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“You’re quiet.”
“Is that your way of saying that usually I talk too much?” She poked him in the bicep. A bicep covered in a dark green button-down shirt that made those sea-glass eyes a deeper, more enchanting shade. When he’d appeared at her front door in that shirt—the sleeves pulled up a bit again to tease her with that damn tattoo—a pair of black dress pants and black dress shoes, she nearly groaned aloud. She’d loved his outdoorsy adventure-guy look, but spiffy Dakota was quite the sight as well.
“You are far from a chatterbox, Miss Greenstead.” He arrowed a thumb to the back seat. “You’ve heard my sister back there, haven’t you? The original chatterbox right there.”
“I heard that!” She reached forward again, but Dakota grabbed her wrist before she could hit him.
“Wow. Quick reflexes,” Leah said.
“Years of practice fending off this one and the other one.” Dakota released Dena to make a right turn.
“The other one?” Carter asked.
“I’m a twin,” Dena said, “and if you make one noise indicating that you have a twin sexual fantasy, I’m getting out of this truck right now.”
Carter threw up his hands in a slow down gesture. “Easy there. I wouldn’t know what to do with two women at once.”
Dakota fisted his hands on the steering wheel, and Leah got the sense he didn’t like hearing a sex conversation that involved a guy he didn’t know that well and his sister… or sistersas it were.
“So have you been to this restaurant before?” she asked, hoping to steer the discussion in another direction for Dakota. And her. Safe topics. She should have made a list of safe topics before this double date.
“No,” Dakota said, his grip loosening on the wheel. “Jacy told me about it. She was trying to help me impress you.” He gave her a sexy half-grin that made her wish they were alone. “Am I?”
“Yes.” She squeezed his elbow. “But restaurant choice has nothing to do with it.”
That grin grew wider and it was possible she’d scored a blush out of him. It was too dark to tell, but his quiet pause told her what she’d said had gotten to him. He took his right hand off the wheel and put it palm up on the console, his fingers wiggling in invitation.
The pre-Maplehaven Leah wouldn’t have dared take his hand, but this man was chipping away at the walls around her.
Who am I kidding?
Dakota was plowing through those walls. Bricks tumbled down every time she was with him, every time she thought about him.
She slid her hand over his palm and interlaced her fingers with his, loving his strength, his warmth.
“Maybe I could design a video game character after you,” Carter said to Dena.
“Some scantily-clad, big-breasted, superhero type who somehow manages to kickass in high heels?” Dena asked.
“Umm…” Carter’s nervous gaze bored into Leah as he implored her for help.
“Because I’d totally be okay with that,” Dena said before Leah could think of something to say.
“You would?” Carter’s voice nearly squeaked like an adolescent’s.
“Sure. In everyday life, I help run a dusty sawmill in the middle of the woods. Not a ton of action in that. I’d love to be more exciting. Virtually speaking, of course.”
“Of course.” Carter settled in his seat, his arm draping casually along the back of the seat, slightly out of reach of Dena.
If Leah had to guess, his arm would be actually around Dena by the end of the night. Carter had his own brand of charm that had never worked on her, but it affected Dena.
Good.Maybe spending time with a beautiful woman would get Carter out of his funk.
“Dena, the Destroyer,” Carter announced in his WWE announcer voice. “How does that sound?”
“Accurate,” Dakota said.
“I swear, you will be bleeding by the end of the night, Dakota.” Dena kicked his seat.
