Page 17 of Flirting With Fire
Destiny winked at me. “Best coffee in town.”
I grinned at her and left, juggling the bike parts, cookie, and the full cup.Ididn’t spill anything over me. I was very proud of that.
I wasn’t surprised to find Dex leaning against his truck when I returned home, a blue box on the hood with the familiar saucer logo. His eyes were closed, and his face tilted up to face the sun. The fall temperature was mid-eighties today; I was overheating after Chicago, but he seemed happy baking in the sun. I watched him for a moment, wishing I could take a photo.
“You can quit staring at me,” he said. As far as I was aware, he hadn’t even opened his eyes. “Lindy isn’t in.”
“Mom must still be shopping. She needs to feed me. She’s been gone a while. Is she buying the whole store?”
Dex opened his eyes and turned his blue gaze on me. Damn, he was pretty.
“She usually meets a friend for coffee.”
I took a deep breath. Of course he’d know that. This would happen over and over until I settled down and discovered all my mom’s secrets.
Friend. What did that mean?
“What kind of friend?” I asked suspiciously.
Dex’s lips twitched. “I think she should tell you that.”
“You’re not telling me Mom’s got a boyfriend?”
“I’m not telling you anything,” he pointed out. “I’m not giving away her secrets.”
“You didn’t mind giving away my secret,” I grumbled because I was still sulking over that.
He gave me a wry smile. ‘Yeah, that was kinda mean. I’m sorry.”
“It was an ass move, man. But thanks for the apology. Do you want to come inside?”
Dex stood and rolled his shoulders. “I should get back to the ranch. I’ve got a calf who’s not doing so well. Will you give her the cookies?”
“I will.”
He handed me the blue box. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I was so focused on the cookies I almost missed what he said. “What?”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“What’s happening tomorrow?” I searched through my memory, trying to remember some arrangement that involved Dex. As if I’d forget something important like that.
“Lindy invited me for dinner,” Dex said. “Didn’t she tell you?”
“No, she forgot to mention it,” I bit out through gritted teeth, then I caught Dex studying me. “It’s okay. It’s just I’ve seen more of you these past two days than I did my boyfriend.”
I said it without thinking, but when I saw his expression change, I silently cursed. Was he going to give me grief for being gay?
“You’ve got a boyfriend?”
“I have an ex-boyfriend,” I said as lightly as I could manage. Only from the sudden pity in his eyes, I don’t think I succeeded.
“I’m sorry.” He sounded genuine, and was that a hint of relief in his tone?
I shrugged. “Me moving back here was the nail in the coffin.”
“You didn’t want to do a long-distance relationship?”
