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“Enjoy,” Jacy said, “even though you’re withhim.”
They slid out of the booth before Leah could reply.
“I’m sorry about them.” Dakota rubbed his temples. “They can be a bit… much.”
“They were hysterical.” Leah’s smile made his heart pump a little extra. “But I never told them my name. Might you have talked about me with them?”
“Oh… ah… umm…” He looked over as Kyle was heading to their table with their pizza. “Here’s our food.”
“Saved by pizza.” She grinned. “For now anyway.”
He picked up a napkin and pretended to mop his brow with it. “I should go over to their table and ruin their date.” He peeked up at Leah. “Is this date ruined?”
Her eyes darkened as her grin grew wider. “Not even a little bit.”
Chapter Six
Seeing Dakota interact with his sisters both amused Leah and… crushed her. She’d tried her best to keep a smile on her face—which wasn’t super hard considering how funny his sisters were with their teasing—but a part of her heart broke watching them be a family. She’d had that once. A family. People who cared about her. People who loved her. She’d been so looking forward to making her own family too.
But the universe doesn’t always give you what you want.
She chewed on her pizza and gave herself a mental shake. This was not the time to be conjuring up memories or feeling sorry for herself. Not when a gorgeous man sat across from her. A gorgeous man who was clearly interested in her. A gorgeous man who possibly deserved a shot.
“So do you miss the bustle of New York City?” Dakota asked, sitting back as if taking a break from pizza consumption. He’d eaten two pieces for each one Leah had eaten. She assumed it took quite a bit of fuel to power a body like his. One that looked like that of an Olympic athlete. He wore a gray thermal T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans in a way that whispered,Hey, take a look at this. The view beneath these clothes is even more impressive.
She completely believed that whisper.
“I thought I would miss the city,” she said, tearing herself away from thoughts of those muscles waiting beneath his clothes, “but I’ve been busy with teaching and it’s so beautiful here that I haven’t. Something about Maplehaven feels… right.”
Leah had felt that way the moment her SUV had rolled into the mountain-bordered town. Those green peaks had a protective quality about them that she needed. Her chest had loosened, her shoulders had lowered, and she’d taken in a deep breath—her first deep breath in a long time—when she’d pulled into the driveway of the cottage she’d bought there.
“Exactly,” Dakota said. “That’s why I can’t live anywhere else. Nowhere feels quite like Maplehaven.”
“Maybe you are right about magic,” she said, “and not just trolls and unicorns. Maybe this place is the real deal.”
“What made you choose Maplehaven?” He tipped his beer bottle to his lips. “It’s an out-of-the-way spot.”
“That’s what I was looking for.” Some place where she could hide. “I’d visited Vermont as a child a few times, so I opened up a Vermont map. A real paper one.”
“Rustic. I like it.”
“Yeah. I like my cell phone and all, but sometimes old-school is the way to go.” She fiddled with her napkin, not sure how much she was capable of sharing with him. Her decision to move had come out of a deep depression, one she’d never thought she’d conquer. Sitting with Dakota, however, was pushing her to fight for the life she wanted. “I closed my eyes and ran my index finger along the map of Vermont in crazy zigzags until I felt compelled to stop.”
“And you landed on Maplehaven.”
“Yup.”
“And you packed up everything and moved here?”
“I did.” There had been some steps in between, but that was the gist of it.
“Wow.” Dakota’s eyes widened. Was he impressed with her courage or wary of her lunacy? “You’re glad you moved here though?”
“Yeah. I am.” She looked down at her pizza slice. “Especially when the pizza is so good.”
“And the company?” His brow arched hopefully.
