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“Sure,” Dean said.
The massage went on for a few more minutes until Zack Ashford walked over.
“Giving free massages?” he asked. “You were holding out on me, Slater. Can I get in line?”
Dean shrugged. “Um. Sure?”
Half an hour later, Dean was still massaging people with his ridiculous karate chops, finger pokes, and even a new move he invented on the fly where he spread his fingers, bent them, then rolled them around people’s backs. The worst part was that every move he came up with had to have its own sound effect. No, scratch that. The worst part was nobody seemed to find it anywhere near as hilarious as I did. It left me sitting there, watching and trying desperately not to die with laughter each time he invented a new move.
I was coming to learn that everything Dean did in life just worked. If he didn’t know how to fix cars, it was fine. He could watch a few videos on the internet and become an expert. If he wanted to give a speech without a plan, he’d kill it. Give a dozen people massages without any experience at all? No problem, he’d figure it out on the fly and magically be amazing at it.
It probably should’ve been irritating, but it just seemed to hollow me out until I thought a stiff breeze would’ve whistled right through me.
I liked Dean. I really did. Like probably wasn’t even a strong enough word. Dean made me want to take the heart I’d been so carefully guarding and shove it into his hands while begging him to take it. I wanted to just be happy with him. I wanted it so badly it hurt, which was why it stung even more that he didn’t want to take it.
But as much as it stung, I needed to admit he was a better man than any of the guys before him. At least he wasn’t pretending he’d care for my heart. He wasn’t letting me hand it over and then tossing it away carelessly later. He had told me up front and openly that he wasn’t interested. I had to respect that and accept it. Even if it was hard.
Molly and Billy Ashford showed up during the massages and started mimicking the moves they saw Dean doing. Molly was finger punching Dean’s neck with karate sound effects and Billy was chopping his shoulders. Everyone in town seemed like they were falling in love right along with me.
Just a few more days. A few more days and he’d be out of my life. Maybe with a little distance and a little time, I could find a way to twist the things that happened here and tell myself it hadn’t actually been all that special.
I doubted it, but that wasn’t going to stop me from trying.
32
PEARL
Two days went by before I knew it. Dean had to travel out to Stone Tower to meet with Maxwell Pollard both days, which meant I hadn’t seen much of him. Being left to my own devices was better than the alternative. As much as I had come to enjoy spending time with Dean, it was bittersweet.
The only catch was I had to deal with his hyper puppy, Walter, while he was gone. I tried not to like the dog since I knew he’d be out of my life soon, but it was a losing battle. Between the puppy eyes, kisses and tail wags, I was falling fast for the little guy.
It was Wednesday, and the wedding was in three days. Lizzie had been mostly swept up in a torrent of wedding planning. Steph was binge watching some show she was currently obsessed with about dragons and politics. My parents were driving out to hike all the local trails, and most of my extended family was just getting by in their rooms, as far as I could tell.
The day was unusually warm for Winter, which meant it was about sixty degrees and sunny. I headed out in a light jacket and a dress, not really sure what I was going to get up to, but knowing I wanted to get out of the room.
I hadn’t even made it out of the lobby before I spotted Harper, Lin, and Farrah sitting at the sofa by the fire. They saw me and waved for me to come over.
“Sit!” Harper said. “The Spot is closed on Thursdays and Sundays to give us all a break. We were just talking about your sister’s wedding.”
“Oh yeah?” I said, taking a spot on the loveseat across from them.
“Yeah,” Farrah said. “We were wondering what the story is. Like why such a big wedding? Why is half the company you work for here? We heard a lot of them are staying over in Stone Village.”
“That’s what they call the places around the tower,” Lin said when she saw the look on my face.
