back and decided to have a pizza.” She sighed. “Now, can I go order?”
“You went on a date with George?” Her sister held her in place. “A full-day date?”
“Ugh,” Robin groaned. “This is why I didn’t tell you. I knew you’d make it into something it isn’t.”
“Why are you so determined to make it nothing?” Kara countered with a smile.
“Because George is… well, George.” She lowered her voice. “We both know how he is with women. What he is,” she added with a wave of her hand.
“What am I?” George’s voice came from directly behind her, causing them both to jump slightly.
Two things happened quickly. First, her sister disappeared and second, the entire pizzeria grew so quiet, she could have heard a pin drop.
Chapter Eight
He watched Robin’s eyes move around the dining room and waited for her answer. He had been a little surprised to see his all his cousins at Baked when they’d arrived a few moments earlier. Still, it wasn’t uncommon for the family to have an impromptu get-together.
He’d been pulled in one direction while Robin had been pulled in another.
He hadn’t needed to explain to his family why he was hanging around Robin. After all, they all knew that he was still officially on babysitting duty. He knew that everyone probably assumed they had just come from the venue to grab some food.
But when he’d hunted her down to see what kind of pizza she wanted to order, he’d overheard her last words to her sister and felt the sting of them.
It wasn’t as if he had to defend himself to anyone, and he knew that Robin was probably just trying to keep their relationship under wraps. But after hearing her talking to Kara, he wondered if there was a different reason Robin wanted to keep what was between them a secret.
He’d believed they’d had a perfect day together, but if Robin was playing him, well, it was better he found out now rather than later.
“It’s just…” Robin said, glancing around before raising her voice slightly, “everyone in town knows how all the Jordan men are.”
Several of those Jordan men behind him piped in.
“Handsome?” Matthew called out as he held his daughter in his arms.
“Rugged?” This from Jacob as he flexed his biceps.
“Hot as hell?” Conner added with a wink to Kara.
George stopped himself from rolling his eyes and turned to see Robin’s response. She smiled slightly and he waited.
“Gigolos,” she replied back with a chuckle, “each and every one of you.”
The entire dining hall burst into laughter and conversation and voices filled the space once more.
Taking Robin’s arm, he led them towards the front door. All joking aside, he wanted, no, needed to know what she’d meant.
“Do we have a problem?” he asked once they stood under the awning out front. The streetlights had flickered on and were now highlighting the light drizzle that washed over the town.
How often had he missed being in Pride? When he’d been at Berkeley, he’d missed the quiet of small-town life. Missed knowing almost everyone that passed by him, the sights and sounds of country life. But he’d also enjoyed the busyness of college life and figured each had their place in his heart. Now, however, he didn’t think he could stand going back to the city life in Portland. Not when he’d had a glimpse of everything he could have here.
The possibility of having the future he wanted, the one he never believed he could dream of, here, in the small town he’d grown up in, the same town he’d dreamed of leaving behind, slightly scared him.
“Problem?” she asked, with a slight shake of her head. “No, I was just…” She took a deep breath, then quickly crossed her arms over her chest. He realized instantly that she’d already removed her coat inside and now stood in the chilly night in the sweater she’d changed into before they had left the docks. “Listen, we both know that I was trying to defuse the situation. I didn’t mean anything by…” She shook her head and hugged herself even more.
Sighing with frustration, he realized that their conversation would have to wait. Not only was every eye in the pizzeria looking at them through the large front windows, but he was forcing her to stand out in the cold so he could stroke his ego and find out what she thought of him.
“Later,” he said with slight frustration. “We can talk about this later.” He moved over and opened the front door.