Free Finding You (By You #3) by Kelly Harper Page A

see.
    "Are there lots of places like this in Houston?"
    "Little independent eateries?" Jeremy said. "They're everywhere."
    "That's so cool. Green Falls is a pretty tiny place, so our choices are pretty limited. The only big place we have is a Chili's."
    Jeremy let out a laugh. "That sounds awful. Where do you go out on dates and stuff?"
    "Chili's," she laughed, shaking her head. She shrugged her shoulder, and added, "Besides, I never really did much dating back home."
    Jeremy frowned. "How many boyfriends did you have in high school?"
    She gave him a nervous look. "Just the one."
    Sarah flashed back on the night at the party, on the way Huck had talked to her. He had acted like a completely different person, a far stretch from the boy she had started dating a little over a year ago. But, that was why she had to be careful. That was why she had to protect herself. If he could say and do those kinds of things to her, then anyone could. Maybe even Jeremy...
    Jeremy must have sensed her thoughts, because he got quiet while he studied her. His blue eyes were intense, and they had a way of making her think they were looking straight through her, like he knew everything she was thinking, almost before she even thought it.
    "I bet it's hard being out here by yourself," he said.
    She waved a hand and composed her thoughts. She didn't want his pity, she didn't want anyone's pity.
    "It's not that big a deal. People go off to college every year--some of them a whole heck of a lot farther than a few hundred miles."
    "But it takes a special person to stick through it after going through what you went through."
    That intensity had returned to his eyes, and Sarah felt a fluttering in her stomach. She was thankful when the moment was broken up by a girl who set their food in front of them. It smelled delicious, and was almost enough to take her mind off of the way Jeremy was looking at her.
    "What about you? I bet you did a lot of dating in high school."
    Jeremy's neck arched backward, as though the question caught him off guard.
    "Why do you say that?"
    She shrugged. "Just a guess. You're easy to talk to, and you're confident, and you're handsome, and you know all the right things to say, and you're sweet." She cut herself off before she rambled too much more, heat rushing to her cheeks after she realized everything she'd just said.
    His lips tilted up in a smile. "You think I'm handsome?"
    Sarah was caught off guard by the amused look in his eye. Had she really just said that?
    "Don't act so shocked. You know you look good."
    "I know other people think I look good. But I didn't know that you thought that, too."
    Sarah looked down at the table, unable to keep looking him in the eye as her voice caught in her throat. He really did have a way of putting her off guard. Finally, she was able to compose herself enough to speak again.
    "You never answered my question--or should I take that cocky look in your eye as an answer?"
    "What question was that, again?" he asked, amused.
    She let out a sigh. Why did he feel the need to make this so difficult?
    "Do you date a lot of girls?"
    The cocky look in his eyes tensed for a moment. It was a pained expression that was gone nearly as fast as it had come, but she'd seen it.
    "I dated here and there, back in the day," he said, his voice lower than it had been before.
    "Anyone serious?" she asked.
    His lips pinched together, and all traces of his smile were washed away. There was a tense moment of silence before he answered her.
    "There was someone. But that was a long time ago."
    For the first time, Sarah felt the pain coming off of him. She got the impression that there was a lot more to the story than he was telling her, but she got the feeling that he didn't want to talk about it. She was curious what could make someone look the way he looked right then, but she wasn't about to ask him to tell her. They weren't that close--not yet, anyway.
    They ate in silence for a few minutes, though it looked like