Page 38 of Heartfelt Goals

“Oh?”

“Yup. He said he was going to make a coral reef out of ‘Coeur’s beloved Battleship’ if I kept letting Coeur get away with murder – which I wasn’t,” he stressed firmly before sighing. “I’m not worried about Acton. He’s always had an attitude and is struggling to fit in.”

“You should give him a big ol’ hug,” Kendall volunteered sweetly – to which Dustin made the same expression, fighting back a smile.

“No, because I like my smile.”

“I do, too,” Laurel blurted out and then hesitated. “No one wants you hurt.”

“I knew what you meant.”

“Uh, we all knew what you meant, sis. Let me tell you, you are transparent, dear sister… and Dump Truck? Your dating skills are subpar.”

“You’re twelve,” Dustin chimed in, frowning. “What do you know about dating skills?”

“I’ve watched movies and read her books.”

“That’s not dating.”

“You’re right. It’s sheer fantasy because no one acts or talks like that bunch of garbage,” Kendall paused as Laurel groaned, putting her head in her hand in defeat. “It’s good enough to keepme hooked and tell me what not to do when I’m dating – that and you two.”

Dustin and Laurel looked at each other.

“That right there,” Kendall said in disgust. “Y’all are a pair of dorks.”

“Gee. This is a fun family dinner,” he retorted dryly.

“Isn’t it, though?” her sister replied in the same dry tone, and thankfully, Dustin didn’t egg her on or answer this time. Instead, he turned to Laurel and nodded.

“How did the shopping go?”

“Oh, it went well. We picked up some jeans for Kendall and a few uniforms for school; all her supplies and your mats arrived at the house as I was leaving. It’s been a busy day.”

“How was school, Kendall?” Dustin asked politely. Laurel was watching his profile, drinking in his kind expression while at the same time bracing herself for what Kendall’s response would be to the man she obviously disliked and blamed for moving here.

“It was fine,” Kendall answered, not looking up. “Can I get a burger?”

“You can have whatever you want for dinner.”

“Cool.”

Dustin and Laurel shared a confused look as she widened her eyes and he shrugged, shaking his head, before looking at his menu once more. It was less than a minute later that she felt him touch her hand for a moment under the table before he pulled back.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“Where’s the waiter?” he asked distractedly, looking around as Laurel stared at him in surprise – and Kendall chuckled.

“Again – dorks.”

“Stop,” Laurel hissed at her sister, feeling embarrassed at Dustin’s obvious discomfort at them simply touching hands. Her confidence was eroding away at the idea that he really didn’t like her – at least not in the way that she yearned for him.

Craved.

As the waiter arrived at the table, he listened to them order and the small talk across the table. Nothing major, earthshattering, or hostile – just a simple chat between two people, and it was nice. If things were slowly changing between the three of them, maybe she could hold onto hope a little bit longer.

9

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