Page 34 of The Rebel

“I’ll order one outside. I can’t put in a pickup location from inside.”

“I’ll walk out with you.”

I snapped my head up. “What? No! Stay and enjoy. You just arrived.”

He winked. “No, it’s already been an hour.”

“Oh! I didn’t realize…”

“Told you time flies when you’re in good company. Anyway, I’m leaving too. I did what I came to do.”

I wondered what that was. Make me melt into a puddle? Buy me drinks?

Oh, he’d meant talk to Gregory.

“All right, then I’ll accept your very gallant offer,” I said with a grin.

He grinned right back as we got up from the bar stools. He kept a hand on my back as he led me through the guests. The bar was even more crowded than when I first came in, as was the perimeter of the festival. Music resounded from one of the stages. A cacophony of voices surrounded us. The smell of food was thick in the air.

“This is a success,” I declared.

“Judging by ticket sales, yes, it is.”

“And people are truly enjoying themselves.”

We stopped as I glanced around.

“Music has its way of bringing people together.”

“You ever play an instrument?” I asked.

“Guitar. And I wasn’t bad at it.”

“Did you think about pursuing a music career professionally?”

He shook his head. “Never. I was too eager to take over the family business to even contemplate doing anything else.”

I smiled at him. “But now I’m having this vivid image of you playing the guitar.” His long fingers would?—

Oh no. I couldn’t go there. I truly couldn’t understand what was happening to me around Anthony. I wasn’t usually this silly.

He shook his head again. “I still play from time to time, but just for myself.”

That was something I couldn’t even imagine. He always seemed the kind of person who was outgoing and didn’t spend time by himself.

“Let’s order an Uber. It’s going to take a while.”

Turned out, it didn’t. My Uber was arriving in two minutes. Once my ride was on the way, he ordered one for himself too. Such a gentleman.

“All right, that’s your Uber.” He was standing behind me, pointing at a black Ford. “Thanks a lot for coming tonight, Daisy.”

“Well, I wasn’t much use, was I?”

“I disagree,” Anthony said, stepping to one side to look at me. The nearby lamppost didn’t cast much light, but it was enough for me to clearly see his eyes. “I had a great time.”

“So did I.”

When the car stopped, I immediately moved to open the door. Anthony reached forward at the same time, and we collided.