She almost hoped he had a hangover. If he was irritated with her, she didn’t know why. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, except maybe have a boyfriend. He had never loved when she even joked about her male friends being her boyfriends; maybe the real deal made him cranky.
Before she could get too far ahead of herself, Ethan finally rounded the corner. A smile she couldn’t hold back lit up her whole face.
“Hey, you made it.”
“Yeah, sorry,” he said, picking up the pace as he approached her.
She wasn’t sure how to greet him, but she vibrated with nervous energy, so she went in for a half-ass hug. “It’s okay.” Then she went to the door, pulling it open and gesturing for him to go inside.
“Oh, thank you,” he said, quickly ducking inside.
He glanced around the little café once they were inside while Willow scanned the room for an empty booth. Without thought, she grabbed his arm and led him over to the only one that was still open.
“I love booths,” she stated, smiling as she slid into her side.
“They’re much more spacious,” he agreed, sliding into his.
“I’m glad you decided to come,” she told him brightly. “I wasn’t sure you were on board last night.”
He glanced down at the table, offering a vague grimace. “Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t having a great night.”
“I thought so, but I wasn’t sure if I was reading more into it than I should.”
“Nah… I wasn’t fit for conversation; I figured it’d be better to stop responding than be an asshole to you.”
Nodding slightly, she asked, “Were you mad at me?”
“No, not at you.”
The waitress approached with menus before she could continue the conversation, so they each took one and ordered drinks, then thanked the waitress as she walked away, pony tail bouncing.
Willow opened her menu and perused it, but she stole glances at Ethan when she could without him noticing.
“Well, I hope you’re in a better mood today,” she told him.
“Markedly. At least, so far,” he offered, smiling a little and glancing over his menu at her.
Stupidly, that little look made her heart skip.
Feeling her face warm, she turned her own attention back to the menu.
A moment later Ethan’s phone went off and he picked it up, sliding his finger across the screen and reading what appeared to be a text. Willow kept her eyes on her menu, not wanting to be nosey… but also sort of wanting to be nosey.
“Everything okay?” she asked, vaguely.
His eyebrows lifted as if in surprise, then he nodded. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was ordering some books for Alison before I left and I had to double-check she didn’t have them first.”
“Aw, that’s nice. Does she like to read?”
He nodded his head, returning his focus to the menu, and Willow wondered if that was weird—should she not ask questions about his kids? She’d obviously never been involved with anyone who had kids before.
Then she remembered they weren’t involved, they were just friends, and she was being overly analytical.
Which irritated her, since normally she was never like that about guys.
She liked him too much—always had. It was damned irritating.
Ethan glanced up and caught her scowling at her open menu. She glanced up when she heard him expel a soft breath of laughter.