Page 51 of The Love Playbook

“You mean horny? Yes.”

“That’s not what I . . . You know damn well what I said,” she growls.

I laugh, loving the way her cheeks pinken when she gets all riled up. “I prefer the termdetermined.”

With a shake of her head, she bites her lower lip, and maybe I’m fucking crazy, but I swear she’s fighting to hide a smile.

“You’re insane,” she says.

“You know what they say. Insanity loves company.”

A smile spreads her lips as she shakes her head. “It’s misery. Misery loves company, you dolt.”

“So, you admit you want company, then?”

Charlotte throws her head back with a laugh and the sound lights me up like a fucking Christmas tree.

Butterflies swarm my stomach as I watch her.If this is what a simple laugh can do, I’m in trouble.

“Damn,” I mutter as my gaze slips to her lips.

“What now?” she asks, her tone wary.

“You have the best laugh,” I say at the same time the waitress brings our food.

“Okay, Casanova.” She motions toward my plate. “Stop flirting and eat.”

By the time I pull up to Hyde Hall, I’m sorry to see the night end.

Charlotte braces her hand on the door of the Boss, but I stop her with a hand on the arm. “Let me get that for you,” I say before I slide out of the car at the same time she swings her door open anyway and gets out.

“Isaid, let me get that for you.”

“I have arms,” she says with a roll of the eyes, and I’m glad to see she’s still the same Lettie.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Charlotte punches me in the arm, and I laugh. “I’m sorry, was that your fist or a fly?”

“Funny.” She smiles. “You know, this is really unnecessary,” she says as we begin to walk toward the dorms. “No one is going to jump me from here to the doors, and the resident adviser is just inside at the desk.”

I shrug. “Doesn’t matter. If you don’t want me to walk you to your room, fine, but I’m at least going to see you inside. Otherwise, I’ll just worry.”

“Okay,Dad.”

My eyes flare with heat as I reach out and tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Make no mistake, I’m not your dad, Lettie. And if I were, I certainly wouldn’t be having the kind of thoughts I’ve had all night.”

A blush creeps up her neck, heating her cheeks before she looks away. “And what kind of thoughts would those be?”

“Keep asking, and you’ll find out,” I warn, begging her to push it a little further, disappointed when she doesn’t.

A golden glow from inside Hyde Hall spills out of the double doors onto the pavement at our feet as we pause just outside. Silence stretches between us, and she hugs her coat tightly around her body to ward off the cold, her breath puffing out in front of her like smoke.

I should probably let her go. The temperature is dipping, it’s late, and she’s tired. I can see it in the half-moons beneath her eyes and the gentle curve of her shoulders, but I can’t bring myself to say goodbye. Not yet. Not when this day has already turned out to be spectacularly better than I had hoped.

There’s a wariness in her expression when her espresso eyes meet mine, and it hits me how different it is from the first time I saw her. I still remember the way she looked in theshort summer dress, her hair a mass of tousled waves around her face, falling just below her chin and showcasing her slender neck. She was happy and carefree, laughing with Brynn as she walked out the door. But the light in her eyes has since faded, dimmed. The carefree girl from first year is gone, and these last few months, I’ve watched her close in on herself. While she’s still friendly with the girls, she’s irritable with just about everyone else around her. Especially me.

“Can I ask you something?” I say, watching her closely.

She brushes the bangs out of her eyes, and I so badly want to replace her fingers with my own. Instead, I tuck my hands safely inside the pockets of my jacket.