My Aussie Guy - Liz Lovelock Page 0,31
I finish, the door opens, and both Addison’s and my heads turn.
Aiden’s standing there. Speak of the devil.
The grin on her face tells me she possibly had something to do with it. I turn back to Addison, smile, and shake my head. “Did you plan this?” I whisper.
“He told me what had happened. So, I was waiting until now to talk to you about it. Go… have fun, Elsie.”
I glance at my watch. It’s five in the afternoon. “But I’m not finished yet.”
“Yes, you are. I’m going to cover you for the last hour before shift change.”
My lips pull into a smile. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she almost shouts.
“Come on, firecracker. I’ve got something fun planned.”
I bet he does—fun is Aiden’s middle name.
“It better not be anything stupid or way out there, like jumping off a cliff. Also, you’re not allowed to dare me to do anything tonight.” Not that I’d refuse another kiss, but who the hell knows what else he’ll have me do.
Aiden holds his hand up as if he’s swearing on a bible in front of a judge while his other is placed over his chest. “I promise you’ll have fun, and that’s the only dare I’ll give you. I dare you to have fun.”
I roll my eyes and turn to Addison, who’s got a stupid grin on her face.
“Get out of here before I have to literally kick you in the bum,” Addison says.
“Okay, okay. Let me get my stuff.” I rush out to the office and grab my bag. When I come back out front, I catch Addison giving Aiden a serious look. Obviously, I’ve missed something. I don’t have time to think on it before Addison walks to the door, pulls it open, and waves her arm in an attempt to get us out quicker.
“Let’s get outta here before she loses her biscuits.”
Aiden laughs, taking my hand and leading me outside.
“Bye,” I say as I’m being dragged out the door.
Addison gives me a little wave.
Aiden leads me to Parker’s car. I pause. “Please tell me he knows you have his car.”
He chuckles. “Of course. I’m not a thief. Hop in.” Aiden pulls the passenger door open, and I climb in, as does he, and releases a sigh. “All right. Take this.” He hands me a penny.
Now, I am officially confused.
“Is this what I get to spend on our date?” I cock an eyebrow.
He laughs and starts the car. “Nope, you’re in charge of where we end up.”
“That makes no sense.” I study the coin in my hand before I glance over at him.
“The plan is… we pick a number. Then, we’re going to take a coin and flip it at every corner and intersection to the number we pick, and that will lead us to wherever we end up. That’s where we have our date.”
“This is new. I’ve never done this before. What if we end up at a dumpster behind a dodgy building?” I laugh.
“That’s why I’m leaving you in charge. That way, I can blame you for wherever we end up.”
I reach over and shove his shoulder. “Well, let’s hope it turns out to be somewhere great.”
“All right, now heads is left and tails is right. Pick a number.”
My automatic response is, “Five.”
“Five?” he asks.
I nod.
Aiden starts driving, and we head to the end of the street—our first intersection.
“What if there’s a straight option?” I gesture to the road across the intersection.
He shakes his head. “Nope, left or right, unless there’s not one or the other.”
“Okay.” I grip the coin, ready for use.
“Time to flip before I get another car up my butt.”
I flick the coin up and catch it and then flip it over onto the back of my hand.
“Heads.” Aiden turns on the indicator, and when the road is clear, he turns left. I know this road, and there’s quite a bit of straight. The joys of living in a smallish town.
“No cheating, either. I’m trusting you to let this be a surprise.”
“I promise I won’t cheat unless it’s needed.” I laugh. I turn to look at him—he has the biggest smile on his face. He always does. The only time I’ve seen him unhappy is when he spoke about his friend Tom. It wasn’t hard to miss his solemn expression in that moment. I rather the happy-go-lucky Aiden any day. He has a way of making you feel good—although I do like the kissing too, of course. That’s an added bonus. The energy he pushes out into the world is