Page 49 of Bossy Grump's Secret

“Cross your hands and hope I remember,” Ava says, mocking her. I observe their interaction, but my patience is wearing thin. I didn’t eat before coming here. I planned this date to double as my dinner!

“Tell your boyfriend to write it on his iPad,” she whispers, and both giggle. Lily really is just a clown when she’s in a comfortable zone.

“Hey, I heard that,” I grunt. Their laughter only takes a higher crescendo.

“…and he’s not my boyfriend," Ava corrects as she approaches me.

“What is he, then?” She throws the uncomfortable question before we leave.

“I do not know,” she shrugs. “Ask him.”

“Don’t,” I growl before Lily can proceed. Ava gives me a pout before turning to Lily, who says, “Well, I hope the food’s too spicy if you forget to get me something.” She sticks her tongue out.

"I will wait at the parking lot where we met before," I told Ava. It's best if we don't raise too much suspicion.

When Ava gets to the parking lot; saw her ride, she cannot believe her eyes.

“You have a Ferrari!?” she strolls around the thing, leaving a trail with her fingers. It gets women every time.

"Surprised?" I cock my brows. I'm downplaying it, but that's the art of impressing others.

“No, I’m dazzled. How fast can it go?”

I smile at her genuine admiration of my toy.

“We’ll find out another day. Now…” I open the passenger seat and offer, “After you?”

She gets and squints when she nears me. “You’re so cringing,” she notes, but the sarcasm doesn’t last.

“That’s the aim.” I laugh. The engine revs and makes her eyes close in satisfaction. I accelerate it more for further effect before taking off, ensuring we're moving comfortably. I'll traumatize her with the full speed some other day.

I initially had no particular place in mind, but then I remembered Union Street. The lights, the inviting aromas…the entire one-kilometer stretch of road spell food from aerial observation. I need to drive slowly and stop at the most inviting restaurant…and that is exactly what brings us to Billy Gran's dinner. The wafting aroma had Ava mentally floating through the car window.

"Seventy bucks for a garlic butter steak and potatoes skillet?! I change my mind; let's get out of here." She's about to stand up when I pull her back down.

“Don’t worry about it, Ava. Other restaurants are priced similarly, anyway.”

“This could feed Lily and me for a full day, all three meals, eating like hogs! With change!”

“Well,” I say as I hold her thigh. “This is doing only you today.”

She nods in understanding. “It’s a lot still, Dylan. You don’t have to.”

“You deserve more.”

“Stop it. I’ve done nothing to deserve this.” I love how cute she looks when she talks between bouts of laughter, just like she’s doing now.

“You’re doing one of the planet's most complex, miraculous things right now. In lower-life forms like ants, that role belongs to only one entity - the queen. You’re the queen, Ava. You have to start seeing yourself as one.” I praise her. I’m smooth, I know.

Still, she doesn’t seem contented. She thanks me profusely until I promise I’ll get angry if she says it one more time, at which point, she offers, “thank you” seven more times, hoping to piss me off; but after that, she gets lost in thought…really deep in thought.

“You seem to thinking about something. A name for our baby?” I drawl and give her a creepy smile.

“I’m never going out with you. Ever." She keeps her eyes away, and I chuckle at my embarrassing humor. We all have our glory days.

“But really,” I ask her seriously, “What are you thinking about?”

“You.”

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