Page 60 of Loathe Thy Neighbor

“Here are those coffees.” Darlene sets a cup in front of each of us. “And I found this for you, River.”

She winks at her as she slides over a plate with a single piece of cherry pie on it, then scurries away.

River’s entire face lights up, and something in my chest shifts. I don’t know what exactly. All I know is that was the best twenty bucks I’ve spent all week.

She moves faster than I’ve ever seen her, snatching her fork back and stabbing into the pie, shoving a bite far larger than she can handle into her mouth.

She moans, and there goes my dick jumping to attention again.

I shift in my seat, attempting to adjust my aching cock without making what I’m doing too obvious.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this happy before, and that includes the time she thought she saw Hugh Jackman walk by the diner.

She evensmiles at me.

And I find myself smiling back.

“This is the best thing to happen to me all week.”

“What? Having dinner with me?”

Her smile wanes but doesn’t disappear. “If having dinner with you means free pie, then yes. Though I do wonder how Darlene managed to scrounge this up…”

Her words trail off as she tilts her head, studying me.

“What?” I fidget under her inspection.

“Did you have something to do with this?”

“What? No.” But my voice sounds too high even to my own ears. I clear my throat. “Of course not.”

“Developing a soft spot for me, Dean?” she asks with a smirk, tossing my words back at me.

Maybe.

I roll my eyes. “Just shut up and eat your pie, River.”

She does, and she doesn’t stop grinning at me the entire time.

That odd feeling in my chest lingers.

11

River

“Didyou know you’re out of eggs?”

I narrow my eyes at Dean as he walks into the living room, shoving a forkful of food into his gob. “Why are you counting my eggs?”

A shit-eating grin stretches across his mouth, and I’m annoyed by how good he looks even though he has a piece of egg stuck to his lip. “Because I don’t want you to starve. I remember two nights ago when you tried to maim an old man for stealing your pie quite well, and I’d like to avoid a repeat.”

Okay, so maybe I was a little temperamental the other night.

But it was entirely Dean’s fault.

He was the one who got me so worked up I couldn’tnottake care of myself, which of course led to mayhem and a late-night workout.

Dean’s eyes roaming over me during my impromptu yoga session had me more awake than ever, and I didn’t fall asleep until nearly sunrise. When I finally peeled myself out of bed the next morning and saw the hole my toy left in the wall, I knew I couldn’t face Dean.

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