Humor flashed in her eyes as she grinned. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been here. I thought they would perform checks on your bank balance before letting you in the doors.”
I chuckled under my breath. “Nah, but they did warn me that they’ll be keeping an eye on the silverware since they decided to forgo our credit checks.”
Her head tipped back as she laughed and reached for the door handle. Acting fast, I climbed out of the car and strode purposefully around it, offering her my hand once I’d opened the door.
Her brows pulled together in confusion. Then she arched one as she accepted the offer. Her touch was feather light in my hand, her fingers delicate but strong.
The humor still hadn’t left her eyes as she looked up at me. “You know, you claim not to want a relationship yet you’re treating this a heck of a lot like a date.”
“It’s called being a gentleman,” I retorted and released her hand to take a step back from her once both her feet were planted firmly on the concrete.
I couldn’t argue her point too hard though, considering how I’d had the same thought earlier. Surprise crossed her features again when I offered her my elbow. “I thought chivalry was dead.”
“Only to the dude-bros and hipsters who think they’re too cool for it,” I replied, surprised again by how naturally it came to banter with her.
The only other person I ever bantered with was Peter. To the rest of the world, I was a total and utter dick. With all except Luna, it seemed.
I refused to think too much about why it came so easily with her. It didn’t really matter. We each still knew where we stood, and in the meantime, why not enjoy each other’s company?
She used her hand in the crook of my elbow to tug me to a stop as we were walking past the ramp that led to street level. Her eyes darted to the elevators, to the ramp, and then to mine.
“What would you say to bailing on the fancy dinner and hitting up a taco truck instead?” she asked, her head cocked and her lower lip sinking between her teeth. “No offense. I’m sure the food here is good, but this isn’t a date, right?”
“Right.”
One of her shoulders lifted as a mischievous gleam entered her eyes. “In that case, we don’t have to do a fancy dinner where we both try to impress each other with put-on wit or charm. Let’s just go have fun.”
“There’s nothing put-on about my wit or charm, I’ll have you know.” I dragged my gaze from hers to look at the rapidly fading sunlight creating a glow at the top of the ramp. “But you’re right. Let’s go have some fun.”
“Excellent.” Her fingers tightened on the inside of my elbow and she started walking again. “Thanks for not taking offense, by the way. I’m just not a fancy restaurant kind of gal if I’ve got a choice.”
“What if this was a date?” I asked, genuinely curious. It fucking intrigued me that she’d choose a food truck over the Maslow, and I was curious about her reasoning. “Would you still want to go to a street truck?”
She snorted. “I’d always want to go to a street truck instead, but I would have gone to the fancy restaurant and beguiled you with my charms.”
“You’re not planning on beguiling me with your charms, then?” I tilted my head to watch her expression as we made our way up the ramp.
With humor still dancing behind her eyes, she shook her head. “Nope, no charms. Just plain old me.”
“There’s nothing plain about you.” It was unlike me to blurt anything out, and yet the words had come without any active command from my brain to say them out loud.
Luna blinked several times in surprise, lifting her chin and angling her head so she was looking at me now, too. “Thanks, I guess.”
We reached the top of the ramp and hooked a right, merging with throngs of people out on the sidewalk but walking at a much slower pace than most. Luna was still holding on to my arm. I was sure it looked like we were a couple out on an evening stroll.
Unease clenched my gut. My free hand came out of my pocket and went to the back of my neck.
Blowing out a breath while we waited for the red man on the traffic light to turn green, I tightened my grip on my skin. “Here’s a random question for you. What are you looking for out of all this? You agreed to help me with the wedding, we’re going out for dinner, and from the looks of things, we’re going to be spending quite a lot of time together. I—”
A smile tipped the corners of her mouth upward as she bumped her hip into mine. She tutted her tongue. “Why, Cyrus, are you asking me if I’m doing all this with the ulterior motive of luring you into a relationship?”
The teasing lightness of her voice made the grip of tension on my gut release. “Yeah, I was.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit presumptuous? I offered to help you before I even really started getting to know you. I might believe in relationships, but I don’t believe in love at first sight, and I definitely don’t believe in tricking someone into falling for me.”
“Falling for you? Now who’s being presumptuous?” I joked.
She pursed her lips and shot me an unamused look, but I could see the smile she was trying to hide. “Well, they say it always happens to those who aren’t looking for it, so who knows?”
“Me. I know. Absolutely no offense meant, but I’m not going to fall for you.”
“We should be okay then because I’m not going to fall for you either.” There was so much certainty in her voice that I actually almost ended up taking offense anyway, until I reminded myself of the realities of what we were talking about.
Her mouth moved to the side as she chewed the inside of her cheek, obviously less certain about whatever it was she wanted to say next. I didn’t get to find out what it was, though.
With a sudden sniff of the air, she dispelled whatever thoughts had been brewing in her head and shot me a grin instead. “We’re right around the corner. I can smell the awesomeness that is Ben’s Tacos already.”
Ben’s Tacos turned out to be a food truck that appeared to be reasonably established and well known. It was parked beside a small green space in the center of the upmarket district we were in.
Tall elm trees burst over the park surrounding them, in the process of creating a canopy that would be lush by mid-summer. Benches were placed in their shadows, though I could only just make them out in the fading light as we approached the truck.
Large plastic containers had been placed on the counter, partially obscuring the body of the server inside. “What can I get you?”
Luna stepped up and glanced at the menu before turning to look at me over her shoulder. “Are you okay if I order for us?”
“Go ahead.” I made a sweeping gesture toward the truck but moved so I was standing behind her. I was curious to see what was on offer and what she’d choose.
As it turned out, she ordered one of everything—although they only offered four different kinds of tacos, so it really wasn’t too much. After ordering drinks, she pulled her wallet out of her purse.
Before she could try to pay, I handed some bills to the server over the top of her shoulder and was ready for the narrow-eyed glare she sent me when she spun around. I smirked as I raised a shoulder. “Chivalry isn’t dead, remember? I’m allowed to pay for our dinner without getting any shit about it.”