Page 15 of Dating the Boss
“Think we have enough time to get a coffee and some food?” Reed asked as we left the parking lot. “I didn’t get a chance to eat before leaving the house.”
“Of course.”
His fingers lightly tapped the steering wheel as he drove, drawing my eye to the silver ring he wore on his forefinger. It was a flat band with some kind of design twisting around it. I didn’t even notice I was leaning closer to see it better until he turned his head to me, a smile forming on his lips.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes.” I settled back into my seat. “I was just looking at your ring.”
“Oh.” Reed held up his hand to show it off. “I got this from a renaissance faire Quinn and I went to a few years ago. It has a rose vine etched into it.”
“Quinn?” I asked. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“You met him in September at the charity event,” he answered, and I nodded as it finally registered. I remembered him now. “He’s my best friend, but he feels more like a brother. Family, you know?”
Reed and I rarely spoke of our personal lives. There hadn’t been any reason to over the past year. However, if we were going to be taking a small road trip together, I guess talking was to be expected.
“You go to renaissance faires?” I asked, my lips twitching at the thought of Reed going to one.
“Sometimes,” he said. “Quinn is a history dork and loves them. And I like the fatty, incredibly unhealthy food, so it’s a win-win.”
Yeah, Reed didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. My gaze trailed down his slender torso and to his legs before I caught myself and averted my eyes to the window. It was going to be one long-ass ride in the car.
God help me.
“Do you mind if I turn on some music?” Reed asked, after we had gotten food and coffee and were on our way to Greenville. “I don’t like the quiet. It’s too distracting.”
“Silence is distracting?”
“Very,” he answered before sipping his caramel macchiato. “Every sound is more enhanced in the quiet, and I find myself listening to all the weird clicks, thumps, and other random noises all around me. I have to sleep with a fan on at night too, just to have some white noise.”
Somehow, it didn’t surprise me. Reed had a bubbly and outgoing personality. He was as far from introverted as a person could get.
“Music is fine,” I said. “Just nothing crazy, please.”
“Define crazy.”
“Heavy metal.”
“Do I look like I listen to death metal, Mr. Sawyer?” Reed grinned at me before focusing back on the road.
“Well, I didn’t expect you to nerd out at renaissance festivals either. People can be surprising.”
“First of all,” he said, holding up a finger, “I don’t nerd out at them. I go to support my friend, who is a total geek when it comes to medieval shit. And second of all… yeah, I don’t like death metal.”
I chuckled, much to my surprise. It was to his surprise too, if the shocked look he tossed me was any indication.
“I need to work a little,” I said, reaching behind my seat for my laptop. I had charged it the night before, so it had a full battery and was set up to the Wi-Fi hotspot on my phone. I needed to type up a few reports, but it was mainly a reason to distance myself from him for a while. “Listen to what you want.”
I intentionally reverted to a neutral tone and expression. Just because we were stuck together didn’t mean I had to be overly friendly. It was best to keep our relationship as professional as possible. No more getting to know each other.
Because dammit, the more he talked to me about his life, the more I liked him.
Reed chose an indie playlist on his phone and hooked it up to the stereo. The songs were mellow and easy to listen to. I glanced up at one of them, seeing it was called “Love Like This”from a group called Kodaline.
“Is this okay?” Reed asked, glancing between me and the stereo. “I can turn it off.”
“No need.” I looked back at my computer. “I like it.”
