Page 45 of Finn Rhodes Forever

I grabbed Liv’s hand and led her to a booth in the corner, slipping in after her and propping an arm over her side. She glanced back at my arm with alarm, and I rolled my lips to hide a grin.

I’d been thinking about how to hold her hand all day. It was like we were teenagers again.

“Go sit on the other side,” she said, tilting her chin at the other side of the booth.

“I’m good here.”

“There’s not enough room.”

“Sure there is.”

The server appeared with her pen poised. “What can I get you two?”

“We’re going to split an order of curly fries,” I told her.

Liv loved curly fries. Or she used to.

She straightened up with a start. “I forgot my wallet in the car. It’s in my pack.”

I didn’t budge. “It’s fine, I’ve got it. What else do you want?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

Bullshit. She’d burned thousands of calories today. She was just being stubborn.

“Two club sandwiches,” I told the server. Liv could change the order if she wanted but I wasn’t going to let her skip dinner. “A slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and two glasses of water, please. Thank you.”

The server jotted this down and hustled off.

I turned to Liv, my gaze sliding over her cheekbones, where more freckles had popped up since a few days ago. On the top of the booth, my hand twitched, itching to touch her. The smell of her shampoo had me considering burying my face in her neck.

She glanced at me with a snort. “Stop drooling.”

I leaned in closer, my mouth an inch from her ear. “What, I can’t buy mygirlfrienddinner?”

The corner of her mouth lifted before she rolled her lips to hide it.

“This doesn’t count as a date, you know,” I told her.

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Yes, it does.”

“I’m not wasting my date on a crappy diner off the highway.”

She reached out to fiddle with her napkin, and her arm brushed my fingers. She sat there tearing tiny pieces off it.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked, my gaze on the curve of her dark eyelashes.

She was quiet a moment. “My dad’s going to sell the bar.”

“Wow.” My eyebrows shot up. “Are you okay?”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “I don’t know. I think so.”

I waited, desperate for more of this version of Liv—honest and real. Walls down. Unguarded. Being herself. It was intoxicating and addictive.

Her lashes fluttered as she blinked, frowning to herself. “I have to find a new place to live if he sells it.” She glanced at me. “You do, too.”

I nodded, running my fingers over her arm. Her skin was like silk. “We’ll figure it out.”

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