Page 110 of Simon Says

“Easy on him?” Dakota crossed her arms on the small round table. “Is that supposed to mean something?”

“Yeah.” He winked. “But don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll worry about it if I want to. Since I walked into here tonight, I’ve understood about a tenth of what you’ve said. What’s going on with you?”

Rather than answer that, Barber narrowed his eyes. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

She straightened so fast that she nearly knocked over the table. “What are you talking about now?”Love?He had to be kidding—only he didn’t say it like a joke.

Barber’s expression softened. “You shouldn’t be so afraid of the idea, hon.”

“I’m not.” But her heart started punching and her lungs felt restricted. Dakota shook her head in denial. “I haven’t known Simon—you are talking about Simon, right?”

A surprised laugh escaped him. “Yeah, I’m talking about Simon.”

She shook her head hard. “I haven’t known him that long.”

“So? It is what it is.”

“That’s just it. What is it?”

“You really don’t know?”

It was hard to explain, but this was Barber, her best friend. So she gave it a shot. “I’ve never really felt like this before, so I don’t know what to call it.” She lifted a hand, feeling helpless. “I’d rather not call it anything.”

“You’d rather just enjoy it while it lasts?”

Ifit lasted. She and Simon hadn’t met under ideal circumstances, and she was worried that once he knew all about her, his interest in her would disappear. “Something like that.”

Barber took both her hands in his. “I know you well enough to see it, Dakota. Take my word for it, Simon is the one.”

He sounded pretty sure of that. “What if Simon doesn’t feel the same? What if he’s just looking to entertain himself for a little while?”

“I hate to break it to you, hon, but you aren’t the entertaining sort. You make a man work for it.”

Affronted, Dakota scowled at him. “What does that mean?” Okay, so she knew she wasn’t the typical female, but Barber made her sound like a real pain in the tush.

“It means you’re special.” His gaze warmed as he looked at her. “Very special. Remember that more than anything, I want you to be happy.”

Enough was enough. “You’re talking all screwy, Barber. If you have something to say to me, just spit it out.”

His thumbs rubbed the backs of her hands. “I’m saying that I care a lot about you. I think I know you better than anyone else does, including Simon. And you deserve to be happy.”

“What brought this on?”

“Deep introspection and the realization that I dragged my feet too long.”

Jerking her hands away from him, Dakota pushed away from the table. “All right.” She crossed her arms. “Enough with the cryptic remarks.”

He laughed. “Not cryptic at all.” He stood, too. “I’ll meet you tomorrow at the gym bright and early. In fact, didn’t Simon tell me that you’re staying at Roger’s motel now?”

“That’s right. Usually I rent the cheapest room around, but after everything that happened, we both thought it’d be a good idea for me to stay at a better place. Not that Roger’s motel is ritzy. Far from it. But it is in a better part of town.”

“I know. I’m staying there, too.”

“You are?” Cautiously, because his mood was so different, Dakota said, “Maybe we could just ride together to the gym tomorrow morning.”

“With us both knowing what Marvin is capable of, I think that’s a great idea.”

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