“Go out with me,” he said, taking her by surprise.
“What?”
“You heard me. Tomorrow night. You and me, nothing else.”
“Is this where you convince me to stick around?” she asked.
“It’s where I try and give you a good time. A lot of stuff went to shit in the past couple of years, and I imagine you’ve been pushed aside while that has happened. I bet you’ve not even had fun in such a long time.”
She blew out a breath.
“What is fun?” The few dates she’d been on had been lackluster. “I think I should warn you.”
“What about?”
“About me. I’ve been on a couple of dates, and they’ve been really boring. Really flat. I don’t know if it’s me or just what I’m like or something else. I may be bad at dating.”
“That is not possible. Never take responsibility for a bad date.”
She pushed some hair out of her face. She needed to get it cut. “Okay, what should I blame it on?”
“The guy. If you’re bored, they’re boring.”
She chuckled. “And what if I’m the boring one?”
“Not possible.”
“I think I like you, Gideon Denton.”
“I know for a fact I like you, Emma Colton.”
“A Denton and a Colton going on a date, what is the world coming to?”
****
“You know you won’t make her fall in love with you looking like that,” Tamsin said from the doorway.
Gideon stared at his very bratty teenage sister. Her arms were folded, and she looked so pissed off with everything and the world. He figured it had to do with the extra protection their father had placed on her as she got older. Also, she’d started to cause fights in school, and everything about her personality right now screamed attention.
“Love you too, sis.”
“Have you told her yet that she’s your one and only?” Tamsin stepped into the room and bounced down on the bed. She wore a pair of sweats and a large shirt. Her hair hadn’t been brushed either.
“You’re still going through your rebellion against Mom about looking like a slob.”
“Ha-ha, I see you’re not answering my question.”
“You don’t know who I’m going on a date with tonight.”
“Oh, please, I’m the only Denton around here who doesn’t have my head up my own ass. I see the way you look at Emma. I know she’s your one true love, and it is so sweet and cute.” She pressed her hands together, batting her eyes. “It’s gross.”
“Is this because you’ve got no boyfriend calling for you?”
“Ugh. I heard Mom and Dad the other day talking about who’d make a good match for me.”
“They planning on marrying you off?”
“They wish. If they think I’m going to do as I’m told, they really don’t know me at all.”