Test Drive - Samantha Chase Page 0,31
driving at a very leisurely pace. Grinning at her, he asked, “Three things, huh?”
Forcing images of Levi naked in the shower from her mind, Willow nodded. “Yup.”
“Okay, we both like kids.”
“You should probably avoid mentioning that if anyone asks.”
“Why?”
“Because I have a feeling that will have my family–especially Gammy–pushing for you to put a ring on my finger.”
Ugh…why did I just say that?
Open mouth, insert foot…
“Gotcha,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “So…we both love sushi, have similar taste in music and movies, and share a love of baked goods.” He glanced toward the coolers in the backseat. “Speaking of, are there any brownies left?”
“Hmm…I think only one.”
“Any chance I can have it before we get to your grandmother’s place?”
“Seriously? It’s barely lunchtime!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t spoil my appetite.” Winking, he continued to smile, and she knew she couldn’t say no to him.
Too bad he didn’t have the same problem with you…
Twisting in her seat, she grabbed the cooler and pulled out the last brownie and decided she might as well be a total glutton for punishment and fed it to him.
Piece by piece.
And he licked her fingers with each bite.
It would be wrong to ask him to pull over, right?
Beside her, Levi let out one of those low, sexy laughs. “I can totally read your mind, Willow. And if we hadn’t promised your grandmother that we’d be there for lunch, I would be totally open for a detour.”
She wanted to fan herself.
Or put the icepack from the cooler down her pants.
The GPS noted how they were three miles from their destination and for the first time since this whole crazy charade started, she wasn’t looking forward to seeing Gammy. What she was looking forward to seeing was Levi.
Naked.
And sweaty.
And possibly handcuffed to her bed.
Gasping, her hands flew to her mouth as if she said that out loud.
“You okay?” he asked, concerned.
“What? Oh…yeah. I just realized…” That I have a very dirty mind. “I realized I forgot the birthday card I had bought for Gammy.”
Lame, Willow. Very lame.
“Do you want to stop at the store and grab one?”
“Uh…no. It’s okay. Really. I have the gift, and I can just mail her the card when I get home.”
He didn’t look like he quite believed her, but luckily he didn’t push her on it. Instead, they drove the rest of the way in silence. Once they pulled into Gammy’s neighborhood and turned onto her block, all of her nerves threatened to bubble to the surface. Her breathing got a little shaky, and she immediately began smoothing her hair and her shirt and her jeans and…
The car stopped moving and Willow looked around and noticed they weren’t in Gammy’s driveway.
“This isn’t the right house.”
“Yeah, I know, but you’re kind of freaking out over there, so I figured you maybe needed a minute to calm down before we actually go to the right one.”
“Oh, well…”
That was incredibly sweet.
How was it that Levi was so in tune with her? Little things that she didn’t think anyone ever noticed about her, he did.
Okay, don’t think about that now too or you’ll officially break into the mother of all anxiety attacks!
Easier said than done.
“I just…I need a minute.”
He turned to face her and took both her hands in his. “What’s upsetting you? You’ve been fine until now.”
“What if this doesn’t work? What if they know we’re lying? What if they all figure out I’m just a fraud who had to ask a friend to pretend to date her because I’m so pathetic and undatable?”
His blue eyes went wide. “Undatable? Willow, what the hell are you talking about?”
Why did I have to open this particular can of worms now?
Letting out a weary sigh, she looked up at him. “Levi, I realize we haven’t known one another very long, but…did you ever see me with a guy on Friday nights?”
“Well, no. But that doesn’t mean you’re undatable. I just thought Friday nights were girls’ night.”
“Yeah, no,” she replied. “I haven’t had a proper date in over six months and most of my relationships end because…I’m the girl everyone is friends with–the girl who guys date to pass the time until they can date the girl they really wanted in the first place.”
“How is that even possible?”
“It’s happened more times than I can to admit.”
“Wow.”
She nodded. “I know. And the thing is, most of the time, I knew it. Like I could tell they weren’t super interested, but I figured that would change over time.” She paused. “It never did.”
“Why would