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Dixie
LEO?
I’m touching Leo? Leo is holding my hand right now. My Leo.
His eyes are coffee brown with laugh lines that make his rugged good looks warm and approachable. His hand is warm and strong. He’s tall and solid and more perfect than I ever imagined even in my wildest dreams.
What must he think of me? I’m sure he built me up in his head as a bombshell and now he must be realizing I wasn’t kidding about being plain and ordinary.
His hand squeezes mine instead of letting go. “You’re beautiful.”
Did I say any of that out loud? He can’t possibly think I’m beautiful, but he’s not looking away. It’s like we’ve got magnets in our eyes.
I hear a gasp from my cousin, but I can’t look away from Leo’s eyes to explain why this stranger is saying such a crazy thing to me, a woman he just met. A woman who doesn’t attract much attention from guys very often.
He steps further into my space. Looks at me like we are the only two people in the world. “Are you breathing, sweetheart?”
I am feeling a little lightheaded. “I don’t think so.”
“Maybe you should try a couple breaths.”
It is my Leo. His voice wraps around me, enfolding me in warmth the way it always does on the phone. My heart is hammering the inside of my ribcage like it’s trying to get to him.
“Is this really happening?”
I must be dreaming. He can’t be here. I’d nearly convinced myself I’d made him up.
Merrily clears her throat. “You two know each other?”
“You’re Jim’s captain?” I ask him, ignoring her question. “He talks about you all the time. He told me you’re the best man he knows.”
He touches my sleeve like he’s making sure I’m not a figment of his imagination. “You’re Merrily’s cousin? She said you were the only family she trusted to care for Emma. She told me...she told me her cousin is going to be an excellent mother someday.”
I choke on a sob and my heart flips. He knows how much that means to me. He’s so tender for someone so big and strong.
I hear Jim’s voice before he enters the kitchen. “Babe, where are you and Emma? The party is looking for the guests of honor—oh, hey, Cap came. I just lost money on that one.” He clears his throat. “Why is everyone staring at each other in here?”
“Leo and Dixie just met. I think,” Merrily says, crossing the kitchen in my peripheral vision. “I’m still trying to figure that out.”
“We know each other,” Leo says, not looking away from my eyes. “She’s the future mother of my children.”
We all gasp this time.
“Wait. Our Dixie is your internet girlfriend?” Jim starts laughing. “Holy shit. This is great. You guys have been living in the same town for years.”
That’s when I start hyperventilating. Jim and Leo get me into a chair and I’m handed a paper bag. I don’t know what I’m freaking out about the most. That Leo exists. That he’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen. That he lives in the same town. That we’re godparents to the same child. That he told Jim I was his internet girlfriend. That he just announced I’m the future mother of his children and we haven’t even been on a date. That he might possibly want to date me.
It’s all too much, so I breathe into the bag until everyone clears out of the kitchen and leaves us alone.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey.”
“You gonna put the bag down?”
I shake my head, bag firmly in place.
“Dixie...”
