Page 64 of Tell Me It's Real (At First Sight 1)
“You want to come along?” Lily raised her head and yawned, then settled her small body in the middle of the sofa. “I figured as much.”
The cabin was about a ten-minute walk to the main house, and the fresh air would do her good. As it turned out, the going was a bit tougher than she expected. There were some deep drifts to traverse and more snow than she thought. By the time she reached the porch of the main house, she was sweating, and her jeans were wet up to her knees.
She let herself in and hung up her jacket before tugging off her boots and tossing her hat and mittens onto the bench near the front door. The house smelled amazing—like home and food and fireplaces and comfort. Her mouth watered because it was that good. It was nice that Benton had managed to create something beautiful out of a past that wasn’t so great.
“Auntie Viv, you came!” Nora flew down the stairs and practically knocked her over with a hug that was warm and infectious. Vivian held her close for as long as the little girl would let her.
“Did Jack come?” The question was hopeful as Nora peered around Vivian.
“No, he had to fly back to Alaska.”
Nora didn’t bother to hide her disappointment. “He didn’t say goodbye. He was going to tell me about the killer whales.”
“I’m sure he’ll be back.”
“I hope so.” Nora's face lit up. “Oh, I forgot my new pictures for you. I’ll get them.” Nora flew back up the stairs and, laughing, Vivian took a few steps toward the kitchen, but male voices from Benton’s office caught her attention and she headed there instead. She pushed open the door, her smile slowly fading when the man closest to her turned around. Blue eyes found hers almost immediately, and whatever he was saying died on his lips.
Dallas.
“Hey,” Benton said, getting up from behind his desk. “Glad you decided to come. I decanted a couple of bottles of red.”
“I thought you and Ryland were in here.” She didn’t know what else to say, so she kept quiet.
Her brother rolled his eyes. “He’s got a new girl, so who knows when we’ll see him.” He turned to Dallas. “I meant what I said. Rosie made a lot of food. Why don’t you stay.”
Dallas glanced her way, and an electric shock rushed through her. Heat touched her cheeks, and her mouth went dry, which was terribly inconvenient considering she was trying to act normal.
“I think I might,” he replied, eyes darkening. “As long as Viv doesn’t mind.”
She managed a shrug and hoped like hell it appeared as nonchalant as she intended it. “Why would I mind?”
The smile that spread across Dallas’s face was dangerous, and her heart sank a little. Vivian wasn’t ready for this kind of evening. Not with Dallas, anyway. So, yeah, she minded all right, even though it was too late to do anything about it.
She minded a whole hell of a lot.
Chapter Fourteen
Dallas was a decent cook. He could make a mean breakfast out of next to nothing, but aside from that, his culinary skills were limited to simple recipes. Stew, chicken soup, that sort of thing. Which was why dinner at the main house was always a treat. The feast that Rosie prepared for the Bridgestones was next level. In his opinion, the woman could give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money, without the potty mouth, of course. Rosie had strict rules for her kitchen. Always wash hands and no cursing.
As Benton predicted, Ryland was a no-show, though Nora kept things interesting. She more than made up for any awkward silences between him and Vivian because she was one hell of a chatterbox. Heck, he was pretty sure she’d been born talking.
First, she’d wanted to sit beside her Auntie Viv, and then insisted Dallas sit across from them next to Benton. Her doll Velvet sat next to him. Then she proceeded to talk nonstop about a number of things, from the kittens in Dallas’s mudroom to some snake named Eddie at the Pullman ranch, and she finished up by giving them an overview of her newest favorite nature show on Emperor penguins.
Honestly, he had no idea a girl her age had so many words inside her. By the time dinner was done, his head spun from all the information she’d passed on, and he volunteered for cleanup so that Benton could get his daughter upstairs and showered and ready for bed.
Which in turn left him alone with Vivian, who, unlike her niece, hadn’t contributed to the conversation at all.
“You’re quiet tonight. Everything okay?” he asked, feeling he should start the ball rolling. Which, in and of itself, was odd for Dallas—normally, he liked the quiet.
“Of course,” she answered, getting to her feet. “I’m just a little tired, is all.” She grabbed the dirty dishes from the table and took them over to the sink to rinse, while he cleared the rest of it. The air was thick and heavy with things unsaid, and Dallas wasn’t sure how to navigate his way through.
“It’s been a few days,” he said, tossing the scraps into the garbage before leaning against the counter a few inches from Vivian.
She took a plate from Dallas and looked up from underneath her lashes.
“Since we…” He raised a cocky eyebrow. “Hung out.”
“I’ve been working.” Vivian loaded the dish into the machine. “A lot.”