I sigh. “Maddie, please, we don’t want to spend a day sleeping off a road trip in New Orleans.”
“Especially not with my mom in the same room,” Faith whispers, with a shudder. “She’ll drive us both insane by ten a.m. Maybe nine.”
“And Faith isn’t up for quality time with her mom right now,” I add, hurrying on when Maddie tries to argue. “Faith and I are both responsible adults. Remember, we had this discussion. Trust me. We’ll pull over and rest if we need to. It’s going to be fine.”
My sister sighs. “I’m calling Naomi.”
“Don’t call Naomi,” I order. “She’s still asleep and—”
“Call you right back,” she says, ignoring me. As usual.
A beat later, the line goes dead.
“Great,” I mutter, tossing the phone into the cup holder.
“So she’s calling Naomi.” Faith hums beneath her breath. “That means Jake will find out, too, and he’s a huge hairy stickler for safe driving. I mean, for obvious reasons after what happened with his first wife, but still…he’s going to give me shit if we don’t stop to rest.”
I nod. “Back in high school, Maddie and Naomi had a friend fall asleep at the wheel after a study date. She flipped her car, ended up in a gully filled with water, and almost died. They both take the driving-while-tired thing pretty seriously, too.”
She sighs. “What do you think? Should we get a room?”
“We could get two rooms,” I suggest. “Your mom could have one, and you and I could share the other. Platonically, of course,” I hurry to add. “Just so you can rest, you know…if you don’t think you’ll be able to sleep with your mom around.”
I sure as hell won’t be able to rest with Faith lying in a bed next to me, but at least she and her mom might be able to get refreshed for the ride home. I could get three rooms, I suppose, but it seems ridiculous to spend that much money on beds we won’t even be using overnight.
Faith runs a hand through her hair. “Oh man, I don’t know. That’s going to be so expensive, and I’m already feeling broke after Christmas.”
“Then let me cover it,” I say. “Like I said, I just finished a big kitchen remodeling job and they—”
“No.” She shakes her head. “A fancy steak dinner was too much for a casual date, let alone two hotel rooms. It’s very nice of you to offer, but I can’t accept that. If we get bullied into booking a room, I’ll pay for it.”
I curse myself for opening my dumb mouth the other day. All that stupid talk about ‘not wanting a relationship’ accomplished was to make things awkward between us, while doing nothing to weaken the urge to spend as much time with her as possible.
“Listen, I seriously don’t mind,” I try again. “I’ve got the money to spare and—”
“What did you mean on the phone just now?” she cuts in, scowling at the darkened highway stretching out in front of the truck. “About you and Maddie having had a talk about us both being adults?”
I exhale, sinking lower in the seat. “You don’t miss a thing, do you?”
“Nope.” She glances my way, a vulnerable look in her eyes that makes me want to rewind to our first kiss and start over. “So, what did that mean?”
“Maddie and Naomi were…worried.” I stall, wishing I were a better liar and could come up with some feasible cover story on the spot. But I’m not, and Faith deserves the truth. “They didn’t want me to hurt you.”
“Huh.” The frown returns to her face. “Well, that’s nice of them, but I don’t need anyone to protect me. Not from you, or anything else.”
“I know that,” I say, hating the hint of hurt in her voice. It’s just a hint, but that’s still too much. “That’s what I told them.”
She sniffs. “But at the same time, I think they have a point. Because this is dumb. I never should have gone out with you tonight. I knew better.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “I thought we were having a good time.”
“We are having a good time. A great time. But one minute you’re putting your arm around me, and the next you’re saying we’re friends. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I do know this isn’t anywhere on my list of things I want in a dating relationship, even a casual one, and I…” She sighs. “But it’s not your fault. It’s mine. Like I said, I knew better. So, as much as I enjoy you and appreciate how great you’ve been tonight, I think it’s best if we end this before it gets started.”
“Wait a second,” I say, a sinking feeling in my stomach. “I’m not into head games either, I swear, I was just—”