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“Thank you for proving that I should.”
He held my stare for a moment before he nodded, then he peeled himself away, forcing two feet of space between us.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Ms. Dae.”
Turning, he strode back down the hall. At the end, he shifted to look at me, and a smirk pulled to his face. “And don’t be late.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or give into the disorder that blustered through my being.
Caleb Greyson was a storm. And I was the fool who was getting swept away.
SEVENTEEN
PAISLEY
“I thought we hated him?” Dakota popped a fry into her mouth, one she’d stolen right off my plate, the sneaky little thief.
She was on the other side of the counter at the café, grinning at me where she had her elbow leaned on top.
I swatted at her hand. “Hey, those are mine.”
“And I made them.”
“And I’m paying for them.”
Her brows quirked all over the place, her voice playful and wry. “Are you? Because the last I checked, you’ve been running up a tab since the second you got into town.”
A twinge of guilt poked me in the chest. “I get paid on Friday. First stop I’m making is coming in here and paying it off.”
Dakota waved a hand. “Stop. I’m only teasing you. You know you don’t have to do that. Love is on the house.”
“But your fries shouldn’t be.” I sent her a smirk.
“Food is my love language, don’t you know?” She snatched another fry, her brown eyes glinting.
I laughed around the bite I took off my enormous, juicy cheeseburger. “Oh my delish. Your love language has just become mine. You are a wizard in that kitchen.”
“Why else would half of Time River currently be in my restaurant?” She gestured to the packed house behind me.
“Um, because you’re awesome-possum in every way. My bestie is slaying. You worked your butt off for it and look what you’ve built. I’m so proud of you, Doodle-Boo.” My voice softened at that, sincerity taking over. She had poured herself into making this place work.
“I’m pretty proud of myself.” Awe filled her voice before she stole another fry then winked.
I laughed. “You punk.”
“That’s why you love me. Now back to the one we hate. Let’s get this straight…” she said as she pointed a finger at me. “Friday night, you were set on never seeing him again, let alone acknowledging him, and then you climbed right into his SUV and let him take you home, and now you’re spending two nights at his house to watch his little girl? Do I have this right?”
In contemplation, my head shook back and forth as I took another yummy bite, humming around the food as I chewed. “Well, he apologized.”
“He apologized?” Disbelief took a free ride to the sky on her perfectly waxed brows. “He doesn’t much look like the apologizing type. Besides, talk is cheap. You and I have both learned this from experience.”
“The apologizing type he is not,” I agreed, still having a hard time putting my finger on why I’d taken him at his word since his words were all kinds of rash and rude. I was glad I had.
He’d been…different today. Really different.
I quirked a brow at her, taking us back to the way things had actually gone down on Friday night. “And let’s be real. It’s not like I asked the guy for a ride home. Ryder basically dumped my ass in the parking lot so he could whisk you away.”
I made sure to paint the words with innuendo.
Redness touched her cheeks, though she scoffed. “Hardly. He just wanted to get me home as fast as he could since I’d already puked on his shoes.”
“Tell me you didn’t get the shoes,” I moaned.
Her face turned a dazzling shade of mortification. “You wouldn’t think I’d get lucky enough not to have, did you? Got his pant leg, too. I’m sure his car is going to smell like puke for months. Go me, making myself unforgettable.” She pumped a sarcastic fist in the air.
“Oh, that bad boy doesn’t mind a bit.”
Dakota ground out a sound of disagreement. “Ryder is just a friend, you know that. Family really. Cody would lose his ever-lovin’ mind if I even thought about dating his best friend. And you’re the one who needs to be real, anyway, Paisley-Cakes. We both know there’s no chance Ryder wants me. The only reason he’s always hanging around is he considers me his little sister and thinks it’s his job to look after me.”
Her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip, and I saw her mind spinning, her insecurities rearing their stupid head.
“Not want you? That’s crazy talk. You’re grade-A amazing.”
She huffed as she glanced down at her lush curves like they were a curse. “Hardly.”
“Don’t do that,” I told her.
“What, be realistic? I prefer to be honest with myself, Pais.”
