I close the space between us in three long steps, “I’m not going on a date with Lainey. That was a mistake to say yes. I only signed up for the dating service as a favor to Wilder and Aspen. I never intended for anything to come of it.”
“But it did.” Her blue eyes fill with sadness. “You and Lainey matched—you’re a perfect couple.”
“But we didn’t match.” She blinks at me, her eyes now showing confusion, so I keep explaining. “As I said, when I filled out the questionnaire, it was just as a favor. I didn’t answer it the way I normally would—I answered it the way Dean would. So technically, Dean and Lainey are the perfect match, not me and Lainey.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is that it felt too personal to fill out about myself. And since I wasn’t looking for a match, I didn’t give it a second thought after finishing it.”
“So what about Lainey and your date tonight?”
“I went to talk to Dean about the situation. I knew he liked her, but was too stubborn to do anything about it. In my defense, I thought if I went out with her, it would be the wake-up call he needed to go after her himself—which he did.”
“That was a pretty risky move. What if you were wrong about his feelings for Lainey and he hadn’t decided to take your place on the date?”
“Yeah, I realize that now.” I shrug.
“So what brings you here if your intent was to set up Lainey and Dean?”
“You,” I say. “I want to date you.” I take her hand and bring it to my lips, softly kissing her wrist.
I’m not sure what I expected her response to be, but it definitely wasn’t the answer she gave.
“No,” She shakes her head, pulling her hand out of mine. “I don’t want to date you.”
“But.” I start to say, but she cuts me off.
“Let me explain. I want you, but I don’t want to date you.” Having her slap me across the face wouldn’t have surprised me as much as her words. “I really like you, Dawson, but I don’t have the time or the energy to invest in dating right now—my business comes first. But I would like to have a friends with benefits situation with you.” I was wrong; her last words are more shocking than anything I was expecting.
I try to wrap my mind around what she is saying, but none of it makes sense. Why can’t we have a relationship built on love, not just a situation built on sex?
“So you want us to be fuck buddies?” My words are harsh, but if that’s the kind of relationship she wants, then she needs to be able to handle the dirty side of it.
Her face goes slightly pale, “Yes, that is all I can offer you, Dawson.”
I might go to hell for taking her up on her offer, but if it’s the only way I can have her, I’d be a fool to turn her down—especially since I plan on changing her mind and making her fall in love with me.
“It’s a deal,” I say, turning toward the front door, needing to escape into the cool night air outside. “I’ll come to your house tomorrow night at nine p.m.” I unlock the door, turn the knob, and walk out into the darkness without saying another word.
three
Esme
Glancing down at theshort pink silk robe I’m wearing, I pull the belt tighter, needing to give my hands something to do. I’ve been a nervous wreck all day, anticipating what is going to happen tonight with Dawson.
It’s Sunday, so my flower shop was only open from ten a.m. to three p.m. I spent the rest of my day showering, shaving everything that needed shaving, and applying lotion to every part of my body, which took about 30 minutes.
My nervous energy had me pacing my living room for hours until I decided it was time to take another shower and reapply my lotion an hour ago. Now that it’s almost nine o’clock, my heart begins to beat faster.
At exactly nine o'clock on the dot, a knock on my front door lets me know that Dawson is here, and our friends-with-benefits relationship is about to start.
“Hi,” I say, opening the door with a smile. Dawson’s eyes flare as they scan up and down my body, making me feel sexy for the first time in my life. Sure, I’ve been told that I have a pretty face, but that I’d be prettier if I lost weight. However, I love my curves and refuse to let anyone tell me otherwise. From the hunger in Dawson’s eyes, I’d say he likes my curves too. “Come in.” I take a step back, giving him room to walk into my house. But because he’s so large and muscular, our bodies touch. My nipples harden at the contact, and I bite back a groan, not wanting Dawson to think any less of me than he probably already does. I mean, really, who goes around propositioning guys to be their fuck buddy anyway?
“I wasn’t sure if I should bring anything.” He hands me a bottle of wine from the local winery. “Everyone at the bar seems to like this brand.”
I take the bottle from his hand and look at the label, which says “Mountain Mama Winery." I love the wine and the winery, which is run by the Hewitt sisters. Aspen is in talks with them about partnering on bridal and dating events.
“Thank you. I love their wine.” I close the front door and head to the couch, expecting Dawson to follow. When he doesn’t, I sit down and gesture for him to sit next to me. When he still doesn’t, I start to panic, thinking he’s changed his mind and is trying to let me down easily. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” I say, clutching the hem of my short robe, regretting wearing it.
