And he finished the afternoon by pulling weeds on his hands and knees in the landscaping. I slipped inside and filled a tall glass with ice water and took it out to him.

“You should hydrate. You’re pretty sweaty.” I stood beside him and held out the glass.

Fisher lifted onto his knees and sat back on his heels, sweat and dirt covering his naked chest and back. “Thank you.” He pulled off his work gloves and took the glass from me. In one breath, he guzzled the whole thing and sighed while handing it back to me.

“I … uh … I forgive you. I just wasn’t ready to say it last night when you messaged me.”

He wiped his arm over his forehead. “I figured.”

“My friend called me last night. She’s in Denver for the weekend with her boyfriend. Her sister’s getting married in Colorado Springs next weekend. Anyway … she wanted to get together, so I suggested Arnie’s concert. Do you think he can get us two extra seats?”

“I didn’t figure you’d want to go.”

“I didn’t. But I want to see my friend, and she’s really excited about it, so …”

Squinting against the sun, he nodded. “I’m sure Arnie can make it happen.”

“Are you taking … a date?”

Fisher glanced away and shook his head while offering a little chuckle. “You mean, am I taking Angie?”

I nodded, tapping my fingernails on the glass and doing my weird rolling back and forth on my heels thing.

“Arnie invited her. It’s virtually impossible for me to not take her at this point.”

I lifted my shoulders. “It’s fine. I was just asking. Should I uh … drive? Or are we all going together?”

“She messaged me last night. She’ll pick us up at six. I said I needed to verify that you were going, but now that you are … I’ll let her know.”

“You’re not driving?”

He shook his head. “I have a work truck and a motorcycle. You’ve seen all the shit in my truck, and I don’t think all of us can fit on my motorcycle.”

“Yeah. Of course. Well …” I took a few steps backward. “I’ll be ready at six.”

As soon as I stepped into the house, I rifled through my clothes and found nothing … nothing to wear on a date. Or double date … triple date? I didn’t know. But I knew Christina would be dressed in something trendy and on point. I hadn’t met Angie, but I had to anticipate someone from California bringing her own brand of style.

“You suck,” I berated myself … my wardrobe. In the next beat, I was out the door with my purse and car keys.