Page 59 of Dahlia Made A List

Our first dinner together since the radical shift in our relationship up at the yurt. At the drag strip, I’d had visions of him in my bed. Of his massive body taking over the feminine florals of my bedspread as he laid me down and made love to me again. The promise of pleasure in his touch, the way he made my body sing, rousing feelings I’d only read about.

Now, I didn’t know what to think.

Becca,ofthesagecleansings and peyote adventures, drove me out for the Shameless Readers meeting Tuesday night. I’d spoken to Wyatt during my lunch break, but he hadn’t mentioned driving me and I couldn’t bring myself to ask him for a ride.

Which was fine. Everything was fine.

Becca winked at me when she caught me staring out the front windshield. “Once I pay for my new kitchen, I’m thinking of joining you gals for your book club. Y’all read shifter books?”

I pushed a smile to my lips. “I think we’re reading one next, actually.”

“You don’t say?” She turned down the long drive to Minerva’s place. “I figure I’ll have enough saved up by fall. Save a seat for me around then, okay, sugar?”

“I’ll sure do my best, Becca.”

A few minutes later, I wandered into the living room where Minerva and a few others sat, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.

Vida waved me over to a seat near her. She held a pilsner glass of amber liquid and the image of Brandon begging for his stupid glass the day I kicked him out flashed through my brain.

“Dahlia, I want to hear all about the yurt.” She twisted on the sofa to face me. “Another item checked off on your list, huh? Did you have a blast up there?”

I nodded, shoving thoughts of Brandon to the back of my head. “I did! And I saw the meteor shower, too, just like you said.”

“Oh, was it beautiful?” She elbowed me in the side. “Any naked men running around?”

“I heard you had company, Dahlia,” Minerva said.

Heat flushed up from my neck into my cheeks.

“Oh, now there’s a guilty look if ever I saw one.” Vida nudged me again. “Fess up!”

Maia and Cillian walked in then, drawing everyone’s attention and my shoulders fell with relief.

The volume in the room jumped with the new arrivals and the long-absent buzzing undercurrent in my brain resurfaced. Beside me, Vida asked another question, but I couldn’t focus enough to process her question, so I just smiled and motioned toward Maia.

Chapter Twenty-One

Wyatt

Thebackdoorclosedbehind me with a quiet swish as I entered Grams’s kitchen and crossed to the archway leading into the living room where my grandmother hosted her book club. My pulse jumped when I spotted the back of Dahlia’s head. Her long pink, gold and peach hair spilling over her shoulders as she nodded toward one of the men in the group.

She’d called for a Rideshare rather than ask me for a ride. I should be glad. Should be putting whatever distance I could between the two of us. But instead I bounced between feeling like her protector and her cheerleader. I wanted to take care of her, if she’d let me, and I’d never felt such an urge in my life.

I turned away from the group in the living room and rifled through the fridge for the makings for a sandwich. Footsteps on the wood floor had me darting a look over my shoulder to find Grams heading toward the sink. She set several glasses inside, then leaned her hip on the counter.

I slathered a slice of bread with mayo and horseradish and slapped it on top of the prepared roast beef.

“Dahlia not feeding you these days?”

My shoulders stiffened. Snatching the chips from the counter, I carried my meal to the long farm table. “We need to talk about the deed, Grams.”

She ignored me, but settled down in the chair catty-corner to mine. “Dahlia updated us on her list tonight. She’s got six out of ten.”

“What’s left?”

“Number Two,Learn to Garden. Number Four,Adopt a Cat and a Dog. Number Eight,Host a Dinner Party.” Grams tapped her fingers on the table. “She’s postponed her driving test, but she is driving, so we’re counting Number Nine as done. Number Eight we’re scheduling out here.”

The tightness in my shoulders moved to my chest. “You’re missing one. Should be four things left.”

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