Taking Shots (Assassins) by Toni Aleo

don’t mind. I want to,” his hand moved to her thigh and she looked over at him, surprised.
    “ Are you sure? I mean, are you sure you want to-“ Harper told her not to do this, not to second guess herself, so she took a deep breath, and smiled. “I’ll give you my address before we leave.” He grinned, leaning over and kissing her cheek, causing her heart to skip a beat.
    “ For a second there, I thought you were going to turn me down.” Elli grinned as she continued eating. “So, what kind of music do you listen to?” She looked over at him and he was looking down at his food. “I bet country, huh?” He looked up at her with a satisfied grin.
    “ Actually, I like all music.”
    “ Liar.”
    “ I do!” she protested, he just raised his eye brows at her. “But I mostly listen to country” He laughed and she giggled as she took a drink, “What do you listen to?”
    “ Well, since I’ve been in Nashville, I’ve started to like country, but I like rock and rap a lot.”
    “ Cool.”
    “ Yeah, what’s your favorite movie?”
    “ Pride and Prejudice. It’s also my favorite book.”
    “ Never seen or read it.” She looked up at him like he was an alien.
    “ Excuse me?”
    “ What?”
    “ You’ve never read or seen Pride and Prejudice?”
    “ No, why?”
    “ Um, it’s the greatest love story ever! Oh, my goodness, you know,” she started to move out of the booth. “This isn’t going to work, I’ll see you around,” she only made it an inch before he grabbed her arm, pulling her back, horror all over his face.
    “ Oh, no you don’t!” he said, causing a lot of people to turn and look at them. “I promise I’ll watch it, and, hell, I’ll even read it on the road.” Elli smiled fully and scooted back to her spot.
    “ Good, make sure you have a book cover, or the guys will make fun of you.”
    “ You are right on that one,” he said with a grin, “Did you really think you would get far, leaving like that?”
    “ No, but it was fun seeing the horror on your face.”
    “ Hey, I can’t have my beautiful date run out on me. Remember my fragile male ego?” he said with a teasing smile.
    He called her beautiful…
    “ Oh, yeah, totally forgot about it” she said with a shy grin. She looked over at him, so happy to be with him. “You are-”
    “ Excuse me.” Elli looked up at a long legged blonde, but the blonde wasn’t looking at her, she was looking at Shea. “You’re Shea Adler, right?”
    “ I am, and you are?”
    “ Cindy! Hi, I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch, but can I have your autograph?”
    “ Of course,” Shea scooted out of the booth, and signed her shirt that happened to be an Adler shirt. That’s when the swarm happened. Everyone came up, asking him for his autograph and, of course, he signed everything, while sending her a forgiving smile. Elli smiled back and continued to eat.
    When she was finished eating, she looked at her watch. She needed to go; she had an appointment at 3:30. Thankfully, Shea looked over at Elli and she tapped her wrist, mouthing she had to go.
    “ I’m sorry everyone, I gotta go.”
    People protested as Shea handed his credit card to the waiter, along with his food, so they could package it up. “I’m sorry, Elli.”
    “ Don’t worry about it,” she said as she gathered her bag of leftovers and followed him out. He opened the door for her and she climbed in. When he got into the truck, he started it and drove off without a word.
    “ So, what’s your favorite movie?” Elli asked since she still wanted to know some things about him. Shea looked over at her, and smiled.
    “ Miracle.”
    “ A classic.”
    “ It is.”
    “ This is our time! Their time is over!”
    “ Their time is over? Come on, babe, if you’re gonna quote the greatest movie ever, get it right,” he said with a teasing smile.
    “ Oh, hush, I got most of it!”
    “ You did, I’m impressed.” She smiled proudly, but her smile fell when he pulled into