Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 15998 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 80(@200wpm)___ 64(@250wpm)___ 53(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15998 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 80(@200wpm)___ 64(@250wpm)___ 53(@300wpm)
“I am,” Tennessee said slowly, eyes narrowing.
“Good.” I wasn’t about to be deterred by his skepticism. “Wanna have a Pal-entine’s Day outing?”
“Like what?”
“Geez. So suspicious.” I waved the wooden spoon I’d been stirring with at him. “Pal-entine. Two pals who’d rather not be alone on the day of hearts and roses. I’m off at three-thirty that day, but I assume you work until five?”
“Yeah.” His tongue darted out to lick his lower lip. Predictably, heat gathered low in my stomach. Lord, I had it bad already.
“Good. I’ll pick you up at six. Dress warmly.” I chortled happily to myself. Let my plan to show Tennessee I could be his perfect Valentine begin.
Chapter Five
Tennessee
Valentine’s Day dawned like the prior two days—sunny and with a cheerful message from Tate. He’d stayed most of Sunday at my place, helping feed Clifford, baking brownies, and watching movies we remembered from middle school while the treats cooled. Then we’d walked the dog up the street to deliver the brownies to his coworker’s front porch and ordered Thai takeout for an early dinner because we couldn’t live on chocolate and sugar alone. He’d left late in the evening with a promise to text while on duty the next two days, and he’d been true to his word.
Morning! Had a quiet shift. Nothing like doing supply inventory to make me itchy to get back out there. Hope you have a good day saving the world! See you at six.
My stomach fluttered as I placed my phone near the computer on my desk. The birds outside my office window seemed as unusually cheery as I felt. The local CASA office was located near downtown in an older brick building across from the square that housed the county courthouse.
I liked how impressed Tate was with my work for CASA. He appreciated how my job was to advocate for kids in the DHS system. I hadn’t had unconditional support like his in a while. Most of my law school friends had gone on to well-paying big firm jobs, and my love of nonprofit work was a bit of an oddity. My foster parents were great, but they also worried about my choice of a low-salary career path. Tate’s cheerleading was more than welcome, but I was also giddy for his Pal-entine’s Day plans.
Not a date. Not a date, I reminded myself for the hundredth time. But regardless of knowing Tate’s interest was likely purely platonic, a rekindling of an old friendship and a chance to help me out while I was injured, I couldn’t help the spark of hope every time he messaged. And several times on Sunday, I’d caught him staring at me with what seemed like more than friendly intent.
However, I was notoriously bad at telling when someone was interested, and the last thing I wanted to do was make Tate uncomfortable. I’d been trying to avoid flirty comments or unnecessary touches.
By six, I was dressed in a nice blue sweater and thick jeans, following Tate’s orders to dress warmly. I’d also learned since Saturday that clothes with buttons were my enemy, as were shoes with laces. Luckily, my winter boots were zipped up, not tied, and I managed my coat zipper right before Tate buzzed my apartment doorbell.
“You’re ready.” His clear pleasure at my punctuality made my chest expand. He also wore a thick coat and jeans. A hint of a red sweater peeked out from the coat, and unlike me, he’d figured out how to do hiking boot laces one-handed. “You probably won the graduate school attendance award.”
“Almost.” I returned his smile. “Lateness makes me anxious.”
“I know. Which is why Mouse and I are on time.” He gestured down at the dog, who wore a pink quilted coat and an unhappy expression.
“Mouse looks like she’d rather skip whatever outdoor activity you have planned and lounge on the couch instead.” As soon as I said the words, the dog tugged on her leash, doing her best to get over to the couch where Clifford was sprawled, grooming his nether regions, not a care in the world.
“Probably.” Tate frowned before reaching down and unclipping Mouse. “Maybe I should leave her here with Clifford, pick her up after our…thing.”
“That works.” Trying not to dwell on whether a thing was in the same universe as date, I moved a fuzzy throw blanket from the back of the couch to the seat next to Clifford, making a little nest for the small dog. “There. All set.” I returned to the doorway and Tate. “Still not going to tell me where we’re going? Please don’t say ice skating.”
“No, not ice skating, although I do think you deserve a better experience than your one disastrous date.” Tate ushered me out of the house and toward his truck. “I bet you could get the hang of it if I helped.”