leaves.
"That was...interestin'," I say, then bring the cup up to my lips to stop myself from asking if she talked to her mom about us.
"Very."
"I don't think I was supposed to see that little gesture she made, but I'm pretty sure she likes me." I waggle my brows and she rolls her eyes.
"Where do you wanna talk?" she asks.
"I'm sure there's an empty gate somewhere."
"Or we could find one of those private nursin’ rooms and find out why they call itbreast feeding..."
"Wilder Hollis!" She burst out laughing, playfully shoving my chest, but I don't budge. "You're not slick."
"What?" I feign innocence. "I can't be curious?"
"Mm-hmm...I'm sure you'resocurious."
Chapter Fifteen
Delilah
It's a relief to smile and laugh around Wilder again. I wasn't sure how weird it'd be to face him, especially after he witnessed Mattie and I stumbling over ourselves and oversharing way too many details.