Page 91 of Indiscretion

He shook his head and smiled but continued to talk to his mom.

Atop the shelves were three framed photos. One was Dawson in a cap and gown on what I guessed was his law school graduation day. The woman standing next to him was older, and at least a foot shorter, but the proud smile on her face told me it was his mother. Next to that was a photo of a man holding a small turtle. I could tell the picture was old, and it made me wonder if it was Sheldon and if perhaps the man was Dawson’s dad. The last of the framed photos was two teenagers, one of whom was definitely Dawson. I picked it up for a closer look. The devilish smile on his face was absolutely adorable. There was no doubt that the girls must’ve loved young Dawson Reed. He had broad shoulders, shaggy, I-don’t-give-a-shit-but-it-still-looks-great hair, a confident grin, and the same sculpted bone structure he had today. I didn’t want to think about how many girls had swooned over that face, or that this was probably the reason Dawson was so incredible in bed. So I forced that thought from my mind, and my gaze shifted to the girl standing next to him in the photo. She wore a denim bucket hat and squinted at the sun. If I wasn’t mistaken, I thought it might be the same girl in the photo Dawson kept in the office—theonephoto he had there. I set the frame back down and moved on to look at the two pieces of art he had hung in the room. By the time I was done, Dawson was hanging up.

“I’ll talk to you next week, Mom.” Quiet, then he lowered his voice. “Love you, too.” Dawson swiped the phone off and stood.

I smiled. “First,aww, I love that you stop what you’re doing to talk to your mother and that you tell her you love her before you hang up.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I pick up because if I don’t, she’ll send a search party over to make sure I’m still breathing. My mom and my little sister moved to Florida a few years ago. We used to have Sunday-night dinner every week, but now we talk on the phone on Sundays.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“She doesn’t ask much else of me.”

“Speaking of asking…” I turned to the bookshelf and pointed to the romance novel. “Idefinitelyhave questions.”

Dawson hung his head. “I don’t know why I didn’t throw that out yet.”

“Does that meanThe Cowboy Next Doorwasn’t a good read?”

“I wouldn’t know. Never read it.”

“Where did it come from?”

“Fucking Ben. Last year, he ordered it on Amazon and had it delivered here.”

“Why?”

“I went on two dates with this woman, and she was getting way too serious. Started talking about moving in together when her lease was up.”

“Oh my.”

He nodded. “Anyway, I took her out to dinner, and at the end of the night I told her I didn’t think we were right for each other. She lost it. Stood up and started screaming at me in the middle of the restaurant. The next day she sent me a long text saying I needed to get in touch with my feminine side, and she suggested I read that book. I made the mistake of showing the text to Ben. That book and a cowboy hat were delivered a few days later.” Dawson shook his head. “I should’ve known I was just giving him ammo he’d use against me for months.”

I laughed. “I love the relationship you have with him.”

“He’s like the annoying brother I never wanted. Half the time I want to kick his ass, and the other half he just drives me a little less nuts. But I’d be lost without him.”

I smiled and motioned to the top shelf. “Is this your mom?”

“It is.”

“She’s so tiny.”

“That’s my dad in the photo next to Mom, on the day we got Sheldon. I got my size from him. I must’ve heard about how I weighed nine pounds eight ounces when I was born and almost killed my mother a thousand times growing up. I still think she should blame the man she decided to have a kid with and not the kid.”

“Good point.” I laughed and gestured to the last pic, the one of him and the girl. “Is this you?”

Dawson’s face turned solemn. “Yeah. It’s me and Bailey.”

The name inked on his skin.

“She’s the one in the picture in your office, too, right?”

He nodded, but didn’t offer more. I’d asked if she was his sister when we were in the office, and he’d said no. Since he wasn’t volunteering information again now, I tried to gently poke around.

“Old girlfriend?”

Dawson shook his head. “You asked me about my longest relationship the other day. Bailey was my best friend. Though Ben might argue he’s always been my number one.”

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