Dare to Resist (Wedding Dare, #0.5)(20)

Inside, they joined about a half dozen other diners and chose a table by the front window. Colton grabbed the plastic menus from behind the tiny jukebox and slid one her way.

“Thanks,” she said.

He didn’t even look up from his menu. She’d just thanked him and it didn’t even seem to have registered.

“Any chance you’re going to tell me what’s bothering you?” she finally said.

His gaze cut to hers. “I told you.”

“Mmkay. Have it your way.”

The same waitress as last night, an older woman with big blond hair, brought them coffees without them even needing to ask. “What can I get for y’all this morning?”

“Some rye toast with butter and a fruit cup,” Kady said, returning the menu to the rack behind the jukebox. She grabbed two packets of sugar for her coffee.

Colton frowned at her. “Thought you were getting the pancakes or Belgian waffle?”

Last night, she’d ticked off all the things she was going to order when she won the bet. But the weirdness between them had chased away most of her appetite and now she wasn’t feeling particularly playful either. “I’m not hungry enough for all that,” she said, nodding toward the waitress. “But you should order whatever you want.”

“I’ll take three eggs scrambled with white toast and home fries on the side,” he said.

“You got it,” the waitress said in a chipper voice. And then she was gone and they were alone again. Colton’s gaze flickered from her to the tabletop to the window.

Hello, awkwardness.

How the heck did they get here after the awesomeness of yesterday? Kady was clueless. She sighed in relief when her fruit cup arrived in advance of everything else just because it gave her something to do. When the rest of the food came, they ate in silence.

Beckstein strolled in midway through their meal. He ordered at the counter, then did a double take when he saw them and headed their way.

Kady groaned. Bad enough to have to deal with Colton’s silent treatment. She had no patience for Albert Beckstein right now. And hell, was he going to want to sit with them? She looked at the fork and debated jamming it in her eye.

“This looks cozy,” he said.

Yeah, about as cozy as walking on crushed glass. His powers of perception were astounding. Truly. “And good morning to you, too, Al,” Kady said as civilly as she could.

“So, uh, do you want to sit or something?” Colton asked.

Kady glared at him. He must really not want to talk to her if he wanted Beckstein to join them. For God’s sake.

“Unlike some people, I have work to do. I’m getting takeout.” He glanced over his shoulder to the counter. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to interrupt.”

Refusing to dignify the innuendo, Kady took a big overly crunching bite of her toast.

Colton placed his coffee cup down with a hard clank. “It’s just breakfast between colleagues, Beckstein,” Colton said. “Don’t be an ass.”

And that right there was the highlight of Kady’s day so far and made her marginally less pissed at Colton for the way he was acting.

“Whatever,” Beckstein said, turning on his heel and parking himself at one of the stools at the counter.

Kady’s gaze stretched across the table. Maybe this would finally thaw him.

“Ass,” Colton muttered, then he took a big bite of scrambled eggs and focused on his food again.

Or maybe not. This morning was driving her batshit crazy. She peered up at Colton from under her lashes. The dark circles under his eyes did seem to support that he hadn’t slept. But why?

Beckstein left carrying a big brown paper bag protectively against his chest. He very specifically reminded her of Gollum. Kady sighed.

Colton’s phone buzzed and he fished it out of his pocket, making Kady realize she hadn’t grabbed hers off the charger before they’d left. She’d been too damn distracted by Colton. But now he had something else to concentrate on besides his breakfast companion, and that irritated her even more.

When they were done eating, Kady was done dealing with…whatever this was. She fished a ten-dollar bill out of her wallet, slid it under the edge of her plate, and scooted out of the booth. “I have some work to do,” she said.

Colton gaped up at her, and his gorgeous face just made her more angry. She didn’t want to find him attractive right now because she was pissed at him. So she didn’t give him time to respond before she turned on her heel, called a thank-you to the waitress, and pushed open the plate-glass door.

Please, God, let me not run into Beckstein again.

But as it turned out, she’d prayed for the wrong problem. The minute she laid eyes on the door to their room, she groaned out loud. Colton had the key. Perfect. Some dramatic exit this turned out to be. Maybe George had a spare. She’d made it almost all the way back down to the motel’s office when Colton rounded the corner in front of her. “Key,” he said, holding it up by the plastic tag.

“Yeah,” she said, “I realized.” She made an about-face on the sidewalk and swore she could feel Colton’s gaze boring into the back of her head.

At the door, he paused and looked at her. “Breakfast was supposed to be on me.”

Kady arched a brow. “Really? This is how you want to play this right now? You wanna talk about the bet?” It had been fun and playful and totally a them thing. But that was all over.