Page 54 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
She glanced up, and the look on JD’s face made her very glad she wasn’t on the receiving end of it. Mason’s color changed from red to sheet-white in an instant.
“I— She—”
JD growled. “Do you really think you should open your mouth one more time?”
Mason was spiteful and vindictive, but in that moment Lily almost felt sorry for him. She wouldn’t be surprised if he wet his pants.
And then Dwayne Prescott made things even worse. He let loose a loud whistle that echoed around the courtyard. Heads all over jerked in that direction.
Anger twisted the man’s mouth. “I think you need to listen to the man. Let’s go, Mason.”
“But—”
“Now.”
Lily didn’t watch him go, though she knew he did by the slow scuffle of shoes on the concrete. Instead she watched Dwayne, who met her eyes for a single moment, gave her a quick nod, and walked away.
“Well, I didn’t expect that,” JD murmured beside her.
She glanced up at him shyly. “From me or from Dwayne?”
“Oh, Dwayne. I one hundred percent expected that from you. I was just wondering when you’d get mad enough to do it.”
And there, on the steps of the convention center, he bent down and took her lips in full view of what felt like the entire town.
JD took his time pulling back, and when he finally did, he only allowed a breath of space between them. “Now, about that talk.”
They said their goodbyes; then JD followed her home. Nerves rumbled in her belly the whole way, but she refused to give in to them. Whatever he said, whatever the outcome of tonight, she would be okay. She knew what outcome she wanted, definitely. But if it wasn’t meant to be, she’d deal, just like she always had.
JD followed her up the steps to the porch, waited close behind her as she unlocked the door, then held it for her to enter. When he shut the door behind himself, she couldn’t help but hear thesnickof the lock as it turned beneath his fingers.
Okay, good sign.
Her heart began a fast flutter in her belly.
“Do you want a drink?” she asked, hanging her purse on the hall tree and tossing her keys into a bowl on the nearby table. Trying to appear normal, unflustered. How could she face down her personal demons without flinching, but fear collapsing when facing JD?
“I definitely want a drink,” he said, the words a low rumble, “but not yet.”
Okay then. She turned to find him standing, hand out, waiting for her.
“Sit with me?”
Her fingers found his before the affirmation echoed in her thoughts. “Okay.”
He tugged her over to the couch. The wide window framed them, and she reminded herself that anything that happened on this seat would be proudly displayed for anyone who happened by. “Just a minute.”
Once the blinds were closed and a lamp turned on, she rejoined him. “Okay.” Nerves roughened her voice. “Talk.”
JD chuckled. Powerful hands gripped her waist, and he dragged her over until her butt rested on his thighs and his arms held her safely against his chest. “I think you need this almost as much as I do.”
He needed the comfort of her touch too? She squirmed a little, finding a comfortable spot, and a firm ridge at her hip had her eyes flaring wide.
Oh.
JD’s dimple made an appearance. “I can’t help it; that skirt does it for me.”
“Does it?” She’d have to remember that.
