Page 57 of Wine Whiskey & Lipstick

“That’s not a bad idea.”

Selah punched in Thomas’s number, and his face popped up on the screen almost immediately. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey!” Selah rushed her words before Thomas said something embarrassing in front of Dillyn. “My friend would like to meet you. You got a sec?”

He shrugged. “Um . . . yeah. Of course.” Selah turned her phone toward Dillyn.

“Hey. I hear you are taking Selah out to dinner tonight?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He looked around Selah’s age and harmless enough, but Dillyn knew all too well looks could be deceiving. “I’ve got just one quick question?” Dillyn couldn’t help herself. “What brought you to Summer?”

“Work. I’m doing some construction on the new bridge just across the way.” Thomas flashed her an innocent smile. “I’msingle.I’m twenty-four. I was born and raised in New Jersey as a devout Catholic. I’m a Scarlet Knight, and I have no political affiliations.” He laughed. “Did that just about cover it?”

Dillyn laughed. “Children?”

“None but would like a few . . . way, way down the line.”

Dillyn couldn’t see anything wrong with him. “Okay, but just know that Selah is very, very special to a lot of people.” Dillyn turned thoughtful eyes toward her. “So have a good time. But just remember, Selah also hasthreekick-ass brothers who will hunt you down and murder you if anything untoward happens.”

Thomas’ smile fell away, and Selah rolled her eyes. “Okay. That’s good enough.” Selah turned her phone back toward her. “I think you passed the test with Dillyn. I’ll call you later after we finish running our errands.”

After she disconnected, Dillyn couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have the tracker on your phone turned on?”

“Tracker?” Selah laughed. “I don’t think I’ll need that. You just spoke to him. Thomas is a nice guy.”

“I’m sure you’re right. He seems like a nice guy, but I don’t trust very easily. I keep mine on just in case.”

“You do?”

“I sure do.”

Selah seemed to take her words to heart. “I’m not even sure if I have one on my phone.”

Dillyn smiled. “Everybody does. Can I see it?”

“Yeah, sure.” Selah handed Dillyn her phone after they pulled into the strip mall's parking lot.

Dillyn’s fingers moved lightning fast as she punched in numbers and brought up screens Selah had never seen.

Selah was in awe. “Wow, you must be good with computers and stuff. I have no idea what you just did.”

“I just adjusted a few codes. I’m sure everything on your date will be fine, but it never hurts to be cautious.” Dillyn wished she didn’t get paranoid when meeting new people. “Just press this if you’re ever in distress.”

“What is that?”

Dillyn shrugged. “If you can’t dial 9-1-1, you can still get emergency calls out if you hit that button. But if someone tries to take your phone, remove the SIM card. It’ll send out an emergency signal to the police and stuff that can’t be tracked or traced.”

“Oh.” Selah didn’t understand what all of that meant.

“It’s techie stuff, and know you can always call me.”

“I’m starting to think you’re worse than my brothers.”

“Maybe. I’ve just . . .” Dillyn stopped short of telling her why she was so paranoid. “Be careful, okay?”

Selah could tell from Dillyn’s expression that she’d experienced something traumatic. One day, Selah hoped she might be willing to share it with her. Selah’s face softened. “I will. I promise, and if it puts you a little more at ease, I have mace.”

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