The Longest Ride

reached the truck.

Which meant that Brian would find out. It wouldn’t take much for him to guess that it was the same cowboy who’d humiliated him the weekend before. He wasn’t going to be happy about it, nor would his frat brothers. And depending on how much they’d been drinking – on Thursdays, everyone started early – they just might get it into their heads to exact revenge. Suddenly queasy, she wondered why she hadn’t thought of it before.

“Hey there,” she said, doing her best to disguise her anxiety.

Luke’s smile deepened. “You look fantastic.”

“Thank you,” Sophia murmured.

“I like him,” Marcia chimed in.

Luke glanced at her, startled, before turning back to Sophia. “Obviously, I had a chance to meet your roommate.”

“I was trying to find out if he had any single friends,” Marcia admitted.

“And?”

“He said he’d see what he could do.”

Sophia motioned with her head. “You ready to go?” she asked.

Marcia was already shaking her head. “No, not yet. He just got here.”

Sophia glared at Marcia, hoping she’d pick up on her cues. “We really can’t stay.”

“Come on,” Marcia cajoled. “Let’s get a drink first. Thursday night, remember? I want to hear about riding bulls.”

Off to the side, Mary-Kate’s expression was pinched as she put the pieces together. No doubt Brian had returned to the table last Saturday, regaling everyone with stories about how he’d been jumped by a gang of cowboys. Brian and Mary-Kate had always been friends, and when Mary-Kate grabbed her phone and rose from the couch and left the parlor, Sophia assumed the worst and didn’t hesitate.

“We can’t stay. We have reservations,” she said firmly.

“What?” Marcia blinked. “You didn’t tell me that. Where?”

Sophia blanked, unable to think of anything. She could feel Luke watching her before he cleared his throat. “Fabian’s,” he suddenly announced.

Marcia swiveled her attention from one to the other. “I’m sure they won’t mind if you’re a few minutes late.”

“Unfortunately, we’re already running late,” Luke said. Then, to Sophia: “Do you have everything?”

Sophia felt a surge of relief and adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder. “I’m ready,” she agreed.

Luke took her elbow gently as he led her toward the door.

“Nice meeting you, Marcia.”

“You too,” she said, bewildered.

Opening the door, he stopped to put his hat back on. He wore an amused expression as he adjusted it, as if to acknowledge their confusion about the whole thing. With a grin, he stepped out with Sophia on his arm.

As the door swung shut behind them, Sophia heard the burst of excited chatter. If Luke heard it, he appeared to pay it no attention. Instead, he led her to the truck and opened the door, then walked around the front to his side. As he did, she noticed a row of eager faces – including Marcia’s – at the parlor windows. She was debating whether to acknowledge them with a wave or simply ignore them when Luke crawled in, closing the door with a thud.

“I’m guessing you’ve made them curious,” he said.

She shook her head. “It’s not me they’re wondering about.”

“Oh, I get it,” he said. “It’s because I’m skinny, right?”

She laughed, and with that, she realized that she no longer cared about what the others were thinking or doing or saying about them. “Thanks for covering for me in there.”

“What’s going on?”

She told him about her concerns about Brian and her suspicions about Mary-Kate.

“I wondered about that,” he said. “You mentioned that he’d been watching you. Part of me was expecting him to burst through the door any minute.”

“And yet you came anyway?”

“I had to.” He shrugged. “You invited me.”

She leaned her head back against the headrest, liking the way he sounded. “I’m sorry that I’m not going to be able to show you the campus tonight.”

“No big deal.”

“We can do it another time,” she promised. “When he doesn’t know you’re here, I mean. I’ll show you all the cool places.”

“It’s a date,” he said.

Up close, his eyes were a clear, unalloyed blue, striking in their purity. She plucked at an imaginary piece of lint on her jeans. “What would you like to do?”

He thought about it. “Are you hungry?”

“A little,” she admitted.

“Do you want to go to Fabian’s? I’m not sure we can get in, since we don’t really have a