Page 18 of Saved By My Buyers

Natalie:

Wait, she’s pretty, isn’t she?

Riley:

Oooh. Does our girl have a crush?!

Playing with the hem of my shirt, I think about it. I’m definitely jealous of all the inside jokes Jack and Dahlia share, even though I’m aware it’s because of all the time they’ve spent together. I want to be that close with her.

She naturally melted into his arms, and I know Jack noticed when I practically growled at him. It’s silly. He’s a lot older than us, I shouldn’t be worried about that.

Oh shit, I definitely have a crush. I’ve been trying to come around to the idea, but I really like my stepsister. Scrolling through my phone, I find a photo of us from when we were dancing. Jack had a drink at the bar while he watched, but I never got a creepy old man vibe from him. The more I think about it, the more I realize how protective he is.

There were a lot of Daddy’s friends and coworkers over, and some of them are dirty old men, even if they are married. I don’t like any of them, nor do I feel comfortable. I’m kind of glad Jack walked us to the house whenever we needed to use the restroom.

Me:

You tell me? .

I smile as they all gush about how pretty we look together, how she seems nice, and then ask if I want to start dating her. They know she’s my stepsister, but it doesn’t even phase them. I freaking love my friends so much.

Me:

I think I do have a crush, but she doesn’t know I do. I’m going to watch movies with her today, but maybe Wednesday we can do Bounce Zone together? Please don’t make it weird.

Three thumbs up emojis follow my message from them, so I lock my phone and lift my box of goodies. Opening my door, I see Daddy lifting his hand to knock on it.

“Are you moving out and forgot to tell me? It’s a little early for that, don’t you think?” Daddy chuckles at his own joke as I shake my head with a smile.

“Dahlia has a headache, so I’m going to watch movies with her,” I explain, hefting up my box to show him. “I’m too young to move out, Daddy.”

Taking the box, he rolls his eyes at me. “Oh, you’ll be leaving me for college soon enough,” he teases me. “Do you think I should call the doctor? I didn’t see Dahlia much after the wedding.”

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “I’m going to need to investigate and get back to you on that.”

“Of course,” he says sagely with a wide grin as he walks with me to Dahlia’s room. “I’ll hold you to that. Have fun.”

Knocking on the door loudly, I notice the muffled scream on the other side as Daddy says, “I hope you feel better, Dahlia!”

Handing me the box back, he winks at me as if he’s keeping some sort of secret before walking away.

“What does your week look like?” I ask quickly before he disappears on me.

Turning as he walks, Daddy shrugs. “Lucia wants to go on a honeymoon, and I think it’ll be nice. I booked a trip to Greece for the next two weeks for the two of us. I have a ton of time off I never use, and you only live once.”

“Good for you,” I say, nodding. “If I haven’t said it yet, I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, pumpkin,” he says as he disappears around the corner.

“Dahlia, I’m coming in, I hope you’re ready to binge movies together,” I say, opening the door and peeking in.

She’s huddled under the covers, but her hair looks as if she detangled it and smoothed her curls out.

“Hey,” she says softly. “Did I hear your dad out there?”

She’s so silly. It would have been impossible for her not to have heard Daddy.

“Yes, he helped me bring my box of fun over,” I explain, stepping in and shutting the door behind me. Walking over, I plop my box onto the bed. “Oh, Daddy mentioned just now that he’s taking your mom on a honeymoon for a couple of weeks to Greece, so it’ll be just us in the house.”

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