to keep me from being dateless tonight.”
Yeah, that was it in a nutshell, but damn if the way she put it didn’t sting a bit. He doubted Gina’s mother was going to let her precious daughter out the door with a loser like him anyway, no matter how nicely he polished up—as his sister had put it—on such a simple explanation.
“Oh, well that’s nice of you, Justin.” Sandy lifted a casserole dish from the nearby dining room table. “Hank called when I was in the back. He’s not feeling well either, so it’s a DVD and my chicken soup at his place. Oh, would you like me to take your picture before I go?”
Gina waved off her mother’s offer. “Mom, I don’t even know if I’m going.”
Well, that was plain enough. She’d been willing to go with Ric Murphy. Hell, she’d invited him as her date. Now that he’d shown up, all bets were off.
“You know how I feel about that, so I’ll just tell you both how lovely you look and say my good-nights.” Sandy gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek, then headed around the oversize table. “I’ll be home in plenty of time to make sure the twins meet their curfew, so don’t feel you need to rush back here after the dance, sweetheart. Justin, please drive carefully.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Gina followed her mother through the kitchen. Hushed whispers came from the back door, but he couldn’t make out their words. He’d bet a thousand bucks they were talking about him and none of it was good. He turned away and busied himself with looking at even more photos, mostly of the Steele children growing up. He noticed there weren’t that many candid shots of Gina. Just the standard annual school pictures of her in a uniform.
Moments later, the clicking of heels and her familiar scent, a spicy and sweet cinnamon fragrance, told him she’d come back into the room.
“Why are you doing this?”
He turned to her, still amazed at how beautiful she looked. “What do you mean?”
“You show up unannounced—” she paused and bit at her lower lip before she continued “—and just expect me to go with you?”
“I don’t expect anything.”
He heard confusion in her voice, almost as if she thought she wasn’t worthy of getting dressed up and going to the dance.
Or was it just that she didn’t want to go with him?
She was right to feel that way. This night had disaster written all over it, but a promise was a promise.
“Racy showed up at my place about an hour ago,” Justin said. “She told me about Ric calling out of his afternoon shift because he was sick. I guess she checked on him later and found he was still in bed. She was concerned about you missing this shindig and convinced me— Look, if you want to go to the dance alone, that’s fine by me.”
She again bit down on her bottom lip. For some crazy reason he found it incredibly sexy, but it was the wariness in her eyes that told him she was either going to do just that—go alone—or skip this event all together.
Either way, he was out of here.
“Well, I’ve got a beer and a ball game waiting for me.” He started past her. “So if you’ll excuse me—”
“Wait.” She touched his arm, stopping him. “Are those flowers for me?”
Chapter Ten
No big deal.
I can do this.
We’re just friends.
Gina’s collection of mantras was growing by the minute. Not that any of them helped as she and Justin walked up to the festively decorated entrance to the high school.
Kiss him senseless.
Now there was a mantra she could get behind.
No, she chided herself, there was no kissing between friends. Friends or not, she still couldn’t believe Justin had shown up at her house, looking like a GQ model for cowboys, to escort her to the dance.
Actually, that wasn’t what he’d done. He’d shown up because he promised his sister he would. But did he have to bring her a corsage? Or was that Racy’s idea, too?
The yellow rosebuds tickled her wrist, but it was the heat of Justin’s hand suddenly against her lower back that caused her to jump.
“You okay?” His hand dropped away.
Gina jerked her head in a quick nod, trying to ignore the quivering in her tummy.
She’d surprised him when she’d agreed to come. Heck, she’d surprised herself, but she couldn’t let the fantasy of this evening invade the reality of the situation.
She hadn’t wanted to come alone.
Justin hadn’t wanted