Page 112 of Somewhere You Belong

His eyes bounce back and forth between mine. “I think I’m headed in that direction.”

I run my nails through his beard. “You have an amazing life here, Dallas.”

“You could too, Willow,” he says, his voice low. But before I can respond, he clears his throat and pulls me closer to him by my hip. “I meant what I said earlier about having dinner with my family. I want you there.”

My heart starts beating faster. “Dallas, I…”

“I know you’re leaving, but my mom was asking about you after the games, and I’d like you to meet Parker and Hazel. Plus, my mother’s cooking is top-notch.”

His mom was asking about me?

And he still thinks that I want to leave?

My stomach instantly drops.

“I’ve never had dinner with a man’s family before, Dallas.”

His brow pinches together. “Never?”

“No.”

“Then it’s settled. Next Sunday, after Penn and I finish replacing your roof this week, you’re coming with me to family dinner. It will be the perfect way to celebrate.”

God, he makes it sound like that’s a good thing when we both know once the house is done, decisions have to be made—decisions it feels like we’re both avoiding discussing. And my reasons for avoiding them are going to slap me right in the face when I eat a meal with his family.

“Are you sure?” My heart feels like it’s about to jump out of my chest.

He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Chapter nineteen

Willow

“How’s it coming along?” I shade my eyes from the sun and peer up at the roof of the house, where Dallas and Penn are standing shirtless in blue jeans with tool belts around their waists.

Damn. What a sight.

“It’s going,” Dallas calls back to me. “We’re going to finish this section and then come down for a break.”

“You guys hungry? I can make some lunch.”

“That’d be great, Goose. Thanks.”

Fighting back my smile, I make my way into the house and straight for the kitchen to whip up sandwiches for the three of us.

This is the second day they’ve been working on the roof, and the two of them are hell-bent on finishing it today so the painters can come tomorrow and they won’t be in their way. Which means, after tomorrow, the house will be done.

Between that realization and the impending dinner with Dallas’s family on Sunday, I’ve been anxious all week.

I know what I want and I’m pretty sure that Dallas feels the same, but the truth is, I have no idea how he’s going to react to the connection with his dad. My worst fear is that he won’t be able to look past the fact that I kept something like this from him, even though I was asked to.

And facing that person again in a few days is another reason why I’m restless and having trouble sleeping. Thank God Dallas likes to fuck me almost every night, stealing energy from my body long enough for me to at least get a few hours of rest. But then by two in the morning, I’m awake and ruminating on the impending changes of my life.

As I pull six slices of bread from the loaf, a knock on the front door startles me. I make my way over to the door and am immediately thrown off guard when I open it.

“Oh. Hi, Pam.” The realtor from Cove Real Estate is standing there, along with a couple that I don’t recognize. But the woman has the most beautiful long red hair I’ve ever seen, and the man with her is tall and holding her like she’s his most prized possession.

“Hello, Willow. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”

---