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Shelley’s eyes were wide. “You look beautiful, sister.”
“Thank you.” Teagan batted her lashes and looked down at her feet.
Tongue tied, I couldn’t stop staring at her.
“What made you get all dolled up?” Maura asked.
“I felt like a change.”
You could see the pride in Lorne’s expression. “You look lovely, honey.”
“I second that,” Archie said.
Of course you do.
I was the only one who hadn’t said anything, mainly because I was speechless. Teagan’s cheeks turned redder, and it wasn’t the makeup. She clearly wasn’t used to being bombarded with so many compliments at once.
God, she really did look gorgeous. It was like she’d gone down to her room a girl and come upstairs a woman. I’d never realized how much hair she had, either. She normally kept it tied back in a ponytail or up in a knot. The makeup she wore brought out the green in her eyes. And it was hard not to notice her ample chest in that fitted shirt.
Over the past several weeks, I’d begun to view her in a sexual way—as much as I tried not to. She always hid behind her clothing, but seeing the effort she made tonight scared me. I actually needed to worry about her and Archie, and that didn’t settle well in my stomach. I could see now how complicated my feelings for Teagan really were. I just didn’t know what to do with that realization.
She finally sat down, and everyone’s attention went from her to the food in front of them. Aside from my continuing to steal glances at her, dinner went as usual until Archie spoke.
“Teagan, this might be a dumb question, but do you have a curfew?”
My fists tightened.
“I’m nineteen. Curfew ended when I turned eighteen.”
“Ah. Very good. Remember that bowling place you were telling me about yesterday, the one that stays open late?”
“Yeah?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Would you want to go tonight?”
A breadstick I’d been holding snapped in my hand.
“Sure. That sounds like fun,” she said.
Clearing my throat, I asked, “What is this place?”
“Wonder Bowl,” she answered. “It stays open really late. After ten at night, it’s half off to bowl. And they have six-dollar pitchers of beer.” She looked at her father. “For those who are legal, of course.”
“When she was showing me around the city, Teagan said she felt like sort of a dork for liking bowling,” Archie explained. “I told her I was in a league back home for a while.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course he was.
No way was I letting her go out alone with him tonight.
I glared at him. “Sounds like fun. I’ll ask Veronica if she wants to join us. We can all go.”
Archie forced a smile. “Brilliant, then.”
He was definitely on to me. But I didn’t care. Looking after Teagan was my priority.***We borrowed Lorne’s car to drive to the bowling alley.
Veronica wasn’t thrilled. She’d apparently never bowled in her life and had no interest in coming. But I made it sound like I really wanted to go, and eventually, she gave in and agreed.
As we waited in line for those nasty bowling shoes, Veronica made small talk with Teagan. It seemed forced. I suspected Veronica still held a grudge about my ditching her at the restaurant to check on Teagan the day of the attack.
Veronica looked her up and down. “I almost didn’t recognize you when I first saw you tonight.”
Teagan glanced down at her feet. “I was just playing around with hair and makeup.”
“You look pretty.”
She smiled shyly. “Thank you.”
We got to our lane and settled in to bowl. Every time Teagan bent over to swing her bowling ball, Archie’s eyes landed on her bottom. I watched him so much that I couldn’t concentrate on the damn game when it was my turn.
My score was pathetic. I kept throwing gutterball after gutterball, which had never happened to me before. Naturally, Archie outscored me, as he tended to do in competitive situations.
Veronica made it quite obvious that she had never bowled before. Every time she stepped up to the lane, she held the ball with two hands, scooted down, and swung the ball between her legs. It took everything in me to avoid completely losing it in laughter every time. Teagan made eye contact with me whenever Veronica was up, and I knew she was thinking what I was: that Veronica’s bowling technique was absolutely ridiculous.
At one point, Teagan leaned in and whispered, “Nice granny roll.”
At the feel of her breath, I knew my attraction to her was far more than mental.
Then came the part of the evening that really tested me. Teagan got a strike, and Archie ran over and lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist while his hands landed on her butt. He spun her around, and it felt like my head was spinning at the same time.
