Page 33 of Dancing in the Rain

“Okay, you may be famous in some circles. Some kind of rough, sporty circles.”

He laughed and the sound tugged at something deep down inside her. “Right.”

“Are those your own teeth?”

He flashed them at her. They were perfect and white. “Yes. My mother made sure I always wore a mouth guard.”

“Good for her.”

Their meals arrived and they busied themselves with napkins and cutlery. The waitress refilled water glasses and Drew lifted a slice of pizza onto a small plate and passed it to her. She took a bite and her eyes widened as she chewed. “Oh, my God, that is so good.”

“Right?”

Spicy sausage and a tangy tomato sauce, melty mozzarella all mingled in a delicious combination. “The crust is awesome,” she said, trying not to moan.

“Maybe you should have ordered your own pizza,” he teased.

“Maybe I should have. But the salad’s really good, too. Great dressing.”

“Now you know why it’s one of my favorite places.”

She definitely knew. And it said something about him because this wasn’t an ultra-snobby, expensive fine-dining place, nor was it a fast food chain or a trendy “see and be seen” kind of place, all of which would have told her something different about him. She liked that it was unpretentious with quality food at affordable prices and a charming atmosphere.

Hewas unpretentious and charming and, she was pretty sure, a quality person, despite her earlier doubts. Sara was right that Peyton was often a quick and accurate judge of character, and the more she got to know Drew, the more she liked him. Despite a definite lapse in judgment by answering the door naked.

He’d made her laugh, though. And shereallyliked that.

Okay, it was good that she liked this man because he was going to be in Chloe’s life. To what extent, she didn’t know. But he was Chloe’s father.

“So youarecoming tomorrow?” she asked quietly between bites of salad.

“Yeah,” he muttered, head dipping. “I’ll be there. Sorry for being such a dick.”

“I appreciate the apology. If not the language.”

He glanced up.

She grinned. “Hey, I can take it. I work with a lot of men. But Chloe…you might want to tone down the F bombs and such.”

“Ergh. I’ll try.”

“Though I’m pretty sure she’s heard them.” Peyton rolled her eyes. “Kids grow up so fast these days. Dear Lord, she talks about her friends having boyfriends.”

“Shut up.” Drew stared at her in horror. “Shedoesn’t have a boyfriend, does she?”

“No.” Peyton smiled. “But she’s really pretty.”

“I don’t give a fuck. She’s way too young for that.”

“And she’s starting to develop.”

Drew’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “Christ.”

“Am I scaring you away?”

“Hell, yeah.” He waved a hand. “Don’t worry. I can control my F bombs, as you put it. Just…Jesus.”

“And she’s grown a whole lot taller since the last time I saw her, which wasn’t that long ago.”

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