Waiting for Willa (Big Sky, #3)(17)

“Hey,” she says with a smile, stepping back to let me inside. “I’m just about ready. Mom just left with Alex.”

“Sleepover?” I ask, my dick twitching at the thought of Willa being free all night long.

Calm the fuck down, Hull.

“Yes, and he was excited. He was also sure to remind me to ask you to come to his birthday party tomorrow afternoon. No obligation, of course.”

“I’d love to,” I reply honestly, relieved that I thought to pick him up a present earlier this week. “What time should I be here?”

“It starts at two. There will be a herd of young boys here, my mom and Ken, and Cary’s parents on FaceTime.”

“That’s cool,” I reply. “I’ll be here at two.”

She grins and drapes her jacket over her arm, then reaches for her small purse and nods. “I’m set.”

“Perfect.”

I wait while she locks her house, then open the car door for her. Once she’s settled in her seat, I shut the door and hurry around to the driver’s side.

“What’s on tap for tonight?” she asks as I pull away from her house.

“I thought we’d start with dinner at Ed’s.” I glance over to see her lips tip up in a grin. “And maybe a movie after.”

“So, our first date all over again?”

“Is that too cheesy?”

She laughs. “Not at all. It’s actually really sweet. And comfortable.”

I reach over and link her fingers with mine, the same way I did on that first date, and she sighs happily, gripping my fingers in return.

“You do have a nicer car now,” she admits.

“You didn’t like my old Datsun truck?”

“I mean, it was fine. It got us around. But it didn’t have heated seats or satellite radio.”

“It didn’t have a radio at all,” I reply with a laugh. “And it broke down more than it ran.”

“I think that’s how first cars are supposed to be,” she says with a shrug. “Maybe I’ll feel differently when it’s time for Alex to have a vehicle. Thank God we’re a few years out from that.”

I blink, thinking about Alex as a teenager. I hope I’m still a part of their lives then. I’d happily buy him any car he wants.

“Speaking of cars, have you heard anything on yours?”

“Still at least a week until it’s finished,” she says with a sigh. “If you need the Rover back, I’m sure I can borrow my mom’s.”

“That’s not why I was asking. You can keep it.”

She stares at me in shock. “Until my car is done.”

“Sure.”

I glance over to find her eyes narrowed.

“You didn’t mean I can keep it forever.”

“What if I did?”

“I’d laugh and ask you if you’ve been drinking.”

My lips twitch. Most of the women I’ve dated over the past ten years would have simply said, “thanks, I’ll keep it.”

Not Willa.

“I don’t need it.”

“Then why did you buy it?” she asks.

“Good question.” I sigh and slow down to stop at a red light. “Because I can? Does that make me sound like an asshole?”

“No, it makes you sound rich,” she replies.

“I am rich, Wills. No more Datsun trucks for me. I can buy pretty much anything in the world.”

“I have so many questions,” she says with a smile. “And not in a bad way, in a truly curious way.”

“Let’s get inside, and you can ask me anything you like,” I say as I park outside Ed’s Diner and escort her in. We’re given the booth in the back corner, the same one we always sat at when we were kids.

“Did you do this on purpose?” Willa asks.

“Nope, just coincidence,” I reply.

Of course, I did it on purpose.

But a man has to have a few secrets and tricks up his sleeve.

“Can I get y’all something to drink?” the waitress asks.

“Chocolate shake for me,” I say.

“Can I share yours?” Willa asks, making me grin.

“One chocolate shake it is,” I say. The waitress nods and leaves us with our menus. “What are those questions of yours?”

“Let me start by saying, I’m so proud of you, Max.”

I stare at her, surprised. This isn’t what I expected at all.

“You grew up middle-class like the rest of us. And you took advantage of every opportunity to get an excellent education, to work your butt off, and it’s paid off for you in spades. I’m not just talking about the money, but all of your success. You’re respected, and you’ve earned all of that and more.”

“Geez, Wills. You’re embarrassing me.”

“And now for the good stuff,” she says, leaning in after the waitress drops off our shake. It’s huge, and there’s more in the steel malt cup she brought with it. “What’s it like to have that much money? I mean, I do pretty well, but I still have a budget, and I have a small retirement plan and a college fund for Alex, that sort of thing. What you have is on a whole other level.”