Page 41 of Heal Me, Love Me

“I can be normal.”

That earned her a warning look.

“Normal-ish.” She laughed under her breath, then opened the door before I could stop her.

Keaton stood on the other side, looking handsome with his shoulder-length dark hair pushed back from his face. He wore a gray jacket over a black T-shirt, dark jeans that fit him too damn well, and boots. His eyes flicked from Mom to me, and his mouth curved as if he knew exactly what he’d walked into.

“Hey, Mrs. Cross.”

“Dawn,” she corrected gently. “You’re grown now.”

His smile softened. “Dawn.”

She stepped back. “Come in for a minute.”

I lifted a shoulder, trying not to make it a thing even though it was absolutely a thing.

“Sure.”

Dad appeared in the hallway. “Hey, Keaton.”

“Hey, Mr. Cross.”

“Dawn gets first names, but I don’t?”

Keaton laughed. “Sorry. Hey, Frank.”

My dad smiled. “Better.”

Mom seemed way too pleased with herself as she lifted a small bag from the entry table. “I made you some banana bread.”

Keaton perked up. “Really?”

My mother handed it over. “Of course, and it’s your choice if you want to share it with Rowan.”

“Maybe.” He took the bag from her without looking away from me.

“Wow.” I shook my head, smiling.

Mom grinned. “Well, I don’t want to keep you from your date.”

“Thanks.” I chuckled.

Dad clapped me on the shoulder. “Have a good night, you two.”

Keaton opened the front door, then stepped back to let me go first. Once we were outside, he waited until the door closed behind us, then let out a breath. “That went better than I thought.”

“You thought my dad was going to interrogate you?”

“Pretty much.”

“He likes you.”

“He used to like me.”

I stopped beside Keaton’s car and faced him. “He still does.”

He looked toward the house, then back at me. “Yeah?”