QUOTE : Look, Blake, I don’t think Friday is a good idea.” “Why isn’t it?” “Well, it’s—you know . . . it’s just not. So thank you for your offer. But once again, and hopefully for the last time, I’m not going to go on a date with you. If you ever move back to California, I really hope this doesn’t make family dinners awkward.” The corners of his lips turned up slightly. “All right. You done for the day?” This was the first rejection he’d taken well, and it threw me off for a moment. “Um, yes?” “Let’s go then.” “Whoa, wait. Go where? Its Wednesday, not Friday. And I said no anyway.” “You said no to a date with me. The date was on Friday. So we aren’t going on a date. We’re just going to go walk, hang out, whatever you want. But it’s not a date.” He stepped close enough that we were sharing the same air and his voice got low and husky. “If you want to call it something, we can call it exercising or seeing Austin. You can hardly count that as a date, Rach.” I was momentarily stunned by the effect his voice and blue eyes had on me. “Um . . .” I blinked rapidly and looked down to clear my head. “I’ve lived here almost three years, I don’t need to see the sights.” “Perfect, I don’t get out much other than to come to work, so I do. You can be my tour guide.” “Blake