“Wait a sec. I’m confused. You’re not judging her, but you’ve made the assumption that she’s into random hookups? That she’s my fuck buddy? Isn’t that kind of making a rash judgment based on assumptions?”

Her forehead wrinkled. “You’re right. I don’t know if that’s what you guys are about. Maybe you’re just childhood buddies or something.”

“We’re not.” I grinned. “We hook up every once in a while.”

Shortcake’s jaw hit the ground. “I was right! Then why did you accuse me of being judgmental?”

“I was just pointing it out.” I couldn’t stop teasing her. The array of emotions that crossed her face was fascinating to me. “And for the record, we didn’t hook up Wednesday night. Not for the lack of trying on her part, but I wasn’t feeling it.”

“Whatever. This is a stupid conversation.”

“I like this conversation.”

She reached for the bag, but I was faster, grabbing her bag as I stood. A deep, annoyed sigh radiated from her. “Give it to me.”

Ducking my chin, I said, “I’m trying to.” I laid the strap over her shoulder, brushing the side of her neck with my fingers. It wasn’t on purpose that time and when she jumped, so did my heart. Backing away, I picked up the flashlight. “See? I was just being a gentleman.”

“I don’t think you’re a gentleman, but thank you.”

Her words were an odd mix of sincerity and frustration, and she didn’t say anything else as we started back with only the narrow swath of light from the flashlight.

“This place is kind of creepy at night, don’t you think?”

She nodded as she looked over at the dark, looming shadows of the monuments. “Well, I guess, if there’s going to be any place in the world haunted, it would be a place like this.”

“You believe in ghosts?”

Shortcake shrugged. “I don’t know. Never seen one.”

“Me neither.”

One side of her lips curved up. “That’s a good thing I suppose.”

I stopped at the passenger side of the truck. “Milady.”

“Thank you.”

Since there was a little less frustration in her voice, I decided to test my luck. I leaned against the open door, watching the interior light caress the edges of her face. “So, what about it?”

“What about what?”

I tilted my head to the side. “Go out on a date with me.”

She stiffened. “Why?”

“Why not?”

“That’s not an answer.” She grabbed the seatbelt, whipping it around her.

“What kind of question was that? How am I—hey, it’s just a seat belt. Not that hard.” I leaned over, taking the belt from her. As our hands brushed, she plastered herself against the seat. It was such a strange reaction that the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rose as I lifted my gaze. “Why shouldn’t we go out on a date?”

Her hands balled into fists in her lap. I wanted to let go of the damn seat belt, take her hands in mine, and ease them out of the tight ball. “Because . . . because we don’t know each other.”