“I’m really sorry about that.” Peyton felt the burn of a blush rising from her neck.
“No harm done.” Darius shrugged. “My shoulder was better in a day or two.”
“What?” The interjection shot out on a breathless syllable. “I hadn’t realized I’d hurt you.”
“It was a minor injury. It wasn’t even dislocated.” Darius kept his eyes on the road. “And my back, well, that was just a twinge.”
The silence lasted a beat or two before Peyton spoke. “I think you’re making that up.”
“I am.”
She huffed a breath. “That’s not even funny.”
“Yes, it is.” Darius slipped her a quick glance before returning his attention to the road. “Quincy and Jackson got a good laugh from it.”
“You told them?” Peyton was scandalized.
“I told Quincy. He told Jackson—and God knows who else.” Darius braked at a four-way stop and looked at Peyton. “Quincy’s got a big mouth.”
Peyton covered her face with both palms. “Oh my word.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Darius moved through the intersection. “At most, Quincy told Ramona, Jackson, and Ean. And they probably told Audra, Doreen, Megan, and Alonzo. I think Vaughn knows, too.”
Was that supposed to make her feel better? Peyton’s hands muffled her groan of abject humiliation.
“It’s not so bad.” Darius checked his mirrors before switching lanes. “I know it sounds like a lot of people, but it’s not even half of our acquaintances.”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Peyton scowled at him.
“Very much.” He nodded solemnly.
Peyton crossed her arms. “Are you going to cochair the committee with me?”
“Yes.” His response was that singular rough word.
In her mind, Peyton was screaming, and jumping up and down in triumph. She took a steadying breath. “Thank you. I couldn’t do this without your help.”
Darius pulled into her apartment parking lot and turned off the engine. He turned to face her. “The community center is important to Trinity Falls. But whatever we decide to do for the fund-raiser, it needs to be quick. The town gets bored fast.”
With his engine off, the night was still and quiet. They could be the only two people in the world. A nearby parking lot security lamp held the deepest shadows at bay.
With her eyes, Peyton traced the clean-cut, angular lines of Darius’s face. “Anything else?”
“That’s it for now.” He pinned her to the passenger seat with his dark stare. “When do we start?”
Peyton was mesmerized by his midnight eyes. They were so beautiful and focused only on her as though she were the only thing that mattered in this time and place. “Let’s wait until after Thanksgiving break.”
“Thanksgiving break. Outside of the university, the rest of the world calls it Thanksgiving.” His lips curved in a smile.
Peyton imagined herself tracing his full, well-formed lips with her tongue. She tore her gaze away. What had he said? Oh, right. “Are you going to correct everything I say during our project?”
“Only when you need correcting.”
Peyton swallowed a laugh. She didn’t want to encourage him. She unlocked the passenger car door. “Good night, Darius.”
Darius stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Hold on.”
The warmth and weight of his touch traveled through her coat to every muscle in her body. “What is it?”