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“I don’t mind.” The littlish teasing twinkle in her eye flashed to something more wicked but it was gone in an instant as she straightened and gave us both a more laid-back smile. “I think it’s cute.”
Now I was the overly dramatic Dom as I groaned, making both of them laugh and give each other a conspiratorial grin.
It was a good start… and I hoped the rest of the evening would go just as well.
I was too old to cross my fingers, right?
Chapter 5
Harper
“Oh, the pictures of everything look so good.” Tabitha’s excited smile widened as she glanced over at another table and dropped her voice. “What they have looks good too. I’ve been wanting steak for days. I’ve been driving Ender nuts.”
I was guessing that Ender was her friend, but before I could ask, Gaylen chuckled, looking relieved. “We couldn’t decide if you wanted steak or if we’d been set up. I was imagining you freaking out because you were a vegan.”
Tabitha laughed as she shook her head. “No, Ender wouldn’t have lied. He’s so dramatic and nearly as grumpy as you, Gaylen, but he’s a good friend.”
That had to be him.
So we had a name and a relationship designation… and it looked like we wouldn’t have to date him too, no matter what Gaylen had kept imagining.
Things were looking up.
“I’m glad he can be trusted.” Gaylen’s eyes were filled with unasked questions even while he gave her a smile. “And I’m not that grumpy.”
As I snorted, she giggled and played along to humor him. “Of course not.”
She was so cute.
But the rules we’d established for the date said one of us needed to ask some questions so we could figure out more about the giggling Tabitha. Deciding that would be me, I tried to start with something I thought would be easy. “So he’s just a friend? We weren’t sure what your relationship was and Nicole, the woman in charge of the party, just called him your guardian.”
“Oh.” Distracted from the menu, Tabitha leaned back in her chair, thankfully not looking offended. “She had to put something on the form for him since we were signing up together and he was going to be the person in charge. He’s not my Daddy. He’s just bossy and good at taking control, so he got labeled my guardian.”
We probably looked like cartoon light bulbs were going off over our heads, so she shrugged. “They listed him that way so they’d know to call him about… stuff and they didn’t have another way to describe him since they hadn’t run into anyone like us before.”
Gesturing between us, she looked sheepish. “He says I need someone to watch over me, and um, he needs to point out the obvious sometimes?”
The almost questioning way she said it gave me a hint that I’d touched on something she was nervous about. I wasn’t sure if she was worried about what had happened or the miscommunication in general, but I tried to look relaxed as I nodded. “That was helpful to have someone to take care of you and explain things. I’m glad you have a good friend.”
And I was even more glad that they didn’t have anything romantic going on between them.
And that someone was looking out for the sweet girl who threw herself into her little side.
And that we didn’t have to date Ender… one grumpy Dom was all I needed in my life. Two would be stressful… and Ender was definitely a Dom of some sort.
My question seemed to have opened the door to one of hers because after another quick glance between us, she wiggled in her seat and pretended to study the menu again. “How did you guys… I mean, have you always…”
As her face scrunched up, frustration obvious, Gaylen stepped in before I could. “Have we always known we wanted a third?”
He said it so nonchalantly that she looked up and eagerly nodded, no longer worried once she knew we wouldn’t get offended. “Yes.”
I had a feeling there was a list of questions in her head, some probably dirtier than others. So before Gaylen could explain about our relationship, I reached over and rested my hand on hers, trying to make her feel supported but not trapped.
As I did my best to ignore how soft her skin was, I raised one eyebrow. “Tabitha?”
Nibbling on her lower lip, she turned and focused on me, her eyes bouncing between my hand and my face. “Yes, Harper?”
“You can ask us anything you want. We couldn’t think of any questions that we wouldn’t be willing to answer, so go ahead and ask whatever is on your mind.” Giving her a wink that made her grin again, I lowered my voice conspiratorially as I eased my hand back. “But fair warning, the grumpy Dom over there will actually answeranythingyou ask.”
