Page 48 of Somewhere You Belong

“So painting today, huh?” he asks, replacing his sunglasses on his face again.

“Yeah. Big plans. Although I actually have some experience with that, so at least I’m not afraid of messing it up too badly.”

“What room?”

“The master.”

Dallas grumbles. “I hate painting. My hand always ends up looking like The Claw.”

“FromLiar, Liar?”

He nods. “Yup. I bet Jim Carrey painted for hours so he could make his hand look like that.”

Laughing, I say, “It definitely takes a toll on your body if you do it for too long.”

He nods again but keeps his eyes forward. “What color are you thinking?”

“Bright yellow,” I answer without hesitation, curious to see what his reaction will be. Honestly, I’m not opposed to the color, but I have a feeling Dallas might have an opinion about the choice.

His lips turn up in disgust. “Yellow? Are you insa—” He stops himself and tries again. “I mean, why such a… vibrant color?”

“I think it’s cheery, will make even the grumpiest person feel happier.” My smile peeks through my words and Dallas catches it.

“You’re joking, aren’t you?”

Chuckling under my breath, I reply, “Yes. I just wanted to see how’d you react.”

“Well, if you didn’t read that correctly, it was utter disgust.”

“I mean, I don’t have anything against yellow, but I feel like a light gray is more neutral, and it entices buyers. You can decorate in pretty much any color scheme with gray walls.”

“I agree. That’s a smart choice. Especially tothisbuyer.” He points his thumb at his chest.

I squint at him, chuckling. “Subtle.”

We arrive at my car moments later, which just happens to be right next to his, a classic car that is enticingly sexy and something that I can totally see Dallas driving.

“Do you have anything else planned today?” I ask him without thinking. For a second, I wish I could take my question back, but Dallas doesn’t read too much into it.

“It’s Saturday, so I’ll be at the restaurant. Saturdays are always busy.”

“Right.”

“You should come by for dinner.”

“I’m not sure. It probably depends on how I feel after all the painting.”But does that mean he wants me to come by?

For a second, Dallas almost looks disappointed by my answer. “Makes sense.” His eyes dart out over the park, and then back to me. “Well, this was a surprise, Willow, but I’m glad you came by.”

“Me too. Astrid told me that you and Penn coach Bentley’s team, and I guess I just had to see it for myself.” With a shrug of my shoulders, I unlock my car with the key fob.

“So you weren’t just wandering around town then?”

Damn it.“Yes, and no. I also wanted to thank you for the scarecrow, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to do that and see you in action, doing something noble instead of just sneaking onto people’s property in the middle of the night and putting up polite signs.”

“It was actually the early hours of the morning,” he corrects me, grinning from ear to ear.

“Where did you get it by the way?”

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