Summer meant late sunlight, and Sue was grateful for it; it was far easier to carry on a conversation in a car when she could see. However…
"— for the past year?" Myles finished the left turn and glanced back at her.
"I'm sorry?"
"The reports." He paused at the confused look she gave him. "What?"
She sighed a little. "Which reports for the past year?"
"The voucher expenses. The—" Another turn came up. "— Randy's office."
"What?" Her voice was a little frustrated.
Myles blew out his breath in a growing annoyance. "The—" Suddenly, he stopped and thought back over the conversation. While he'd made a conscious effort to "stay out of the dictionary" this time, as Lucy would have said, he'd committed a "rookie move;" not keeping her in his sight line.
He caught the look in her eyes and realized it was the third or fourth time it had happened in the short drive. She hadn't asked him to repeat every time, but now he remembered that she'd looked exasperated with him more than once. "I did it again, didn't I?"
She shook a finger at him, smiling just a little. "You just need to remember to stop talking when you turn left." She cut off the apology she saw coming with a wave. "I understand you're not used to it. You always count on someone else to make sure I'm watching you. They're not here now."
"Well, just swat me or something, will you please?" His expression belied the words, an ironic smile crossing his features. "I'll not have it said that my manners are suffering simply because I wasn't paying attention."
It took her a minute, but then she laughed. "Heaven forbid."
He pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, then got out to open her door for her. He held out a hand to help her up, and squeezed it a little when she was standing.
"I realize you hate hearing it," he said, "but please accept my apology for being so dense."
He realized his mistake at the moment she laughed. But before he could apologize again, she took his arm. "I heard nothing I hated," she quipped with a smile, "and apology accepted. Let's eat."