Page 26 of The Fast Lane
“What if the secret is about you?”
Somehow despite an entire table between us, it felt like he was inches away. His eyes sparkled with sly humor. I couldn’t honestly say I’d seen this side of Theo, at least not directed toward me. It was potent stuff, powerful, and kind of…sneaky.
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you flirting with me, so I’ll stop asking about this article?”
He grinned and opened his mouth to speak, but our burgers arrived just then.
“Here you go.” An older, round woman grinned at us; her hair was dyed an unnatural shade of red that matched her lipstick. Based on the height of her hair, she subscribed to the “bigger the hair, closer to God” theory. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“I think we’re good.” I picked up a fry and stuffed it in my mouth.
“Thanks,” Theo said.
The woman did not move. In fact, I’d say she took a step closer and waited. Every now and then she’d make a little humming noise in the back of her throat.
“Did you need something?” I asked.
“Oh, no.” She pulled a chair over from a neighboring table and sat. “Y’all keep eating. I’m trying to get a read on you two.”
“A read?” Theo asked, his burger halfway to his mouth.
She nodded, her hair moving as one helmet-like unit. “Of course. It’s what I do. I’m Jolette.”
“The lady with the superpower?” I asked.
She barked out a laugh. “I’ve never called it a superpower, but I do have a gift. I see you looking at me like I’m one donut short of a dozen but I’m not ever wrong.”
Theo took a swig of his orange juice. “The menu said you had an accuracy rate of ninety-five percent.”
“Pssht.” She waved a hand, fingertips painted the same red as her hair. “I can’t go claiming a hundred percent, my lawyer said. Might get me in trouble.” She leaned in as though to tell us a secret. “My lawyer’s my cousin, Big Mike. I pay him in pancakes. Works out real well for us.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. Although I wasn’t sure if that was exactly true. This woman was weird.
Jolette cracked her knuckles. “Now the two of you are awful cute together and I think?—”
Choking on a bite of my hamburger, I held up my hand.
“I think she’s trying to say we aren’t a couple,” Theo said, his voice dry.
“Is that so?” Jolette inspected us with shrewd brown eyes.
After chugging half my water, I waved a hand toward Theo. “What he said.”
She didn’t speak. I looked at Theo and shrugged. His eyes crinkled in the corners like he found this amusing. I raised my eyebrows; he winked. My mouth dropped open.
“Nope. You two are meant to be.” She stood abruptly. The chair scraped the floor as she put it away. “Make sure you send me a photo when you get hitched.”
Then she was gone.
“You winked,” I accused. “You don’t wink. You’re the least winky person I know.”
He frowned. “I wink.”
“Winking is very flirty behavior.” I stabbed a finger at him. “You are not flirty and yet, you’ve been flirty twice this meal alone. Do you have a brain tumor I don’t know about?”
He was especially not flirty with me. He couldn’t do things like that. It would go very badly for my heart.
His eyes widened before narrowing into some unreadable expression. When he spoke, his voice was low. “Alicia, trust me. I know how to flirt.”