Page 17 of More Than a Blind Date

He ends the text with a winking emoji.

Dallas:Come over any time. I have a quick errand to run, but the door is unlocked. Make yourself at home.

Dots dance on the screen, and I wait for another message.

He sends a pin, so that I can easily find his place.

I send him a heart, then lug my boxes inside. Mom’s texts have gone unanswered, but if she’s peeking out the window, she’ll get a hint about my coming response. After tossing the boxes inside, I throw together a sandwich, then pull up the map using the pin Dallas sent.

At the end of this, I hope he and I will be friends. Maybe more. But it’s a bit early in the relationship to hope for that.

When I get to his place, his truck isn’t there, and it feels rather strange to just let myself into his house. If Floofy weren’t inside, I’d just wait in the car. But I walk to the door and knock. Just in case he’s here but his truck isn’t.

Only Floofy answers.

I step inside, being quick so that my kitty won’t escape and try to explore the big ranch. Catching him outside would be a nightmare. And I don’t even want to think about all the scary things that would harm him.

As soon as I put down my laptop, I scoop up Floofy, who seems very happy to see me. He’s bumping his head on my chin and purring loudly.

“Hello, sweetheart. Is Dallas taking good care of you?”

The house is sparsely furnished. A couch, a side table, a small dinner table, two chairs. There isn’t even a television. The walls are bare. Has he not fully settled in or is this just the way he likes his house?

It’s a far cry from my place.

CHAPTER 8

DALLAS

Ican’t put off telling Aunt Tandy about my fake engagement any longer. It needs to be done before she sees Rose with me at the wedding this weekend. Plus, Rose needs a more permanent place to live, and I think my aunt might be the solution to that problem.

Knee bouncing, I wait in the mess hall alone. The guys are in the game room, and it makes me question my choice of meeting location. I don’t doubt that my aunt can keep a confidence. She’s held onto my other secrets so far. Because of her connection to my mom, there is a lot she knows about me.

After a short wait, Tandy sashays in with Matthew beside her. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say my aunt had gotten herself a sweetheart. But that’s their news to share. Not mine.

Matthew nods, then heads toward the game room. “Hey. Dallas. Good to see you.”

After sucking in a deep breath, I launch into what I need to say. “Aunt Tandy, you’ve probably heard about my engagement.” I wait until the game room door closes before continuing. The look of absolute delight etched on her face makes me feel guilty for telling her the next part. But I need herto know the truth. All of it. “Before you go getting all excited, it’s fake.”

She blinks, then opens her mouth and closes it again. “You did plan to say more than that in this little meet-up, didn’t you? I sure hope so because I need details. I’m your aunt, so if you’re faking, I will be too. She’ll be my pretend soon-to-be niece. Tell me about her. How did this come to be?” Arms crossed, she leans forward, riveted.

“Saturday night?—”

“Like, just a few days ago Saturday?”

“Yes. The guys all met for dinner, and I arrived first to snag a table.”

She grins. “Serendipity.”

“It’s all pretend. It’s not serendipitous.”

Eyebrows lifted, she points at me. “I bet your fiancée would agree with me. But I’m not going to get the story if I keep talking. Please continue.”

I drag fingers through my hair. “Some guy dropped a rose on my table and walked out. And apparently that was a signal to his blind date. So when Rose arrived, she approached me, thinking I was her date.”

“Rose. What a sweet name. And perfect for you, Mr. Busch.”

I shake my head. “Not you too.”

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