“Nope.”

“Tell me.”

“No way. Maybe after the first game I will.”

She knew that he would see her at the game and see the 6 on her arm along with the C above her breast. He winked at her, and dug into his food.

God, he was gorgeous.

“So, you’re still busy all week?”

“I am, except on Wednesday. But you have that event.”

“I cancelled it.” She looked over at him in surprise, and saw that he was smiling.

“Why?”

“It was just a radio thing. Jakob said he would go instead. Worked out for me.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah, since now I’m going to ask you to go out with me again.” Elli looked up at him, surprised and happy all in one. They had only been together an hour and he was ready for another date! She was shocked and thrilled, but she wasn’t going to let him in on the fact that she was freaking out inside, so she decided to tease him a little.

“That male ego is something else. What makes you think I want to go out with you again?”

He gave her a sexy, cocky grin, leaning towards her as he put his chin on her arm looking up at her, batting his eyes as he said, “You don’t want to go out with me? I was thinking dinner and a movie.”

“Mmm. Dinner? Where?”

“Pf Changs.”

“Okay to dinner, what movie?”

“Your pick.”

“Ooo, smooth.”

“I thought so,” he said, before leaning back in his seat, taking a sip of his wine “So, can I pick you up at six?”

“I’ll meet you at the restaurant.”

“Why? I can pick you up.”

“I don’t want you driving all the way out to my house, just to come back into town.”

“I don’t mind. I want to,” his hand moved to her thigh and she looked over at him, surprised.

“Are you sure? I mean, are you sure you want to-“ Harper told her not to do this, not to second guess herself, so she took a deep breath, and smiled. “I’ll give you my address before we leave.” He grinned as he leaned over to kiss her cheek, causing her heart to skip a beat.

“For a second there, I thought you were going to turn me down.”

Elli grinned as she continued eating.

“So, what kind of music do you listen to?” She looked over at him and he was looking down at his food. “I bet country, huh?”

He looked up at her with a satisfied grin.

“Actually, I like all music.”

“Liar.”

“I do!” she protested. He raised an eye brow at her. “But I mostly listen to country.”

He laughed and she giggled as she took a drink, “What do you listen to?”

“Well, since I’ve been in Nashville, I’ve started to like country, but I like rock and rap a lot.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah. What’s your favorite movie?”

“Pride and Prejudice. It’s also my favorite book.”

“Never seen or read it.” She looked up at him like he was an alien.

“Excuse me?”

“What?”

“You’ve never read or seen Pride and Prejudice?”

“No, why?”

“Um, it’s the greatest love story ever! Oh, my goodness, you know,” she started to move out of the booth, “this isn’t going to work, I’ll see you around.”

She only made it an inch before he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, horror all over his face.

“Oh, no you don’t!” he said loudly, causing a lot of people to turn and look at them. “I promise I’ll watch it. Hell, I’ll even read it on the road.” Elli smiled fully and scooted back to her spot.

“Good, make sure you have a book cover, or the guys will make fun of you.”

“You are right on that one,” he said with a grin, “Did you really think you would get far, leaving like that?”

“No, but it was fun seeing the horror on your face.”

“Hey, I can’t have my beautiful date run out on me. Remember my fragile male ego?” he said with a teasing smile.

He called me beautiful…

“Oh, yeah, totally forgot about it,” she said with a shy grin. She looked over at him, so happy to be with him. “You are-”

“Excuse me.”

Elli looked up at a long legged blonde, but the blonde wasn’t looking at her, she was looking at Shea.

“You’re Shea Adler, right?”

“I am, and you are?”

“Cindy! Hi, I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch, but can I have your autograph?”

“Of course,” Shea scooted out of the booth, and signed her shirt that happened to be an Adler shirt. That’s when the swarm happened. Everyone came up, asking him for his autograph and, of course, he signed everything, while sending her a forgiving smile. Elli smiled back and continued to eat.

When she was finished eating, she looked at her watch. She needed to go; she had an appointment at 3:30. Thankfully, Shea looked over at Elli and she tapped her wrist, mouthing she had to go.

“I’m sorry everyone, I gotta go.”

People protested as Shea handed his credit card to the waiter, along with his food, so they could package it up.

“I’m sorry, Elli.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said as she gathered her bag of leftovers and followed him out. He opened the door for her and she climbed in. When he got into the vehicle, he started it and drove off without a word.