Page 69 of Wood You Knot

“Hi,” she said back, smiling at me shyly. She looked as if she had something on her mind.

“What’s going on?” I asked, concerned.

“Nothing,” she replied, and I gave her a look. “I was just thinking…”

“About what?” I asked, my curiosity growing.

“I know we only just started…seeing each other, so maybe it’s crazy but…my heart, and my head…I feel…” She furrowed her brow and squinched up her face as if trying to organize her thoughts. I ran my hands up and down her arms, trying to soothe her, my lips tilting in a grin.

I’d felt her interest in me before. She’d made it very apparent she was into me, but I hadn’t felt her walls come down until that moment when she’d looked at me across the table after Daphne told her joke.

Something had changed, and I could feel it in the air between us. I could hear it in the words she was struggling to get out.

“What are you trying to say, Sage?”

“I—I think I’m ready to make this official, if you still want that…” she trailed off, worrying her bottom lip as if she feared I’d changed my mind.

I grinned, tipping her chin up gently, my gaze locking on hers. “Of course, I still want that,” I assured her. “More than anything.”

“Good,” she murmured. She checked quickly to make sure nobody was around before standing on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to mine, her arms wrapping around my waist as she kissed me softly. I kissed her back with reverence.

After a couple of moments, she broke the kiss and rested her head against my chest. Nothing had ever felt more right.

“Does this make you my girlfriend now?” I asked, and she laughed lightly.

“Yes,” she replied with zero hesitation, her eyes shining.

“How about for our first official date as a couple, I take you and Daphne somewhere together?”

“Really?” Sage looked surprised at my suggestion.

I nodded earnestly. “Yes, really. I meant it when I told you before, I don’t mind spending time with Daphne too. There’s a lot of fun stuff we can do in town.”

“That sounds good. What are you thinking?”

“Maybe we’ll go out for dinner and to Lakeview Mini Golf?” She nodded like she liked the sound of that. “Okay, how about Friday night?”

* * *

Sage

As I tucked my daughter into her bed later that night, my mind whirled with how to broach the topic of dating Nix. I didn’t want to rush it, but I knew we had to have the chat before Nix took us out on Friday.

I’d said yes to officially being his girlfriend before I’d had the conversation with Daphne about it because I’d been so swept up in him, in the comfort and the anticipation of what he was offering.

He wanted to take the both of us out, together, and I knew it was heartfelt. As much as I didn’t want to compare him to my ex, even Warren hadn’t done that. He’d wanted to take me out on dates, sure, but never Daphne. He’d always been nice to her but also indifferent.

Nix wasn’t aloof around her. He interacted with her the same way he connected to his nieces—as if she was a human he enjoyed being around.

But that didn’t mean she would be into the suggestion. In fact, the very idea of me having another boyfriend might upset or confuse her, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Did you have fun tonight?” I asked, pulling the blankets up to her chin.

“Yes. Did you?”

“I did.” I smiled. “I enjoy hanging out with the Hutchinsons.”

“And Nix?” she said his name teasingly, as if I had a crush on him and she knew it. She wasn’t that far off, although I was pretty sure my crush had evolved into something so much more.

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