“No, I’m usually very organized. If this was a work thing, I would be all over it. But this is a shopping thing. I hate shopping.” He batted his eyelids. “Help me. Please.”
“And what makes you think I’m any good at shopping, huh?”
“You’re a girl, aren’t you?” He grinned to let her know he was joking.
She gave a mock-growl. “That’s very sexist. Just because I’m a girl, doesn’t mean I like shopping.”
“You’re quite right. I do apologize.” He placed his hand on his heart, with a sad sigh.
“Do they have a gift registry?” she asked.
“No, they said no gifts.”
“Umm.” She didn’t know how to point out the obvious.
“I know they said no gifts, but I want to get them something. Even something small. Clint has been good to me over the years. He hired me on when I had very little experience, taught me everything he knows and now he trusts me to manage his ranch.”
She loved the hint of vulnerability in his gaze. Linc wasn’t a man who was afraid of showing his emotions. Of admitting when he was wrong. Or doing something silly to make her laugh, like strutting his stuff along the street.
“Hmm, that’s a tough one.”
A waitress came along, looking slightly harried. “Sorry. We’re a waitress down today. What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll take a sweet tea,” Linc said, looking at her expectantly.
“The same please.” She nearly winced. Drat. She didn’t know why she said that. She hated tea.
The waitress nodded and headed away. Linc passed her a menu. “I already know what I want,” he told her a bit sheepishly.
“Eat here often?” she teased. She could hardly believe that she was sitting here, eating lunch with a gorgeous man. And that she dared to tease him. This was the closest she’d ever gotten to a date. She thought she’d be shy and jittery.
But Linc was different. There was something about him that put her at ease.
“Well, whenever I get into town, I do. They make the best burgers here, though.”
“Ooh. That sounds nice.”
“Good, two hamburgers with fries it is then, please, Sally,” he said to the waitress as she brought their drinks back.
“Oh, but . . .” she said as the waitress left. She’d been going to see what was cheapest on the menu. She didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity.
“Sorry. You didn’t want the burger.” He winced. “I jumped the gun. I’ll call her back.”
“No, no.” She didn’t want to make a fuss. Especially not when the diner was so busy. “That’s fine. I just need to go to the bathroom first.”
“Of course.” He slid out then held his hand towards her. She reached up to grab his hand, realizing too late that her sleeve had ridden up.
He froze as he stared at her wrist. Then his gaze met hers. “What is this?”
5
Linc stared down at the bandage. Had she had that last night? He thought back. He hadn’t noticed it, but it could have been easy to miss in the dark.
“Marisol,” he said in a deep, commanding voice that had her staring at him in shock. This was the firmest he’d been with her, so her surprise was understandable.
“Oh that,” she said with a nervous laugh. He could already tell that she was going to lie and it made him grind his teeth in anger and frustration. “It’s nothing. I was dealing with hot wax at work and burned myself.”
“Can I see the burn?”
“Oh no. It’s fine. I put cream on it.” She couldn’t meet his gaze as she spoke. “Could I get up now?”
He nodded, unable to answer her without demanding the truth. As she disappeared into the bathroom, he slid into the booth and tried to decide what path he wanted to take.
If he didn’t intend to see her again, to take this further, then he could just let this go. It worried him that she had to lie to explain the bandage, though. Made him wonder about what really happened.
But if he decided that he did want to know her better, then he’d need to make it clear that she’d crossed a line with him. One that she shouldn’t cross again. At least not without consequences.
Okay, bringing up consequences might be going a step too far. One step at a time.
He glanced over at the bathroom door, she’d been gone a while. He hoped she was okay. Just then, she walked out and came towards him. He slid out.
“Oh, you didn’t have to move,” she said.
He shook his head. “Safer for you to go in first.”
She blinked at him in confusion.
“Wall on one side. Me on the other,” he said in clipped sentences.
“Right,” she replied, giving him a small, worried smile. “Are you all right?”
He tapped his fingers against the table then turned to her. “I know you just lied to me.”
Her face paled. Those expressive caramel-colored eyes stared up at him, trying to get a read on him. There was an anxious air around her. He instantly wanted to soothe her. To reassure her that no harm would come to her. That she was all right. They were all right.
But he knew that he had to start as he meant to continue on. Allowing her this one lie could bleed into more lies. Bigger ones. And he couldn’t allow that. Lies and rejection were big triggers for him. So she needed to know this now.
And if he was too much for her, then he needed to know that too.
Maybe it was crazy to be so interested in someone this quickly. But Linc had watched so many of his friends find their other halves recently and it made him impatient and yeah, a bit lonely. He wanted someone of his own. Someone to come home to at night, share dinner with, laugh or commiserate with over their days. Someone to curl up around in bed and wake up to in the morning.
And he was drawn to her.
So yeah, maybe he should make this clear from the start.
“Lying is something I can’t ever tolerate, Marisol,” he told her firmly. Her breath hitched, her eyes widening even further. “I get that maybe you don’t feel comfortable telling me the truth since we don’t know each other that well. But that doesn’t mean you need to lie. If I ask you something that makes you uncomfortable, that you don’t feel you can answer honestly, then you tell me that. Don’t make something up, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered. “But what if there’s something going on and I can’t talk about it, then won’t you be mad at me for not telling you?”
Their food arrived and he took a moment to answer. “We don’t know each other so I get there might be things you don’t want to tell me. As we get to know each other and you come to trust me, I would hope you would confide in me, tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m not used to trusting in people,” she told him.
“It can be tough. But when you find the right people, it can also be the easiest thing in the world. I’m here if you want to tell me something. Anything. All right?”
“All right.”
He picked up his burger and took a bite, noticing the way she just stared at her food, looking sad.
Fuck. This wasn’t the conversation he’d meant to have. This wasn’t even a proper date and things had taken on a very serious tone.