Page 102 of Love for a Lifetime

“She came by earlier and dropped off the chili,” Beau said without looking up from his bowl.

Mr. Lawrence shook his head, but the grin on his face said he was proud. “That girl is something else.”

Dawson often had trouble explaining his unwavering attraction to Olivia. Not because of her looks, but the way she compelled him toward her without a single word. She radiated kindness and love. Who wouldn’t want to be around that?

But Dawson couldn’t break free of that bond, and he hadn’t tried. He wanted to stay stuck in Olivia’s orbit his entire life.

“How are things going with you two?” Asa asked.

Jacob’s chin lifted, zeroing in on Dawson like he was about to spout off the answers to the questions on his next test.

“Awesome. Well, I’m sure it would be better if I’d seen her this week, but things are good.”

For someone with a lot of doubts hanging around like hungry buzzards, he sure could pull off the aloof act when pressured.

Dawson’s phone dinged in his chest pocket, and he pulled it out. A text from Lyric had the last few bites of chili threatening to revolt in his stomach.

Lyric: Warning. Liv is freaking out a little bit about the reel that went viral.

Dawson flipped over to the Instagram app to see thousands of unread messages and comments.

“Son of a tater tot,” he whispered as he spotted the number of views on the reel. He’d posted it earlier on a whim while he’d been missing Olivia like crazy.

“Oh, tater tots would go great with chili,” Jacob said.

“What’s wrong?” Asa asked.

Dawson typed out a quick message.

Dawson: Does she want me to delete it?

He switched back over to the Instagram app. The number of likes and views on the reel kept climbing. Dawson gripped the phone in his hand, willing it to slow down. “I posted a reel on Instagram this morning, and it’s taking on a mind of its own.”

Beau scoffed. “You take your shirt off again?”

A reply came in from Lyric.

Lyric: No. But I think she got a little freaked out after Anna called.

Dawson dropped the phone on the table and covered his face with his hands. “I messed up.”

“What’d ya do?” Jacob asked.

“I kinda implied that Olivia and I should get together.”

“And… that’s bad?” Jacob looked back and forth between his dad and Dawson.

“It’s not bad, but it’s not great because Olivia wasn’t ready to tell everyone we’re dating.”

Jacob tilted his head, clearly confused. “But you are dating. And we know. Why wouldn’t you tell everyone?”

Asa clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Grownups don’t always know what they’re doing.”

Jacob’s shoulders sank. “Aw man. I was hoping I’d know everything when I hit twenty.”

Asher had just taken a drink, and he covered his mouth to contain the spit as he choked on a laugh.

Dawson pointed his spoon at Jacob. “One thing I do know is that you do whatever your woman says to do. That also means I might have just made a big mess.”

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