Page 44 of The Sweet Spot

“You’re gonna have to hit me harder than that to make it hurt, red.” Laughter dances in his dark blue eyes, and he presses a hand to the small of my back, moving me through the gorgeous house I haven’t been in, in a few years.

“Hey,” I tease as we walk into the kitchen. “Meet me in the cage, and I’ll show you just how hard I can hit.”

“Noted.” He grabs two steaks from the counter and opens the back door. “I probably should have asked if you eat steaks.”

“I do eat steak. Can I help with anything?” I pull a bottle of wine from my bag and set it on the counter, then move across the room. “And don’t think you’ve gotten out of explaining what the hell Jace was doing here.”

He pulls a salad from the fridge and motions to the pantry. “Just pick a dressing. I’m going to grill the steak and potatoes.”

I pick two dressings out, not sure which he wants, then find two wine glasses and a bottle opener and follow Deacon outside. The view of the lake looks a little different from here than it did just a few weeks ago.

Holy. Hell.

Was it really just a few weeks?

I somehow feel like I’ve known him so much longer than that.

With a quiet hum deep in my throat, I watch him at the grill and enjoy the way his muscles move beneath his shirt. From a purely professional perspective, of course. I hand him a glass of wine and sit down at the table, crossing my legs and enjoying the lose flow of my sundress over my bare knees. “Okay, spill. What was Jace doing here?”

Deacon gets everything situated, then sits next to me at the table and sips his wine.

No man should look this good. It’s truly unfair.

“This needs to stay between us, okay?”

“Ooh, now I’m intrigued.” I lean in conspiratorially and smile when he cocks his head, waiting patiently for me to agree. “Yeah, yeah. Fine. My lips are sealed.”

When a filthy smile stretches across lips that spent an entire night worshipping my body, heat pools in my stomach. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Kane.”

“I’ll see what I can do, St. James.”

“Focus, Deacon. Why was Jace here, and are you expecting any more of my family to unexpectedly drop by anytime soon? Because I’d like to keep whatever this is between us for a while before the Kingston horde descends.”

“The Kingston horde?” he questions, and I take another sip of my favorite red wine.

“Trust me. It’s fitting,” I warn.

“Jace wants a job,” he finally fesses up.

“Shut. Up. Jace Kingston asked you for a job? Oh my God. Lindy is going to die.”

“Lindy?”

“Yes, Lindy. When she married your goalie the season before last, Jace gave her and Easton so much shit. And then he went and retired at the end of the season. She’s not gonna believe it when he comes back.”

“Cone of silence, Brynlee,” he warns, and I mime zipping my lips, but Deacon shakes his head and gets up to flip the steaks.

I think I kinda like that he already knows some of my fucked up family dynamic. Dating has never been an easy thing for me. The Kingston name comes with a ton of baggage, and I’m lucky enough to also be a St. James, which comes with its own unique challenges. Like finding a guy who isn’t trying to date me to meet my father, or fuck me to screw over my father, or isn’t so damn scared of my father that he won’t even ask me out in the first place.

It’s a bitch, if I’m being honest.

But sitting here with Deacon, I think it may have been worth wading through the others if they led me here.

While Deacon finishes grilling the steaks, I make myself at home in his kitchen and find the plates and utensils, then bring them and the salad outside and set the table. As he brings the steak and potatoes over, then gets the wine and refills our glasses, I decide, without a shadow of a doubt, this is the best first date I’ve ever had.

I mean... I guess technically our night on the beach was our first date.

But was it?

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