Page 118 of Recipe for Rivals

“What?” Dusty asked, his grin crinkling the lines next to his eyes. “What kind of burn was that?”

“I don’t know.” I grinned back. “I know nothing about the team except that Gigi hates them.”

“Apparently. This town is divided, but facts don’t lie, and our win-loss percentage?—”

“I don’t really care about football right now.”

He seemed to sense the shift in my mood. “Me either.”

We looked at each other, listening to the distant buzz of cicadas in the otherwise quiet town. So much had happened tonight, but the one constant in all of it was Dusty and his purity. He was a good man. He slid down from the tailgate and faced me in a fluid motion, stopping my legs from swinging by standing in front of them. “In fact,” he said, cupping my face with both hands, “I don’t think I’ve ever cared about football less.”

Clutching his shirt, I tugged him closer until he was flush with the tailgate, my legs wrapping around his waist. “Yeah? Well, I can one-up you. I’ve never cared about football at all.”

He cringed. “Oh, straight to the heart.”

“But I’m growing to appreciate flag football. My kid’s coach is kind of hot.”

He leaned so close, his breath tickled my skin while he talked. “Do I need to fight Jake now?”

“Assistant coach, then? What are you?”

“Something like that.” His hand slid to my waist, pulling me closer, while his lips brushed the edge of my jaw. “But, again, I don’t care about sports right now.”

“You care about me,” I said quietly, the words heavy. He grew still. “I noticed your missing kitchen table.”

Dusty straightened. He didn’t remove his hands, but his face leveled me with a look so full of longing it struck me. “I care about you a lot, Nova. Probably more than I have a right to, honestly. You, Ben, and Alice are important. I’m sure it’s been obvious for a while now, but I’ve been drawn to you since the moment I saw you in the ice cream aisle. What really clinched it for me was watching you with your kids and the Hot Wheels mess. You are incredible. Ben and Alice are incredible. I’m a lucky man since you’re even willing to give me a shot.”

My eyes grew misty, my chest warm and fuzzy. Everything disappeared around us except for me and this man. “You’re not real.”

“I can show you exactly how real I am.” Dusty didn’t hesitate. He pulled me close, his lips crashing over mine with a wave of heat that could melt Alaska. Time stopped, the world ringing in silence. I felt nothing but his hands roaming my back and my waist, his heart thundering under my palm, the warm, rough skin of his neck as I slid a hand up his jaw.

Dusty’s kiss brought a rush of butterflies swarming through my body, giving me a deep need to be closer to him.

Maybe I didn’t know what the future had in store for me, but I did know with a sudden clarity that it would be in Arcadia Creek, and it would probably be with this man.

His hands cupped my cheeks, his lips layering tender kisses on mine that made my breath catch.

“We don’t have to define anything yet,” he said breathlessly, “but you know you’re probably going to marry me someday, right?”

My lips curved into a smile I felt him mirror. I didn’t bother answering with words. I just showed him exactly how in sync we were.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

NOVA

Like I’d predicted,when I called Carter the next morning to plan a time to meet up, he was already back in New York. The self-centered coward had driven straight back to Dallas and taken the first flight home. He didn’t get what he’d come for, and I thought I’d probably frightened him away by letting on that I suspected he’d swindled me in the divorce settlement.

It was bittersweet, but I didn’t need his money to give my kids a satisfying life. We still didn’t have a TV, and we were doing just fine.

The reality that he prioritized himself over his children still hit me like a slap in the face. It wasn’t new information, but the fresh reminder stung. It also made it easy for me to delete the screenshot of his Instagram story and remove the photo from his contact information. I didn’t replace it with something nasty like cicadas or a devil emoji, despite how badly I wanted to. My kids would be answering his calls and seeing that photo, and I wanted to remain neutral when it came to their relationship with him. If things went well with Dusty, they’d be forging healthy father-figure relationships anyway.

Hopefully, someday, Carter would learn to step up for their sakes and not his own selfish gain.

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my sherpa pullover as I walked to Gigi’s house to pick up my kids. The slight chill in the air would burn off the second the sun reached a prime spot, and I was coming to like springtime in Texas. It wasn’t nearly as cold as we were used to.

My phone rang, and my heart gave a leap when I saw Dusty’s name cross the screen. “Hello?”

“Hey, there,” he said easily. “Just checking in.”

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