“Are you going to tell her my name if she asks? Or are you going to make something up?”

I’m not sure I’m ready to tell Kate about Rhett. Not that there’s much to tell. “I might tell her. I have to see what kind of mood she’s in. She’s weird about guys, sometimes.”

“Good. She should be.”

I laugh at how firm his response is. “Are you warning me of your asshole ways?”

“Kinsley, I’m one of the good ones, I promise you that. Your sister is, too, if she’s looking out for you.”

“She’s a great sister.” I shouldn’t, but I get a little defensive for the simple fact that Kate’s the closest thing to a parent I have. She’s judged by everyone in town for getting stuck with her little sister and brother—even if she’s never once complained about it.

Rhett tugs on my apron again, pulling me close enough that he can slide his arm around my waist. “That’s why I want her to know about me. If she means so much to you, then I want to know her. In fact, I’m not taking you home until you agree to tell her who I am.”

“Why didn’t that approach work with my brother?”

Rhett winces when I call him out. “Kinsley, that’s different, and you know it. Plus, I have a bad feeling Wyatt will still try to kick my ass if he finds out.”

“That doesn’t concern you? Doesn’t make you want to hide like you did before?”

He’s completely serious when he says, “No, I’m done staying away. I told you I waited long enough.”

His words hit me hard, make me nervous even, but I’m still trying to process the fact that my brother challenged the entire school, warning all the guys what would happen to them if they so much as asked me to a dance. “I can’t believe Wyatt scared all the guys away. It makes a lot of sense now.”

“You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know, but I had my suspicions. Either way, he didn’t make life any easier for me. It sucked never being asked to a dance, or on a date. I figured I was just that repulsive.”

Rhett rests his arms on my shoulders, placing his finger beneath my chin. I have no choice but to look him right in the eye. “You’re beautiful, Kinsley West. Absolutely beautiful. I’m sorry I waited so long.”

I want to duck my head and hide, but he doesn’t let me. “I don’t know what to say to that.”

“You don’t have to say anything—just tell your sister my name. We’ll take it from there.”

“And if she doesn’t want me getting into a car with some guy she doesn’t know, then you’re crazy quest to drive me places won’t happen, and I’ll be out a ride. You still think it’s a good idea?”

“I’m not just any guy, Kinsley.”

I laugh, because he’s completely serious—and a little bit right. “No, you definitely aren’t just any guy, Rhett. I mean, you’re the Rhett Taylor. She might pass out once I tell her.”

He taps the tip of my nose with his finger. “See, that’s why I like you. You could give two shits about who I am.”

“It’s a great name, and you’re well respected in this town for your accomplishments on the field, but there’s more to you than that. I can tell.”

He sighs in relief. “Yeah? So, you’re going to stick around to find out the rest?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Depends.”

“On?”

I pull away from him, even though I loved being so close, practically wrapped up in his arms. I need a little space before I say this next part. “It depends on you.”

“Then I have no worries. You’re mine.”

“Are you going to show me the real you, or the one you think I want to see? I want to get to know the guy who has been waiting two years for me. He’s the one I’m interested in.”

With a look serious enough to pierce through me, yet gentle enough to feel cherished, he says, “I want you to see all of me, Kinsley.”

Whether it’s littered with underlying sexual innuendos or not, I take his comment in stride. Because like it or not, I want to get to know Rhett, and the only way to do that, is to give him a shot. Even if I’m scared I won’t be what he was looking for. Two years is a lot of expectation to live up to. “Okay.”

“Okay? You want to see me?”

“If that means hanging out, then sure.”

He smiles so wide it’s contagious. “I knew coming here was a good idea.”

I bump into him with my body, playfully nudging him. “Oh yeah? So you could get a free meal?”

He shakes his head. “No, I’m paying you for the food now that I know you’re not going to run.”

“You were going to make me pay if you didn’t get what you wanted?”

He shakes his head, looking slightly exasperated. “It sounds terrible when you say it like that, Kinsley. I was just going to use it as leverage.”

“That’s not playing fair, Rhett.”

“I never said I played fair,” he says with a crooked brow.

I shake my head. He’s exhausting. “I want the real you, not the asshole. Remember that.”

“You got it, gorgeous.”

By the time we finish our conversation, two of my tables already left, including the table of freshmen. I pick up my tips from the first two tables, and clear the dirty dishes. Rhett follows behind me, helping me carry a few things into the kitchen without even being asked. “I’m not sharing my tips with you,” I joke.

“I don’t want your money. Plus, I’m the one who owes you.”

The third table is where the punks were sitting. They’ve left the exact change on the plastic tray, yet there’s a ten dollar bill on top. I turn to Rhett, handing him the ten dollars. “That was sweet, but I already knew they weren’t going to leave me a tip.”

He shoves his hands in his pockets, not accepting the money. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Rhett, don’t lie. This is your money.” Since he’s making no effort to take it, I reach around his back, and stuff it in his back pocket.

“Kinsley,” he calls out, as I walk away. “You can’t grope my ass and then leave.”

Laughing, but ignoring him, I stuff the crumpled bills the boys left into the slots of the cash register. Rhett comes up beside me and asks, “How’d you know?”

“Their money’s all scrunched up. That bill isn’t. Plus, they wouldn’t have counted out pennies if they were bothering to leave me a tip.”

“So, let me get this straight. You’re out money for serving me, since you picked up my bill, and now they stiffed you. You’re lucky to break even tonight at this rate.”

I don’t tell him Betty loaned me money for my car, and that I have a wad of cash in my pocket. Though he finds it for himself when he takes the ten out of his back pocket and shoves it in the front of my apron. “What’s that?”

“Money.”

He removes his hand, peeking inside at the wad of bills. “Do you always carry around that kind of cash?”

“No.” I have too much pride to tell him I’m broke, and that it’s not mine. I don’t even blame him when he stares at me, trying to figure out what I’m not saying.

“Is it yours?”

“No.”

“Did you take it?”

And this is where our differences are apparent. He doesn’t trust me, but I don’t trust him either. Maybe we’re even.

INSTEAD OF EXPLAINING where the money came from, I ran into the kitchen to hide. It probably only makes me look even guiltier than I already do, but how was I supposed to explain to Rhett that I accepted money after turning his away? I looked like a hypocrite—and I knew it.

Rhett didn’t bother to chase me, either, not that he was allowed in the kitchen. Though after the long speech he made not even a half hour ago, I’m disappointed he didn’t. For a guy who wants a chance so badly, who had to bide his time, waiting for the perfect moment to come for me, he gave up pretty easily.

Betty drops a stack of dirty plates onto the sink counter next to me, groaning from the strain on her arms. “Did the boy leave?”