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Chapter Nineteen
Payton
Five texts.
Five messages, and all of them are pretty much the same.
Jaime: You’re having sex!?! Lots of sex???
Meghan: Who’s the guy?! Heard he’s sexy!
AJ: You are holding out! I need deets!
Lexi: Hooker. ;)
Abby: Yay! Can’t wait to meet him!
There’s only one explanation for this onslaught of annoying text assault: Grandma. Five bucks says she didn’t even make it out to her car before she sent messages to my sisters. Hell, she probably had Grandpa drive home so she could enact the phone tree. I’m sure by the time our harmless little dinner got around to the last sister, I’m probably married with a baby on the way.
I blink rapidly, swallowing emotions I can’t even deal with right now. The point is that as the conversation went down the line, I’m sure it was exaggerated immensely. Grandma won’t even care either. She’ll just stand there with her big spoon, stirring and stirring that pot, with a sweet little smile on her face.
Ornery ol’ woman.
“Everything okay?” Dean asks beside me, glancing down at my phone.
“Well, Grandma wasted no time in calling all of my sisters and letting them know she saw us together. So now my sisters are texting, wanting all the dirty details of our sordid love affair.”
“Are we having one of those? A sordid love affair?”
Beneath his glasses, his eyes are the brownest I’ve ever seen. They’re dark and stormy and convey something I never expected to want again. But here I am. Staring at the first man I’ve considered something more with. Meeting his daughter today was a shocker. Part of me was ready to throw on my running shoes and take off like the devil was nipping at my heels.
Instead, I felt drawn to her, to him.
My life was stalled, but now? Everything is brighter, louder. I’m sure that has something to do with the little girl going to town on the button that controls half of the bumpers on the Pinball game. I’m struck by the look of excitement and fierceness in her matching brown eyes and something in my chest starts to flutter.
That lump in my throat returns as my heart rate picks up. This thing between us, between Dean and me, can easily turn into something more. I feel it. It causes exhilaration to bubble in my chest, making my heart beat even faster. But just as quickly, fear sets in, wrapping around my entire body like an old worn blanket.
How long am I going to let that fear control me?
“Everything okay? You slipped away for a few moments,” Dean says, pulling me out of the trance I was lost in.
“Yes,” I reply automatically. “I was just thinking about what I’m going to say to my sisters.”
Dean studies me, and I can see it in his eyes. There’s a look that tells me he doesn’t believe me. He doesn’t call me out on my lie though, instead gives me a quick smile before turning his attention to Brielle. Yeah, I know I should confess what I was thinking about, but I haven’t even come close to coming to terms with the revelation myself, let alone tell Dean that I’m starting to fall for him.
And I am.
Falling.
It’s a startling admission. I may not be able to say everything that’s brewing in my head and in my heart, but I can admit one thing to him. “Yes.”
“Yes?” he asks, glancing up from the game to give me his full attention.
“Yes.” I swallow hard. “This might be the start of a sordid love affair.” My words are hushed because of little ears, yet they sound like they’re blasting through a megaphone all the same.
He smiles at me, one of his full-watt grins that starts slow and ends up lighting up his entire face. The results are the same every time: my panties are wet. “Yeah?” he asks, as if seeking confirmation. Of course I know why. I’ve been back and forth since the moment we met. Push him away, only to grab a hold of him and hold on tight. I’ve turned into one of those women who uses men as toy things.
Only this isn’t a game to me. I’m legitimately torn between holding him close and running away. I think Dean gets that, gets me, and that’s why he’s not pushing me further than he already has. Convincing me to date him is already something of gargantuan magnitude, so maybe he recognizes my fear and is picking his battles.
