Page 82 of Finding My Charming

Sherrie looked up to Dallin and smirked. “She’s been in her own little world today. Why don’t you two go eat?”

I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. “Out!”

I held up my hands in surrender and kicked back from my desk. I stood and joined Dallin in front of the counter. “I’ll be back soon.”

“You better not. Take at least an hour, honey.”

I rolled my eyes and turned toward the door while Dallin chuckled behind me.

Once we were outside, I took a deep breath and looked up to the bright blue sky. The long morning tucked away with my computer had taken its toll, and I was finally feeling it. It was a beautiful summer day, and I regretted my decision to go into work.

“It’s a nice day. Do you want to walk down to the park and eat outside?”

“Sure.” I turned in that direction. We walked in silence for half a block before he cleared his throat. “The guys from your office said you were out yesterday. Did you do anything fun?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Actually, yes.”

He gave me a questioning look and led me across the street.

“I had a small breakdown at work on Monday, and my dad thought I could use a mental health day to relax.”

Dallin nodded.

“Well, my grandma heard and decided to come pick me up and take me shopping for school things, mostly clothes.”

“That sounds fun! What girl doesn’t love shopping?”

“My grandma and I aren’t very close. She is with my sisters, but we’ve never had much in common. I’ve always felt a little awkward around her, so I was dreading spending an entire day alone with her.”

“Oh. I guess that changes things.” We were only a block away from the park, and I didn’t want to talk about my grandma for much longer.

“It ended up being a fun day. She spoiled me, and we talked about a lot. It was really nice.”

He looked down at me with a curious expression. “What did you guys talk about?”

I debated how much I should tell him while he led me to a bench and began to unpack our lunch. He’d brought turkey sandwiches for both of us, and I was immediately relieved it wasn’t something weird.

He laughed at my expression and shook his head. “I learned my lesson. I wouldn’t risk bringing anything remotely strange for you.”

“I appreciate that.” And I really did. Few guys would take notice of what I did and didn’t like and actually remember it.

“So?”

I raised a brow while taking a small bite of the sandwich. It was delicious, and I noticed something unusual about the flavor. I peeled back the bread and saw a light green spread.

“It’s an herb-ranch-and-cream-cheese spread. I figured it was different but still identifiable enough for you. Now stop avoiding my question.”

I swallowed and wiped my mouth before answering, just to try his patience a little more. “What question?”

“What did you and your grandma talk about? You went from not being close to smiling when you talked about her, so I’m assuming it was something big.”

I had a moment of realization that if anyone else had asked me, I probably would have been annoyed, but with Dallin, I actually wanted to talk to him about her.

“We talked about school a little bit.”

“Did Sherrie ever mention that I go to Lincoln, too?”

I fought the muscles in my jaw to keep them from dropping.