Hunting Human - Amanda E. Alvarez [13]
“I guess we aren’t going anywhere soon.” He slid his seat back and turned his dimple-infused smile on her. “It’s really coming down out there. You’ll drown before you make it back to Angie’s.” He paused and glanced at his watch. “Unless you’re done for the day? In which case, I’m at your mercy.” His brown eyes, warm and friendly, settled on her face. “Don’t toss me out.”
“My shift doesn’t end until three.” She swallowed around the nerves clogging her throat and forced the edge of her mouth to quirk up. “By the way, thanks. I’d never have gotten the top up in time on my own.”
“No problem. I was on my way to Angie’s and I saw you waging war out here. It would have been ungentlemanly not to stop.” He smiled fully this time, dimples drawing deep lines through his face, clearly aware of their charm. “Relax, I won’t bite.”
“I suppose that would also be ungentlemanly.” Beth didn’t bother to hide her laugh. She could do this. She could interact with another human being like a normal person. Why this human being put her so on edge, she had no idea.
“Unquestionably. How long have you been working for Angie?”
Beth peeled herself away from the door. “Nearly five months now.”
“That long? I can’t believe we haven’t run into each other before now.”
“Well, I used to work the closing shift. I didn’t start working the morning shift until just recently.”
“Yeah, that explains it. Coffee after noon keeps me up half the night.”
“You could always order decaf.” Beth pulled one leg up underneath her so she could turn to face him better.
“Coffee without caffeine? Blasphemy. Like beer without alcohol.”
“Just plain wrong, of course,” Beth said, relaxing into the silly conversation.
“Surely you’ve never had the poor taste not to enjoy coffee in its natural state.”
“Of course not.” Mischief quirked her lips. “Strictly a tea drinker.”
“Water and mulch? You’re breaking my heart.” Braden’s face set into a serious frown. “You’re not a vegetarian, are you?”
Laughter bubbled out of her. “No. I enjoy a salad as much as the next girl, but every now and then, you just have to have a steak.”
“Filet?” He asked, as if it were the most important question in the world.
“Mmm, not bad. But when I want a steak, it’s prime rib all the way.”
“Marry me?”
“Red meat is hardly a basis for a lasting marriage.”
“But it’s an excellent foundation for dinner. How’s tomorrow night?
He said it casually, as though they were still joking around, but his expression charged the space between them with an intensity the storm outside couldn’t match.
“I don’t think…” Beth hesitated. Since she’d started at the café, several of the customers had tried to chat her up—a few had even left their business cards—but she’d never given any of them a second thought. So what had changed?
“It’s just dinner. There’s a great restaurant just a few blocks from here. They have some of the best steaks in Portland.”
Beth forced herself to glance away before she said something stupid. She should turn him down. She was more comfortable than she’d been in a long time; things were finally starting to feel normal.
Don’t complicate things, Beth.
But even with all the logical reasons she could come up with to turn him down, she couldn’t force a polite refusal past her lips.
As if sensing the opportunity, Braden plowed forward. “You wouldn’t leave me to dine alone, would you?”
“It would probably be rather unladylike.” Oh God, she wasn’t saying no. Her life was far too complicated for this, eventually he’d have questions, want to know about her past. What then? Dammit. For the first time in a really long time she wanted to let a charming, handsome man take her out. There had been times when she wondered if she would ever feel that way again.
Not fair.
“Most unladylike.” Braden reached out and tucked an errant curl behind her ear.
Beth hesitated. She could feel the heat of her skin where his fingers brushed in retreat. Say no. Her brain supplied the words, but her lips stubbornly refused to cooperate. Instead, she dragged her gaze