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“Yes.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said he promised not to hurt you.” Porter looked into my eyes with affection.
I nodded, standing up. “Okay, can I go now?”
He let me go back to my desk, and I tried not to be upset. Of course, people had to be allowed to voice their opinion. What was a good friend without a mind of their own? Porter was the closest thing I had to a big brother, and his reaction to my blossoming relationship only proved that point.
Gina was next. She called me from work over her lunch break. “Can we go out tonight?”
“Yes,” I answered quickly. I knew what was coming, but I didn’t care. Gina was available so infrequently, with work and childcare duties. I jumped on any chance to go out with her.
“Meet at the Lucky Lady at seven?” she asked.
“I’ll be there,” I promised.
I didn’t jump right back in the sack with Linc. He was charming, and I was enjoying the attention, but I held him at arm’s length. Instead of being angry, he seemed to take it as a challenge. Wehad only had two lunch dates at that point, and another late-night rendezvous at the park.
We held hands and engaged in a slower, more luxurious make-out session under the stars. He didn’t suggest taking it back to his apartment, and he didn’t ask me if he could come to mine. It was as if we had taken two steps backward and could progress at a more leisurely pace.
Every time I thought he would be angry with me, he surprised me by being cool about it. I was beginning to think I had misjudged him that Monday morning after we had been intimate. Maybe he had wanted me to stick around, and I had been reading too much into his postcoital distance.
I wasn’t sure how much experience he had with relationships. He certainly knew what to do in the bedroom, but dating was different. Before he had shipped off, I had never seen him with a girl. Over there in the desert, I wasn’t sure how much time and space there was for romance. It was probably frowned upon. Maybe I was the first woman he had been with who had wanted to stay the night. I put that thought on the shelf for the next time I found myself in his bed.
After work, I went home to freshen up. I put on a tight pair of jeans and a flirty top. I pulled my cowgirl boots out of the closet and stepped into them. With more than an hour to waste, I went out into the backyard. Sitting down, I pulled out my phone.
There was a message from Linc.How was your day?
Fine, yours?I texted back.
He answered almost instantly.Good. I had a talk with Porter.
Me too!I wrote.What did he say to you?
Same thing he always says. Don’t break Aly’s heart.
It’s sweet.
There was nothing for a long moment and then, What are you doing tonight?
I’m meeting Gina.
This was followed by a laughing emoji, and the words,Let me know how it goes.
I scrolled through my library app, looking for another book. It sometimes took me a while to find something interesting to read, and after skimming through the descriptions of at least a dozen new novels, I had run out of time.
I drove to the Lucky Lady and found Gina already inside. She had grabbed a booth and stood up to greet me. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Obviously, she didn’t consider this meeting to be a night on the town.
I slid in opposite her and picked up a menu. “Did you order?” I asked.
“No, I was waiting for you,” she said.
I considered the offerings. I had already eaten lunch at the diner with Linc, so I didn’t want anything heavy. I decided to go with a salad and a water.
The waiter came over to talk to us. We placed our orders and he collected our menus, leaving us in peace. We talked about work for a full minute before Gina erupted with curiosity.
“I’m hearing rumors that you’ve been dating Linc,” she said.
