Page 10 of After Midnight

“I’m a comedian,” he replied, and she sighed. Dillon gave me an incredulous look and I shrugged, trying to hide my amusement at my sister’s antics.

“Show business isn’t reliable. Do you have another job? A real one?”

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. Olivia was giving him the third degree but I also saw a glint in her eye. The girl had been watching way too many movies lately.

When Dillon visibly squirmed, I decided to give the poor guy a break. “Okay, little sister, that’s enough interrogating for one night. We aren’t dating, so you don’t have to give him so much grief.”

Olivia harrumphed and all but stomped toward the living room, Alli following silently behind.

As first introductions went, that wasn’t so bad. Better than with Miss Rita anyway.

We all settled onto the oversized couch, with the girls to my left and Dillon on my right, and I grabbed the communal popcorn bowl and hit play on the remote. When Dillon scooted closer to snag some popcorn, I felt his thigh press against mine and stay there. His gaze remained fixed on the screen but out of the corner of my eye, I saw him biting back a smile when I pressed back. That’s about all the physical flirting I’d dare in front of the girls, at least with a man not my boyfriend, but damned if that tiny gesture didn’t send my pulse racing.

Friday nights were our movie nights, a tradition my fathers started when I was little that I’d been determined to carry on. The girls went to bed by seven on school nights, and I didn’t usually get home from work until nine or later. The chance to stay up so late on Fridays added something special to the event.

Margarette never understood or liked family movie night, so she tended to avoid themandus, which was a relief. It wouldn’t be the same with the witch hovering over us on her broomstick. The image brought a smile back to my lips. We should watchThe Wizard of Ozin her honor next time. Not that I’d ever joke about such things with the girls, though. I was hyper-aware of not letting my disdain for our stepmother influence their relationships with her, even when it felt nearly impossible sometimes.

Dillon laughed throughout the first part of the movie. He and the girls barely seemed to notice when I popped to the kitchen for a popcorn refill. When I returned, both girls were flanking him on the couch, their eyes glued to the TV.

The sight of Dillon, a man I barely knew, being so kind to my sisters sent warmth flowing through me. Had we been anywhere else, I would’ve leaned over the back of the couch to kiss him. Ignoring the impulse, I slid the refilled popcorn bowl onto thecoffee table in front of them and took a seat on the other side of Alli.

I became so intent on watching them, I completely forgot to tease the girls about the movie like usual. By the time the credits rolled, Olivia and Alli were peppering Dillon with a million questions. It warmed my heart to see them so relaxed around him.

“Did you like it?” Olivia asked, apparently not having noticed how much he’d laughed throughout.

“Yes! Especially the part when the guy kept saying, ‘Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.’”

All three of them repeated the famous line in unison, and I couldn’t resist rolling my eyes.

Alli, who normally remained quiet around strangers, began to act out the scene. She claimed the role of Inigo Montoya, while Dillon played Rugen, the six-fingered man. As Alli pretended to stab Dillon, both fully in character now, she said, “I want my father back, you son of…”

“Whoa, okay there, Inigo. That’s enough,” I interrupted before she uttered the curse word, and all three burst out laughing again. “Show’s over. Time for bed.”

“Seriously? I’m eleven. I’m too old to be sent to bed like I’m still…” Olivia looked over at her sister and sneered when she whispered, “eight.”

“Your bedtime is the same as it’s been for years. Goading your sister into an argument isn’t going to change that. Now, you’ve both got five minutes to brush your teeth and change into pajamasifyou want me to read the book.”

Both girls squealed and rushed upstairs, leaving Dillon staring at me in surprise.

“Big brother sure has their number. What’sthebook?” he asked, following me to the kitchen with the empty popcorn bowl.

I smiled broadly. “You wouldn’t get it,” I replied.

He cocked an eyebrow, lightly placing his hand on my arm when we reached the sink, and said, “Try me.”

My breath hitched at the contact, but I quickly distracted myself with rinsing and drying out the popcorn bowl. “We’re reading the Eragon series,” I said.

“For real, like the movie?”

“Yep, but there are a lot more books than there were movies,” I said while heading for the stairs.Please follow me,I thought.

“And the girls like that?” he asked, sounding perplexed.

“Love it,” I said over my shoulder. “So, you coming?”

“Count me in. It’s not every day that a handsome man treats me to a funny retro movieandan epic bedtime story.”

The compliment made my heart skip as I quietly acknowledged this being the first time I’d liked or trusted a guy enough to let him join me for the evening routine with my sisters. A time that I held sacred. I didn’t have time to analyze it, though, as we hustled up the stairs. Olivia and Alli had little patience to wait long for their bedtime story, and I wasn’t about to risk letting sisterly crabbiness ruin the best date I’d ever had.

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