Right With Me - Stacey Lewis Page 0,32

her like she’s the most amusing thing he’s seen today and his brothers’ are all rolling their eyes.

“Hey,” Will says to her, holding out a hand for her to shake.

Hailey’s still frozen, but just as him holding his hand out turns awkward, she shakes herself out of it and manages to put her hand in his with a soft, “H-h-hey.” His grin widens when she continues to stutter. “You… you’re Will Montgomery.” Her voice is full of awe.

Isaac chuckles. “Don’t remind me.” Leaning closer to her, he tells Hailey, “He already has a big head, don’t make it any worse.”

“Fuck off,” Will says, shoving him out of the way so he can focus back on her. “Are you a fan?”

She finally snaps out of whatever fantasy she’s playing out in her head and grins. “I’m not, but my dad and brother are huge fans. They’ve been talking about getting season tickets for years but it never happens.” Hailey snickers. “They’re going to be so mad I met you tonight.”

“Well then,” Will looks over at me out of the corner of his eye and smirks. “Guess we need to take a picture so you’ll have proof, huh?” Nodding, Hailey gets up and goes over to stand beside him. Will puts his arm around her and asks, “Where’s your phone?”

Fumbling, she pulls it out of her pocket and shows it to him and he nods to me. “Take our picture, man?”

Hailey’s giddy as she stands beside him and even though I want to punch him for touching her, I’m glad she’s enjoying herself so I take the phone and stand myself.

It takes a few minutes to get a good shot because while Hailey’s tall, Will still towers over her and I swear he’s milking it for all he’s worth just to get a rise out of me.

Finally, he decides on a pose where he’s got one arm around her and the other is flexing his bicep while he gives me a smile that shows all his teeth. Hailey’s standing beside him with a big grin on her face too, but unlike him, she’s not hamming it up for the camera. She looks slightly uncomfortable, like she’s not sure where to put her arms or if she’s allowed to touch him at all.

By the time we get a picture that Will agrees is “good enough” we’ve been standing here blocking the aisle for close to ten minutes and my patience for her being touched by someone who isn’t me is at an end.

Grabbing her hand, I pull her away from Will so her back is against my chest, then drop her hand in favor of putting mine on her hip. Everyone in Seattle knows Will is happily married, but my sudden caveman brain isn’t capable of understanding that.

I know Isaac understands when he nods and elbows Will in the side. “C’mon man, let’s go so these two can finish their dinner.”

“Oh, it’s okay—” Hailey starts, but I interrupt.

“Good idea. Have a good night.” She tips her head back to glare at me, but she’s so adorable it’s extremely ineffective and only makes the guys standing close to us chuckle.

They all give their goodbyes and we are left to sit and finish our food in peace.

Chapter 18

Hailey

The rest of dinner is pretty quiet. Mitchell talks about different cars he’s been working on and I tell him some of the funny things students have done this week at school. I still can’t get over how easy it is to talk to him and how much I like just listening to him too. It feels like I’ve known him forever, but when you add up how much time we’ve actually spent talking to each other, it’s not very long at all.

After we’ve paid, we leave the restaurant and he helps me into his truck. While I wait for him to come around to the driver’s side I can’t help but wonder what we’re going to do next. Is he going to take me home and say see ya bye? Is he expecting an invitation to my bed? Oh God, what if he is? I don’t know how I’ll answer if that’s the case.

He’s in the truck before I can obsess too much, and once he starts it, he turns to face me. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready for tonight to end.”

I practically sag in my seat in relief. “I’m not either.”

“Good.” He grins before pulling out of the parking lot. “I know