She jumps out of her dozing when I finish.
“Again,” she whispers.
“Tomorrow,” Dahlia says gently. “Come on, baby girl.”
I carry Chloe to her room and lay her down. Her eyes flutter closed the second her head hits the pillow. I brush a curl out of her face before I leave the room, and when I turn around?—
Dahlia’s watching us.
But not with that soft, melty look she gets when she’s usually watching us.
“Hey,” I whisper. “What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head at first like she doesn’t want to say it. Then she sighs.
“It’s probably nothing,” she starts, but her voice is tight.
“That sounds like something.”
“Christian called and left a message while you were reading the second time. He’s acting weird. I’m going to call him back. Just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
I tug her waist toward me and kiss her. “Okay. If he’s too big of a bastard, I’d be happy to chat with him.”
She laughs. “It’s okay. I can handle him.”
“I know you can. I have complete faith in you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
SCHMUCK
DAHLIA
I go into the bedroom to call Christian.
He picks up on the second ring.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey. What’s up? Your message sounded strange.”
“What’s strange is how every time I call Chloe, she talks about Dylan. That’s the guy who came over here with you, right?”
“Right,” I say, not liking where this is going.
“So you’re seeing this guy? How’s that working, with him living in California and you living in Minnesota? What did you say he does again?”
“I didn’t.”
He laughs, but it’s humorless. “You wanted to know who Chloe is spending time with when she’s with me. I think it’s only fair that I know who she’s spending time with when she’s with you.”
“He owns a surf shop,” I say, lifting my head to the ceiling.
“Of course he does,” Christian says, laughing. “So you’re low-lifeing it with some loser dude, huh? I’ll never figure you out, Dahlia.”
“Don’t be rude, Christian. Dylan is more successful than you think, but even if he wasn’t, I wouldn’t care.”
“Oh,” he says in a low voice, and my blood runs cold, “so you’re in love with this guy, is that it?”
