Page 19 of Hello Trouble

DELLA

A silent gasp passed my lips at what Hayes was saying.

Was he offering... I glanced up, looking at him from under my lashes, and found his mouth dangerously close to mine.

My heart was galloping ahead of my mind, desperate to get lost in Hayes Madigan’s special brand of danger. To forget his rules, even if it was in my heart’s best interest to stay away from the man who swore my dreams were unrealistic.

I tipped up my chin, inching closer to his lips.

His gaze flicked from my eyes to my mouth.

He leaned ever closer.

And just when our lips were bound to touch, he pulled away. “I... I can’t.” His eyes pressed closed like he was in physical pain at the thought of kissing me.

Hot, painful embarrassment went searing through me.

He stepped back. “I’m sorry, I?—”

I shook my head, not wanting to hear his apology or his reasons for shying away when he had me on a platter before him. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come here,” I whispered, hot tears threatening to fall.

Maybe running away was in my cards after all, because I turned tail and left his house, hurrying toward my car and wishing I’d have parked closer after all.

Suddenly, I felt stupid for dressing this way. Acting this way as a grown woman. Pranking a grown man who had no intention of making me his, all the while knowing I had a date with Bennett this very evening.

Shit .

My date with Bennett!

I lifted my arm to check my smartwatch.

Luckily, I had just enough time to get home and change. But my mind was so gone with thoughts of Hayes, I would have stayed and spent the night with him, Bennett Smith long forgotten.

How terrible of me.

Who even was I anymore?

I wasn’t this girl, the one who threw caution to the wind. Who forgot about my dreams of having a storybook romance, a family. Children who would look at Mom and Dad and think I want a love like that .

Hayes wasn’t that kind of guy.

There was nothing wrong with him. Only me for forgetting who I was.

I finally reached the safety of my car and got in. The touch of a button was all it took to turn it on. My headlights illuminated the street ahead of me, made brighter by Hayes’s pickup pulling onto the road. He looked over at me, caught in my headlights.

I didn’t know if he could see my face, but if he could, I wonder what he thought.

Did he see a foolish girl, easily caught off guard with a simple sentence?

Or did he see something more?

Instead of answering my silent question, he continued driving back toward Madigan Auto. With a heavy sigh, I put my car in gear and drove home. Toward reality —toward a practical man who would soon be coming to get me.

Once I pulled up to my driveway, I quickly went inside and changed out of my stupid black clothes into something more me . A flowy white dress with flowers embroidered up the skirt, my favorite pair of nude ballet flats, and a soft pink cardigan.

Then I quickly weaved my curls into a braid, hoping that I would finish plaiting before the bell rang.

Bennett arrived exactly at seven thirty, like we’d agreed. That was another thing I was coming to learn about him; he was dependable to the core.

He stood at the door, dressed in nice jeans and a plaid shirt. No flowers this time, but he had a big smile on his face as he greeted me. “Hey, Della. Ready to go?”

I nodded. “Let me grab my purse.” Once I had the bag looped over my shoulder, I followed him out to his truck, and he opened the door for me, offering his hand for me to step up.

I took it, grateful for the chivalrous gesture. It was so different from how Hayes had acted that day in the tow truck, telling me to find a way up. But for some reason, Bennett didn’t have my heart pounding.

What on earth was wrong with me?

I tried to ignore my swirling thoughts, get my head in a better space, as Bennett walked around the front of the truck and got back in.

“How was your day?” he asked amicably as he pulled out of my driveway.

Before getting caught in Hayes’s living room dressed in all black? “Uneventful. You?”

“About the same,” he replied, then launched into a story about welding pens at a ranch north of town. It was clear Bennett cared about his work a lot, and he was an easy talker, filling our ride to the diner.

We went inside and sat at an open table. It seemed to be a little slower tonight with only a few people dining. When Agatha came over to take our orders, we got two milkshakes and a basket of fries to share.

Hayes would never do this , I thought. He wouldn’t be caught dead on a date with a woman. Much less one as sappy and nostalgic as milkshakes at the diner.

I used that thought to be grateful for Bennett sitting across from me. Both his hands were on the table, and I noticed the dark hair on his knuckles, winding up the back of his hands until it was covered by his shirt sleeves.

What were we going to talk about? I wondered.

Apparently, Bennett didn’t know either because we sat in an awkward silence until Agatha brought our milkshakes and fries to the table.

He got strawberry, and I had chocolate. She even put whipped cream and a cherry on top.

“Thank you, Ms. Agatha,” Bennett said warmly.

I smiled at her. “Yeah, thank you.”

He was nice to servers too? That was always something I looked for on dates. Being rude to a waitress was a major red flag. But my stomach sank, because I wasn’t getting the feeling like there was enough chemistry here to warrant me staying.

Hiding my disappointment, I took a sip of my shake, and Bennett asked, “How is it?”

“Good,” I said. “Yours?”

“The best.” He took a fry from the basket and dragged it through his shake, bringing it to his lips.

And that gave me an idea. Maybe what I needed to get that feeling, that spark , from Bennett was as simple as a kiss.

I promised myself that if he didn’t make a move when he dropped me off tonight, I would.