Acting on Instinct

Wiltshire - Part 1

"Hey," Dianne waved nervously as Joe pulled his car up to the curb, jumping out to open the door for her with his signature grin as she made her way down the sidewalk.

"Hey," Joe returned the casual sentiment, taking her bag off her arm to put in the backseat, causing her to giggle as he nearly dropped it.  "Jesus, Di. What do you have in here?"

"A bottle of wine," she shrugged. "Or three."

"Steady on, you planning on getting plastered to get through meeting my Dad?" Joe teased, peering into her purse before setting it gently on the backseat.

"No," Dianne rolled her eyes, "I wanted to bring your dad a gift...but I wasn't sure what kind of wine he likes. So I brought options hoping you could help me pick one."

She watched as his eyes widened in surprise, crinkles around the corners popping out as he shot a wide genuine smile her way.

"You didn't have to do that," he replied softly.

She shrugged, "I know. I wanted to."

Joe grinned, shutting the door and jogging back around to the drivers side, while Dianne forced herself to take a deep breath. Her heart was doing that thing again where it felt like it was skipping beats. He had barely touched her - just a slight brush against her arm while grabbing the bag - yet she felt like her skin was on fire. Part of her had been hoping that all the weird feelings she'd developed for Joe would just miraculously have disappeared after two weeks away from him - but as she watched him settle into the seat next to her, wearing a casual hoodie and beanie covering his floppy hair - she felt like the feelings had only magnified.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time," Joe broke the silence as he maneuvered the car across London to the motorway.

"It's been a little while," Dianne smiled as he seemed to read her mind, staring out the window as the buildings flew by. "The stores are okay? Construction finished?"

She shot a sideways glance toward him, and noticed he seemed to deflate a little at the mention of work.

"Yeah, all good," he replied, his voice neutral. "Installing the Zoella logos next week, actually."

Dianne couldn't help but light up at the mention of the logo she and Joe had worked so hard to finalize before she'd been forced to stop working with him so closely.

"Really?" she squealed. "That's so exciting! Do you think I could swing by and see one?"

She watched as Joe shot her a grin, shrugging, "I don't see why not."

"Has Leo said...um, well has he said anything about us? Since the gala?" she asked nervously, wondering if visiting a store would be a mistake.

"Nothing," Joe shrugged. "But I haven't been at the office much since. I think it would be safe for you to stop by one day. Even if Leo saw us, we could say you were meeting me for a lunch date or something."

Dianne nodded, reverting back to silence as the city buildings faded away, leaving them surrounded by green fields as Joe sped down the road toward his hometown. The whole situation she and Joe had gotten themselves into was odd - and the casual usage of the word "date" had sent her mind spinning again. She'd only been out with him once, where they'd shared a fake story about a fake romance, that had all ended with a very real kiss. And now she was heading to meet his father, where they'd be back to faking, and still not talking about any of what had happened between them. When she thought about it all at once, it actually made her dizzy.

"So..." Joe spoke again quietly, "Do you need a refresher on anything? I mean on our...erm, story?"

Dianne smiled, turning to look at him. She took in his sharp jawline, and swoop of hair peeking out from underneath the beanie. He looked younger, dressed casually and slouched behind the wheel. And she was surprised to see he also seemed less stressed.