Page 220 of The Bluffing Game

“I would, and I am.” He stretches his arms. “I know you think I overstep at times, but my heart is in the right place.”

“I’m glad.” I smile at him and pull out more curlers. “You’re not so bad, Leone.”

I grab my phone and text Parker. Date is off. Don’t call. And then I block his number.

“That’s done then,” I mumble, more relieved than upset.

“If you want, we can go on a date.” He almost whispers the words.

“Dalton, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I’m free this afternoon. Toby’s on a play date with someone who goes to his preschool. I have a couple of hours.”

“But we both know we’re not looking for the same thing.”

“I guess that’s true,” he says hesitantly. “I wanted to apologize for the other day, by the way.”

“Apologize for what?” I frown.

He takes a step closer to me and holds my hand. “When Toby called you Mommy.”

“Yeah, what was that?”

“I really don’t know.” He shakes his head. “It surprised me. I know it took you aback as well. I could see it on your face.”

“He’s a really good kid. He’s a great kid, in fact,” I say. “I like spending time with him. I wasn’t sure if you’d put him up to it to try and sabotage another date I was on.”

“I wouldn’t deliberately sabotage your date, Sage.”

“You wouldn’t?”

I cock my head to the side, and he bursts out laughing.

“Okay, maybe I would just a little bit, but nothing crazy.”

“Yeah, you didn’t crazy sabotage my dates. You just sabotaged my dates, and now you’re giving me information that shows that my potential match is a psycho.”

“I wouldn’t say psycho. I’d say sociopath.” He grins as he takes another step toward me. “I can help you with the curlers if you want.” He reaches up and unwinds one of the curlers and pulls it out. “I like the bounce,” he says, playing with my hair.

“I should be so mad at you right now, Dalton Leone.”

“But you’re not.” His lips twist up at the side.

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t overthink it, Sage.”

“What do you mean, don’t overthink it?”

“Whatever’s going through your mind right now, stop it. Maybe you don’t have to have everything figured out. Maybe everything won’t go according to plan. Maybe I’m not going to be the billionaire you marry who puts you up in a life of luxury, and maybe that’s okay. Maybe now that we have each other, we just enjoy it.”

My lower lip trembles. “But maybe I need more than that, Dalton. Maybe I need⁠—”

“Maybe you need what?” He grabs me around the waist and pulls me into him. “Maybe you just need this,” he says.

He presses his lips against me. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and kiss him back. I moan as I melt into him, and his hands run down my back.

“Maybe you just need right here and right now, Sage. Maybe this is what life is all about.”