“Have to be quicker than that, Evans.”

Harper hands the bill over with her credit card to our waiter. Not bothering to even look at the price. She drinks the rest of her iced tea, happy as can be. She loves messing with Connor. She knows he hates anyone paying for him. I once made the mistake of telling her how he flipped out when I paid for lunch one time. Since then she has taken every chance to pay for him. I love it.

“Thanks for lunch, Harper,” Kohen says through gritted teeth.

Letting her accent drip through her voice, Harper says, “You’re most welcome,” while she picks up her iced-tea.

Clearly these two don’t mix well together. Hopefully that will change when she sees that he isn’t a bad guy after all.

When the waiter returns, Connor smirks. The waiter casts his gaze to Connor when he speaks. “I’m sorry, Ms. Harrison, but your meal has already been paid for.” He hands over her credit card without another word.

“Have to be smarter than that, Harrison,” Connor says smugly.

“Well-played.” Harper winks at Connor before putting away her credit card.

Connor gets up and bows. Actually bows. I groan as everyone watches the show.

“Thank you, thank you,” Connor says.

“Okay, let’s go before he really makes a scene,” Harper says.

I pick up my bags as I get up and take Kohen’s extended hand. Kohen and I start walking away from the table. We say good-bye after he reminds me to keep my phone on me while at the movies with Harper. I join Harper and Connor, who are in a heated conversation by his car. They’re arguing about who’s going to drive.

“Harper, we’ll miss our movie, just get in the back. He doesn’t let anyone drive his car,” I inform her.

“Then why was Logan driving the other day?” Harper asks.

“What? When?” I turn towards Connor. “What the hell?”

“Yes, I let your brother drive my car. It’s not a big deal, Addie.”

I yank open the passenger door and slam it shut. Harper settles into the back without a word. I wait until Connor is situated until I drill into him.

“How many times? Has Jax?”

Connor shrugs. I can tell he is trying to decide if he should attempt lying, or tell the truth.

“Okay, so you’re the only one I don’t let drive my car.”

“WHAT!” I scream.

“Come on, Addie, it’s not that hard to believe. You’re a nervous driver. Besides, it’s not like you have a current license.”

I tell myself to shut up. My voice has other plans, though.

“I haven’t driven a car since I moved to New York. I’ve never been in a car accident!”

The minute the last sentence leaves my mouth, I clamp it shut. I have been in a car accident. I just wasn’t the driver. That’s what I meant, but that’s not what came out. Luckily, Connor knows what I mean.

Connor seems lost. I know he is thinking the same thing. He remembers the last time I drove a car. I panicked and almost veered off the road because I couldn’t stop picturing the accident. I haven’t driven one since. I have never had the urge to get behind the wheel until now. Which means I have no right to be upset. But I am, I blame the stress of lunch.

“Adalynn, you haven’t been behind a wheel in over five years. If you really want to drive, you can drive.”

I hear Harper’s gasp, but I don’t look at her. I don’t want to tell her about my fear of cars. At least not right now. Once there was a time when I couldn’t ride in a car without having a panic attack. More times than I can count I ended up blacking out. I was able to conquer that fear. One day soon, I will drive a car again.

“Next time.”

Connor sounds as surprised as I feel. “Really?”

I weigh my response before answering him. I know he’s asking a lot more than if I’m ready to drive again. He’s asking if I can handle it after everything. Before, I wouldn’t have been able to handle it. Before when I would get behind the steering wheel, it would take me back to when I was trapped in the darkness. Cries unanswered.

“Yea I’m ready,” I say quietly.

The heaviness of the last five minutes seeps through the air. Harper and Connor can feel it, too. I catch her worried eyes in the visor mirror. I give her a small smile. She squeezes my shoulder from behind me.

Connor pulls up to the AMC theater to drop us off. Before I unbuckle, he breaks the silence.

“Call one of us when you’re ready to leave. I don’t want you two walking around the city at night. You can even call Jax.”

I know he’s just looking out for me, but it still gets on my nerves. They act like I’m a child. They don’t think I can take care of myself. Granted, I haven’t been known to take care of myself over the years, but that’s changed. I’ve changed.

“Fine,” I say, opening the door.

I meet Harper on the sidewalk. We watch Connor drive away before we stand in line to buy tickets. I’m not in the mood to sit through a movie. Harper must sense this because she suggests skipping the movie for drinks.

“Lead the way,” I tell her.

Harper and I are about four rounds in. When I say rounds, I don’t mean beer. Nope, straight tequila. Tequila and limes to be exact. It’s safe to say I’m buzzed. Digging into my purse, I grab my phone. I have four texts from Kohen and one from Connor and Logan in a group message. I hate group messages. Without responding to their reminders to be safe, I delete it.

I scan the area to see if Harper will be back anytime soon with our next round. We made a “no cell phone” rule earlier. I spot her at the bar flirting with two men. Because one is just not enough. Got to love her. I read Kohen’s text.

Kohen: Where are you?

Kohen: When you gonna be home babe?

Kohen: Please don’t ignore me again.

Kohen: Need me to pick you up?

Kohen: What did I say about ignoring me?

I peer up from my phone. Harper’s chatting at the bar, but she will be back soon. I can tell she’s bored. She’s no longer touching one of their arms, and she has put space between them that wasn’t there before. When she waves down the bartender, I begin to type out a message, then delete it. For some reason I don’t want to inform him about my change of venue. Instead of being honest, I ignore his first question.

Me: Hey sorry just checked my phone. Hour or two tops. Are you still working?

The phone buzzes as the bartender passes Harper two beers and a shot.

Kohen: Okay. No, I’m out at dinner with Claire and her husband. Keep your phone on you, babe!

Me: Will do.

I set down my phone as Harper returns. The small shake of her head tells me that she caught me. She hands me a shot.

“Consequences for breaking the rules. Bottoms up.”

I clink the shot with her beer. As I reach for the lime, she stretches across the table for my phone. I slap my hand on the table to stop her, but she’s too fast.

“Harper don’t, give it back.”

She shakes her head. “I think someone needs a reminder that if they have a penis, then they can’t interrupt girls’ night.”

My eyes widen in horror as her thumbs move over the screen. This is bad. I need to stop her. “Seriously, Harper, you made your point, now give me back my phone.”

She offers me the phone with a wicked grin. Not good. I glance down. Crap! Kohen will be furious.

Me: If I’m out having a few drinks, please refrain from contacting me unless it’s an emergency. I’m not going to check in every five minutes. If you have a problem with that, get over it. Enjoy your evening, I know I am.

I gasp. How could she do this? She knows this will create problems.

“You’re seriously getting bent out of shape for me sending a joke?”

“You had no right to text him. He has done nothing but be nice to you.” I stand up, ready to leave. “You need to get over your issue you with him, Harper. He’s a nice person, he treats me well.”