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21
How didone dress for dinner with the family she hoped to eventually call her own? Faith scanned the options in her closet. Her work outfits were too stylish, and her other dresses were too formal. What about jeans? Or were they too casual? She wanted Hunter and Dylan to be comfortable with her but also to understand that they were having an important conversation.
Ugh, why is this so hard?
She snatched a pair of loose black pants from a hanger, held them against herself and looked in the mirror. Classier than jeans but more low-key than a dress. What should she pair them with? The canary-yellow blouse? Ick, no. She’d purchased the top on a whim, but yellow really wasn’t her color. How about the pale pink one that tied around the waist? Holding the two items together, she nodded. With a camisole beneath the blouse, and her matching pink polka-dot pumps, it would do nicely.
Decision made, she donned the new outfit and slipped her phone into a matching purse. She headed to the kitchen to collect the box of cupcakes Megan had left and a small carton of her trial-run PB&J ice cream. She stacked the goodies in her passenger seat and drove to Shane’s house. When she knocked, footsteps pounded on the other side of the door, and then Hunter pulled it open, grinning widely.
“Hi, Faith!” he exclaimed, spreading his arms wide.
Holding onto the cupcakes and ice cream with one arm, she bent and hugged him. “Hey, cutie pie. I brought treats.”
“Is it ice cream?”
She winked. “Always. Where’s your daddy?”
“In the kitchen.” Taking her hand, he led her into the house. She couldn’t help but notice that Dylan’s door was closed and he wasn’t in the living area. “We’re making burgers.”
“Oh, you’re helping, are you?” He was too precious.
“I’m doing the lettuce.”
Shane looked up as they entered, his gaze skimming her from head to toe so hotly she could have sworn her skin burned where it lingered. “You look nice.”
She grinned and checked him out in return. Dark jeans, button-down shirt, tweed vest. What was it about those vests that made her want to lick him?
“Hunter tells me we’re having burgers. I brought cupcakes and ice cream for dessert.”
“Great.” He flipped a burger patty in the frying pan. “There’s plenty of room in the freezer for the ice cream.”
She packed the ice cream away while Hunter resumed pulling apart lettuce leaves. “How can I help?”
“Actually, I think we’re about done here. Or we will be as soon as these patties are cooked. Could you ask Dylan to wash his hands and come to the table?”
“Sure thing.” This was something she’d done plenty of times before, so why was she so nervous?
Because Dylan has already told you he doesn’t want you dating his dad.
Yeah, there was that.
Pausing outside his door, she knocked softly. When he didn’t answer, she knocked again. “Dylan? Are you in there?”
“Yeah. Hang on,” he called back. Thirty seconds later, he emerged. “What is it?”
She could tell a scowl wanted to break through his expression, but he was fighting it. She celebrated the progress, even though it hurt to know he instinctively wanted to push her away.
“Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes. Can you clean up and come to the table?”
“Okay.” He headed to the bathroom without a backward glance.
She sighed. They’d taken a baby step forward but needed to make more progress. What could she do to make him like her as much as his father’s partner as he did as his babysitter? Because she had no doubt he knew that she and Shane were dating, and his behavior stemmed from either a resistance to change or wanting his parents to get back together. At some point, he’d come around, wouldn’t he?
God, she hoped so.
When she returned to the dining area, Shane had arranged dinner plates on the table, with burger ingredients spread out in the center.
“Assemble your own,” he said as he appeared from the kitchen with four glasses stacked together and a bottle of Coca-Cola under his arm.
