Page 34 of My Secret to Protect

I Always Leave Room for Dessert, Pix

Bree

Theknockonmydoor alerts me to Arlo’s arrival, and I inhale deeply. I should be embarrassed by the butterflies. I should be embarrassed by how quickly I went from suspecting his showing up here was suspicious to feeling like I wanted to be next to him the whole time, but the truth is, being around Arlo again makes me feel safe. Something about him makes me feel protected, and I almost forget Nolan Joseph exists when Arlo Harper is smiling at me in that playful way he does.

In the past, he couldn’t be seen coming to pick me up, so we would meet in secret, then he would lift me, and I’d wrap my body around his, so happy to have him to myself. Now, I pull the door open and stand awkwardly as he blows out a breath the second he looks at me and takes a slight step backward as his eyes travel the short length of my body, and I see him swallow.

When we first started dating—if that’s what you could call it. Really we neverdated. We were justtogether, serious from the start—he told me how my legs swinging out of my car stopped him in his tracks. I wore shorts every day that summer, and every day, he told me how he loved my legs in shorts. Then, one Saturday, when he had the day off from watching Grandma’s house, we met up at the 7-Eleven so he could take me out to a spot he loved for swimming and sunbathing. I wore a sundress, and the man almost combusted. He couldn’t get enough of me that day, and every day that I pulled on a sundress after that one, I remember the way he looked at me, the way he swallowed as though his mouth was watering.

‘That’s a pretty dress, Bree,’ he comments, and I grip the hem, hitching it up the tiniest bit as I look down. Despite my tiredness, the urge to flirt with him, the need to keep his eyes on me, is strong. It makes me feel almost normal, like I can have a normal life and show Nolan that I’m not his all at the same time.

‘You like it?’ My eyes raise to meet his as he nods, yes, holding my gaze with his, and I smile. ‘Shall we go then?’

I’m taller next to him tonight. I put on wedge-heeled sandals and closed the gap a little between his six-foot-something and my five-foot-nothing.

God, he smells amazing, and he looks so damn good. He just has on a black T-shirt and jeans, and I laugh without meaning to. He told me to dress for a date, and he’s dressed like he’s about to take an engine apart.

‘What?’ he questions, and I shake my head.

‘Nothing, just, we’re going on a date.’ I can’t help my smile as I feel his eyes on me, but I keep my focus on the diner, which thankfully, is a very short walk from my place.

Arlo pushes open the door and lets me inside, and I head for a booth.

‘Evenin’,’ Merv says, and I suck in a breath. He wasn’t supposed to be working.

‘Merv, what are you doing here tonight?’ I ask as he eyes me and Arlo. ‘Oh, um, this is Arlo. He’s my new neighbor,’ I introduce, and Arlo holds out his hand.

‘And her date.’ He grins, and my stomach turns as he shakes a smiling Merv’s hand.

‘Merv is engaged to my mom,’ I explain, and Arlo smiles.

‘Oh, okay, well nice to meet you, Merv.’

‘You too, son.’ Merv steps back, ‘holler when you’re ready.’

My stepfather winks at me and heads into the kitchen, and I know he’s about to call my mom and tell her I’m on a date. I cringe internally, wondering how I’ll explain to my mom that I was seeing somebody from the club my dad used to be a part of when I was only seventeen. Then I shake it off, remembering she was that age when she got pregnant, so she can’t say a damn thing about it.

‘Hey.’ Arlo nudges my foot with his under the table, and I raise my gaze to meet his, realizing mine had dropped to the floor at the side of the booth. ‘You good?’

Nodding, I offer a small, somewhat nervous smile.

‘I’m good. So, what are you going for?’ I reach out and tap the menu on the table in front of him.

‘Don’t know. What’s good here?’

‘Everything.’ I smile widely. ‘Merv is a genius when it comes to creating this menu. Make sure you leave room for dessert, though.’

Arlo chuckles. ‘I always leave room for dessert, pix.’

I see the naughty grin on his face as his eyes focus on the menu, and I know he isn’t talking about ice cream. I should flirt. I should take the innuendo and run with it. I want to. God, do I want to, but imagining him with other women while we were apart just hurts. It shouldn’t hurt after so long, but it does, and that is stupid. I’ve been with a lot of men, and he barely crossed my mind while I was getting mine, so I shouldn’t care about where he got his.

‘Tell me about you,’ I say to change the subject, and his ice-blue eyes lift to meet mine, but they give nothing away. ‘I don’t know much about you. You showed up here out of nowhere after so long.’Please, tell me what I missed.

‘Not much to tell, sugar. I’m single. I own an auto shop in the city. That’s about it. That’s my story.’

‘That’s your circumstances. What’s your story, Arlo?’

He inhales deeply and blows it out, then presses his lips together, and I swallow the lump in my throat. ‘I served eight years behind bars and thought that meant the end of any prospects for me, but a friend helped me get on my feet, gave me a place to stay when I got out, invested in me and my future financially, helped me set up my business, and I’ll never be able to repay her kindness, but I’m trying anyway.’

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