Page 3 of Pack Baby for the Silver Foxes

Damien saw me when I was ten feet away. His smile didn’t drop as he looked from me to her.

“Marli,” he said.

The cheerleader turned. She was very pretty. It would have helped enormously if she’d been ugly.

I held up my hand. “Damien.”

He glanced at my hand. “You brought the book. It could’ve waited.”

“Yes. Well spotted.”

The girl looked between us. “I should go.”

“No,” Damien said. “You’re fine.”

“Is she? I’m about to become unpleasant, and I’d hate for a bystander to sit through it without snacks.”

She took a step to the side. Sensible woman.

Damien’s jaw set. I hated that he was handsome when he was annoyed. Further proof the universe had no interest in fairness. “Can we not do this now?”

“Do what?”

“Make a scene.”

“I haven’t started. I’m merely giving you your book and leaving.”

“Marli.”

“Don’t say my name when you have lipstick on your mouth.”

The cheerleader bit down on her lip and stared at the ground.

Damien stepped closer and dropped his voice. “She just gave me a welcome peck. She does that to everyone.”

“Right.”

“Now you’re going to overreact.”

“Right. The way I overreacted when you canceled on me for three weekends running. Were you with her?”

“That’s not what this is.”

“Or when I asked to meet your friends from home. Or when you told me I was intense for wanting to celebrate your birthday.”

His mouth opened.

“I never said any of that.”

I wasn’t interested in the past. Only now. “You kissed her.”

“We weren’t kissing,” the girl said. “It was just a friendly kiss, like he said.”

Damien dragged a hand through his hair. “We were talking.”

“With your whole body pressed against hers?”

He glared at me. “Jesus, Marli.”