Page 13 of Just What She Needed

Dazed, and happier than a woman who'd just experienced the worst date of her life had any right to be, Rhett pulled the seatbelt across her body and buckled it just as Rhys slid into the driver's seat.

"You look surprisingly happy for someone who had an awful date," he observed with a smile.

"I'm happy because the awful date was cut short," Rhett replied. Though she wanted to tell him the majority of her happiness came from him and the things he said, there was no way she'd be able to overcome her shyness to do it. "And thank you for making that happen."

"Glad to be of service." His smile changed just a bit, and though Rhett was unable to put her finger on exactly what was different, it sent a flash of heat charging through her. "Just yell whenever you need me."

"So where are we headed?" Rhett hoped like hell he wasn't taking her someplace fancy. After all, her experience that evening at Le Beaujolais left her with a bad taste in her mouth, and it wasn't from the one glass of wine she all but bolted down. The cabernet, which was excellent, was the only part of the date she didn't hate. Rhys wasn't exactly dressed for fine dining, though. In addition to the T-shirt, he wore dark khaki cargo pants and beige canvas Toms. Of course, dress codes were different for men, especially men who looked like Rhys. He could probably show up at any fancy restaurant in town dressed in flannel pajamas and bunny slippers and be admitted.

"I'd had it in mind to go to Taco Bell, but we could—”

"No," she interrupted. "I'd love Taco Bell."

He shot her a skeptical look out of the corner of his eye.

"Really," she insisted. "In fact, a couple of crunchy tacos with sour cream sounds like the best idea I've heard all day. Oh, and can I get some of those potatoes with the cheese all over them, too?"

Rhys laughed under his breath as he turned out of the parking garage onto McKinney Avenue. "You can have whatever you like. It's just that you're dressed a little nice to make a run for the border."

"Pfft." Rhett waved her hand in dismissal. "If those Oscar winners can go to In-And-Out Burger in their fancy gowns carrying their Academy Awards, I can wear a silk dress to get a taco."

"You have a point. Now tell me what happened on this date of yours."

"Oh." Rhett blew out a small, irritated breath. "The thing is, I decided to take your advice. You know, to have fun tonight. So, I got to the restaurant, and Carl—that's his name, by the way—Carl was waiting for me outside. And I thought how nice that was, that we could introduce ourselves out there, and not do that awkward meeting at the table with all the other diners looking on, you know?"

She glanced over at him in time to catch his nod. "Mm-hm."

"So I start toward him, and I could see from the way he straightened up that he recognized me. I look a lot like my sister, and he already knows her, and...Anyway." She waved that away. "But instead of saying something like, 'Hello, Rhett, I'm Carl. Nice to meet you,' he looked me up and down like I was on an auction block or something, and said, 'Girl, are you a beaver? 'Cause daaaaaammm.'"

"I...He..." Rhys closed his mouth, shook his head and raised his shoulders in a helpless shrug. "I have no words."

"Take that and magnify it by about seven thousand, and you'll know how I felt. Let's just say everything went south from there and leave it at that."

"You're well rid of the son of a bitch, then." He made a sound of disbelief. "He really said that to you? Wanker. If I'd known that I'd have called you before you even got to the restaurant."

His indignation did much to erase the insult she'd felt from Carl, and she relaxed her shoulders against the butter-soft leather of the seat.

As he drove, Rhys hummed under his breath. The tune was familiar, but it wasn't until they turned onto Lemmon Avenue that Rhett placed the song.

"I haven't heard 'She's A Rainbow' in forever."

"Neither have I," Rhys said. "Funny. It just popped into my head. It must be your blue dress that brought it to mind."

Rhett pressed her hand to her chest in a parody of delight. "Oh, you're so poetic."

A mischievous grin lit his face. "That's how I roll."

Before she could stop herself, Rhett burst into laughter. A couple of amused glances from Rhys made her attempt to get it under control, but errant giggles still escaped no matter how she tried to stifle them.

"I'm sorry, really. It's just that I never expected you to use a phrase like that."

A rueful smile curved his mouth. "It's my kids' fault. I pick up all sorts of things like that from them, and they creep into my vocabulary before I realize it."

Recalling how she used Lilith's term "digits" earlier that day, Rhett nodded in understanding. "Believe me, I know what you mean. How old are your kids anyway?"

"Dax is eighteen. He'll be nineteen in the fall and heading off to university. Sienna's just turned seventeen. She'll be a senior this year. They live in Chicago with their mother." He turned into the Taco Bell parking lot. "And here we are. You're sure this is okay?"

"More than okay," she assured him. "Let's go eat."