Ken continued to watch them. It was a standoff of sorts, and still Colin continued to stare, turning to face her again only after Ken turned away. He kissed her again, this time with a trace of possessiveness, before pulling back.
“Don’t let him bother you. He’s not worth it,” she said.
“He’s bothering you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I still don’t like him.”
“Is that why you kissed me again?”
“No.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“I like you,” he answered.
His comment – so direct, so obviously truthful – made her stomach do that ridiculous flip-flop again, and it was all she could do not to grin like a fool.
“What are you doing tonight and Friday?”
“I have plans with Evan and Lily.”
“Both nights?”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to tell you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to tell you that, either.”
She squeezed his hand before letting go. “I know you’re telling the truth, but you’re not really saying anything. Should I be worried? Are you going out with someone else?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “There’s nothing to worry about. I had a great time at lunch today. I enjoyed meeting your parents.”
She peered up at him. “I’m glad.”
He smiled then before finally taking a step backward. “It’s probably time for you to go back to work.”
“I know.”
“Is he still watching us?”
She peeked past him and shook her head. “I think he went around to the back entrance.”
“Will he be bothered by what he saw?”
She thought about it. “Probably. But now he knows you actually exist, and that’s a good thing. If he bothers me again, I’ll just hint that you’re the jealous type.”
“I’m not,” he said. His blue-gray eyes were intense, yet gentle. “But I still don’t like him.”
CHAPTER 11
Colin
O
n Saturday morning, Colin rose early and went for a bike ride just as the sun was coming up. His bike – a rusting beater that he’d picked up at a pawn shop for almost nothing – was at least a decade old, but it did the job, and he was able to work up a serious sweat before he even reached the gym. There, he spent an hour in a cross-training class slamming heavy ropes, pushing weighted sleds, throwing medicine balls, and doing a variety of other exercises, then staggered back to his bike for the ride home. He mowed the lawn and trimmed the bushes, reflecting that though he’d been preoccupied by thoughts of Maria since they’d first met, those thoughts didn’t compare to the almost obsessive way he dwelled on her now. Even Evan had noticed; earlier, when he’d stepped out onto the porch, he’d been wearing a smirk that let Colin know he was fully aware of the effect that Maria was having on him. Evan himself had been ebullient on both Thursday and Friday nights, and Colin suspected that it might have had something to do with the whole salsa dancing is sensual thing, but it wasn’t his place to ask.
Lily, too, had noticed that Colin had developed feelings for Maria, but remained focused on his dancing lessons. However, she’d recommended a restaurant downtown, reminding him twice to make reservations. She’d taught him more about dancing than he thought possible, but he still wasn’t entirely confident in his abilities. He didn’t want to imagine how unprepared he would have been had she not intervened.