to kill me.”
Lexie grabbed a book and handed it to me. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”
Fifteen
Sydney
“What happened to Harper? I thought she was coming today,” Travis asked about two hours into the book signing.
“Sick.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah, she was bummed. I practically had to make her stay home today.”
I watched Travis’s face and wondered if he was disappointed about not seeing Harper today. Maybe she was the reason he’d agreed to come.
Stop it.
I was being irrational. He came because he was a nice guy, and this was a good business opportunity for him. He wasn’t interested in Harper. And, even if he were, she was married.
Travis leaned back in his seat and stretched. I found it really hard to not stare at him. I wondered if the women he dated could ever stop looking at him. I didn’t know if I could. And I’d only seen him in person with his clothes on.
He rubbed his stomach. “I should have brought snacks. I’m getting hungry.”
“You can go and get food if you want.”
Today’s event was in a hotel again, so there was the restaurant, but it was also attached to the Mall of America. And, unlike the event last September in Iowa, this one was a book signing only. Not a get-together the night before or a special dinner tonight.
“Nah. Why don’t we go get something to eat after this?”
I was momentarily shocked that he was asking if we wanted to go to dinner. I’d figured he’d have plans since it was Saturday and all.
“That sounds great. But Lexie rode with me today. She has plans with her boyfriend after this. She was nice enough to postpone them to come with me today.”
“I can drive your car home,” Lexie exclaimed. “And Brendan can just pick me up from your place.”
“That’s nice of you even though I know you just want to drive, but I’m not spending money to Uber home from here. Too expensive. I’m a starving artist, remember?”
“No, you’re not.”
“Close enough.”
“I’ll take you home,” Travis said.
I whipped my head around. He couldn’t possibly want to eat with me that badly.
“I couldn’t impose on you,” I said, offering him an out. “Where do you live? Because I live all the way down in Shakopee.”
I lived about forty-five minutes from the mall, and depending on which direction he lived, he could live over an hour away from me.
“I live in Minnetonka. Not that bad of a drive.”
It was at least twenty to twenty-five minutes, but it definitely could have been worse.
“Are you sure?”
“Please say yes,” Lexie butted in.
“I’m sure.”
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s do it.”
TRAVIS
I put my hand on the small of Sydney’s back as the hostess led us to our table. We had decided to eat at one of the many restaurants in the Mall of America to make things easier, and Sydney had chosen Italian.
I loved Italian but didn’t eat it too often. I had to work hard to keep my body lean and fit for my job, so when I was prepping for a shoot, I avoided it entirely. I was lucky that I worked in a gym because I had to exercise about two hours every day. At this point, I considered working out as part of my personal training and modeling jobs.
We were shown to our booth where we sat opposite each other.
“Can I get you something to drink?” the hostess asked.
“I’ll have a glass of wine.” Sydney frowned. “Unless it’s too early.”
It was a little past four.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” I told her. “I’ll have a beer,” I told the hostess.
We were left alone, and Sydney looked a little nervous. I hadn’t realized how much I had been looking forward to seeing her until she walked up to her table at the signing.
I’d almost forgotten how pretty, in a refreshing and natural way, she was.
I’d dated other girls like her, but it had been a while. Christy made me lose sight of what I really liked and appreciated in a woman.
Our server came over with our drinks and bread basket and introduced himself. He said he’d give us a few minutes to look and be back.
“Thanks for asking me to come today,” I told her when we were alone.
Her eyes widened. “No, I should be thanking you.” She grabbed a piece of bread and tore a hunk off. “I almost didn’t ask you.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
She smiled, the corner of her mouth curving up. “I figured you’d have something better to do.”
I shook my head. “No