He tried to rein in his laugh, but it was useless, and Leah shook her head, her face still hidden behind her hands.

“Okay, now I’m blushing,” she mumbled. “Why do I have no filter when I’m talking to you?”

“It’s okay,” Danny said, and she spread her fingers, peeking at him from in between them. “If you want, I can tell you some pissing-in-public stories that will blow yours out of the water.”

“No thanks, I’m good,” she said with a laugh, dropping her hands from her face and picking up her fork.

“You really should learn how to change a tire, though,” Danny said before taking a bite of his spring roll.

She bristled. “I know how to change a flat.”

“Oh? Then why didn’t you?”

“Just because I can doesn’t mean I’d want to do it on the side of a snowy highway in the dark during rush hour.”

He looked her over, trying to imagine her changing a tire. Those delicate, feminine hands. Her narrow, girlish frame. Could he picture her under a car?

Yeah, he could. And it was hot as hell.

Leah narrowed her eyes at him before her expression straightened, and she nodded. “Ah, okay. I get it. It all makes sense now.”

“Get what?”

“You judge people,” she said casually, taking a bite of her salad. “You’re a judger.”

“What?” He laughed. “I don’t judge people.”

“Of course you do. You’ve done it to me twice now.”

“Bullshit! How have I judged you twice?”

“Well, first I was a stupid asshole because of where I parked my car. And now I’m incapable of changing a flat because…what? My nails are done? I’m wearing heels? Or is it simply because I have boobs and a vagina?”

He stared at her, trying to mask his amusement. “I thought we determined that you were an asshole because of where you parked your car.”

She smiled before regaining control of her expression, trying to look stern.

Danny laughed, taking another bite of his food. “All kidding aside, you have my number from when I called the other night. Program me into your phone. Don’t wait for Triple A to dick you around in a situation like that. Me or one of my guys could have been out there in under twenty minutes the other night.”

“Thanks, that’s nice of you.”

“Not a problem,” he said, licking the soy sauce off his thumb.

Her eyes dropped to his mouth and then darted back up, her cheeks flushing a light pink as she refocused on her salad.

He wanted to smile victoriously, to puff his chest out like the moronic, testosterone-driven male he was. But instead he focused his attention on his appetizer. Because as much as he did enjoy that blush, it was going to be his goddamn undoing.

He took another bite of his spring roll, making a conscious decision not to do anything that would bring it out again.

The waitress came back to the table with their main courses, and the conversation continued to flow effortlessly between them. Leah was the perfect mixture of snarky and sweet, confident and shy. By the end of the meal, Danny felt oddly comfortable with her, like he had known her for years.

Once he had paid the check, despite the objection from Leah, he helped her on with her coat and followed her to the door, holding it open for her as she exited the restaurant.

“Where are you parked?” he asked.

“In the parking garage two blocks down,” she said, motioning with her head.

“I’ll walk you,” he said, grasping at any attempt to prolong the afternoon with her.

He didn’t want it to end. But it shouldn’t have even started. And he knew that.

“Thanks,” she said, wrapping her scarf around her neck, and Danny resisted the impulse to reach for her hand as they started down the block.

By the time they arrived at her car, his chest felt heavy.

She turned to him, bouncing slightly on her toes with a shy smile. “Well, thanks again for lunch. I had fun.”

“Me too,” he said hollowly.

Her brow pulled together slightly as she tilted her head, but she quickly replaced the expression with another smile. “Okay, so…”

She looked up at him in that way that made him want to hug her. Something momentarily flashed across her eyes, and as soon as he pinpointed what it was, his chest tightened further.

Hope.

She looked hopeful, staring up at him like that.

End this. Now.

“So…get home safe,” he said, taking a step back from her.

Her expression dropped at the same time her shoulders did. It was the tiniest change in her appearance; he would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been watching her so closely.

“You too,” she said politely before she got in the car and pulled the door closed. He watched as she started it up, rubbing her hands together in front of the vents.

There was no way he could allow himself to see her again. Inviting her to lunch had been a momentary lapse of judgment, but to consciously pursue her? That would be completely reckless.

Not to mention selfish.

As Leah carefully backed out of her parking space and continued down the exit ramp of the garage, Danny dropped his head back, covering his face with both hands.

She didn’t look back.

“Do they sell those chicken-cutlet titty boosters in this store?”

Leah whipped her head toward her friend, laughing as she pressed her hand over Holly’s mouth.

“You do realize this dressing room isn’t soundproof, right?”

“Why? Because it’s a secret that I’m rocking the chest of a prepubescent boy?” she asked, cupping her small breasts and giving them a squeeze.

“Stop,” Leah said, swatting at Holly’s hands. “You’re proportional.”

“And you’re delusional,” she said. “Turn around, I’ll zip you up.”

Leah turned, and as Holly zipped up the dress behind her, she felt the form-fitting bodice tighten around her torso. As far as bridesmaids’ dresses went, she really had nothing to complain about; it was truly beautiful—a deep rose-colored gown with a strapless sweetheart neckline. The snug bodice transitioned into a soft, sinuous silhouette that flowed delicately to the floor.

“See?” Holly said. “Now that’s how knockers should look in a dress.”

Leah looked over her shoulder at her friend. “You should really think about teaching a class on social etiquette.”

Holly winked before turning to examine herself in the mirror.

“Lemme see, lemme see!” Robyn called from outside the dressing room, and Holly leaned over and swung the curtain aside.

Robyn squealed, clapping her hands quickly as she walked in a circle around them. “Perfect! You guys look hot.” She gave them another once-over before she said, “Awesome. Okay then, get dressed and let’s get the hell out of here and get some dinner. And more importantly, some drinks. I’m gonna go get us a table.”

She pulled the curtain closed behind her as she walked out, and Leah and Holly smiled at each other. Robyn was—by far—the most composed, unstressed, laid-back bride they had ever known.

One of the many reasons Leah loved her so much.

Leah turned her back to Holly, offering her the zipper. “Okay, do me and I’ll do you.”

“I don’t normally swing that way, but you do look hot right now.”

Someone cleared her throat loudly in the next fitting room, and Leah fought a laugh, bringing her finger to her lips.

Holly was the first friend she’d made when she moved to Bedford in the seventh grade. On Leah’s first day, Holly pulled up a chair next to her in homeroom and asked to see her schedule, scanning it for a minute before she went off on a detailed explanation of where every class was, which teachers were awesome, and which “sucked ass,” as she put it. Then she offered to walk Leah to her first class, since they had it together.

They’d been friends ever since.

The summer before ninth grade, they met Robyn—she had just moved to New York from Michigan and ended up working at the same summer camp as Leah and Holly. The three of them were inseparable for the next four years and visited one another every chance they got throughout college. To this day, Leah’s father still referred to them as the Three Stooges.