Emily didn’t reply, and Luke stopped breathing, thinking he went too far. When had he gone corny and soft? He rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Thank you, Luke. A girl always likes compliments.”
“Well, I have a lot more.” Shit, could I be any sappier?
Emily giggled. “Well, you’ll have to tell them to me.”
He smirked into the phone. Guess sappy worked these days. He ran his teeth over his bottom lip. “Oh, you have to earn the compliments,” he flirted. “I don’t give them out to just anyone.”
“And who do you give them out to?”
Fuck, she knew exactly how to play him. He pictured her in the dress she had been wearing the other day. “Well, someone who goes out on a date with me might get one or two.”
“Might?”
“Well, in your case, I might make an exception to give a few more.”
Emily laughed. “Well, then I might consider it.”
Enough with this might shit. “Tell you what. How about tomorrow night?”
“Sunday?”
“Why not?”
“I usually get things ready for work.”
“And this is an all-day and all-night process?” he teased.
“Well, no.”
“Then what time do I pick you up? Pick one. Six or seven.”
“Wow, you don’t give a girl much of a choice.”
“You have two choices. Pick one.” Luke’s heart pounded while he waited for Emily to answer him.
“Six. I need to get home early.”
Luke let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and fist pumped the air. “F
antastic.”
“Do you need directions?”
“I have the address, remember? I’ll see you at six.”
LUKE DIDN’T DRIVE HIS car much, not during bike season. Actually, it was an SUV, which he had put a trailer hitch on to load a bike or two to transport to and from the shop. Central Valley Bike Repair was lettered in a circle on each of the front doors, with a roaring Harley pointing toward the road in the middle. During the winter, Luke used the SUV for transportation, but tonight he hoped to allay any fears Emily might have in going out with him. He had no idea if she’d ever ridden on a bike since the accident. It wasn’t exactly the right question to ask her after not seeing her in a decade.
He pulled up to the address he’d scribbled down. Emily sat on the porch in a rocking chair. She wore a t-shirt and jeans, which he did not expect, even though he was dressed the same way. He got out of the SUV and walked to the porch. “Hey!”
“Hi, handsome,” she replied with a smile and winked at him. “Where’s your bike?”
He glanced back at the SUV. “Were you expecting it?” Shit, all his concern about her safety and bike fears had been wasted time.
“Well, I seem to remember you saying something like you’d never drive a cage.”
Luke laughed. Cage was biker’s slang for a car. “Well, we all grow up at some point. And sometimes a cage is useful. We can go on the bike the next time.”