Needing a distraction, Lina began searching for the sappiest, most melodramatic movie she could find, one that would make the last twenty-four hours seem hum-drum. A Google search cheered her up immensely. In addition to Ice Castles and Steel Magnolias, two of her mom’s favorites, she came up with a long list of movies and read a lot of funny commentary. The TV never went on. She finally closed her computer when a knock sounded at her door. A familiar knock.
Lina had expected Dillon to seek her out, but not quite this soon. Brenda must have called him. A look through the peephole confirmed that yes, it was Dillon, shifting from foot to foot, with his hands in his pockets. He looked so handsome, and it only made her heart hurt worse.
She rested her forehead against the door. “I’m not ready to talk about it,” she called out.
“I don’t blame you,” he called back. “How can I make this right?”
His earnest question was the bit that did her in. Muttering to herself, she opened her door and gestured for him to come inside. What did she have to lose?
She expected him to go to the couch, but he pulled out a chair and sat at the kitchen table, where dusty evidence of the donuts still traced the tabletop. His glance moved to the trash, in which the donut bag rested.
“I had a party,” she announced blandly.
He held up his hands in surrender. “No judgment here. I’m just sorry the donuts are in the trash.”
“You can dig them out if you’d like.” She smiled, knowing there was no way he’d dare. Rule-abiding Dillon wasn’t like that.
She got a rag out and wiped down the kitchen table before collapsing on her couch, leaving room for him. But if he was more comfortable across the room in a hard kitchen chair, that was up to him.
Dillon slowly got up and followed, leaving plenty of space between them on the couch. “So, I take it my mom interrupted some guy hitting on you at work and freaked out.”
“Something like that.” Lina did need to call Corrie soon and explain. Maybe Corrie could relay a message to Thomas for her. Lina didn’t want to go out with him yet. Not until this whole Dillon mess was sorted out. And that wouldn’t be until all the mixed-up feelings in her head were sorted out too.
Dillon tapped the space between them. “How bad is it? Did she scare off anyone important? Because we’re not—”
“Dating?” Lina couldn’t help glaring at him. “I know you and I aren’t dating. You’ve made that abundantly clear. But no, I’m not worried about what some random guy thinks of your mother. I’m not worried about her scaring him off. Because I’m not dating anyone else, Dillon. I’m just alone here, sitting in my yoga pants, eating powdered donuts.”
The bigger Dillon’s eyes got in response, the more she wanted to provoke a reaction out of him. She was done being patient. She was done being subtle.
She leaned in, leaving her lips a half inch from his, and ran her fingers over the stubble on his jawline. She waited for him to resist or to take his time waffling, but Dillon pulled her onto his lap and pressed his lips to hers before she could make her move. It was the fire she’d been hoping for. His hands spanned her sides, holding her in place while he tilted his head and turned their frantic kisses into something slower and deeper.
She was shaking when he finally pulled away, her breathing fast. He deposited her back on the couch and clasped his hands around his knees, as if he’d done something wrong and expected her to bolt away at any moment. “Did I mess that up too?” he asked.
Lina groaned and looked at the ceiling. “I’ve never met someone so insanely attractive and so underprepared to use it to his advantage.”
Dillon gave a nervous laugh. “I have the worst instincts when it comes to women. You’re mad at me, and rightfully so, and my mom tried to make me promise to never see you again. She’s afraid I’ll crawl back to you to have my heart broken all over again, and now thinks you’re this … two-timing …” He sputtered, obviously knowing the humorous part of his statement had turned into something that was not in the least bit funny.
Lina gripped her neck. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“I told her she was wrong about you.”
“But she didn’t believe you, did she?” The hurt spread over Lina in waves that grew. She cared what Dillon’s mom thought of her. That’s what he never seemed to understand. Yes, this had started as a lark, but it wasn’t a lark for her anymore.
Lina had been the unwelcome girlfriend before. The one who came from a broken home, the one who wasn’t good enough. She didn’t want Brenda to see her that way. Or Josie, or Alec, or Trent, or any of them.
Lina stood and walked to the kitchen, picking up the rag from the table and tossing it into the sink.
Dillon came over and turned her around. He bent down until they were eye to eye. “I will fix this. I will. But that means I have to tell my mom everything. Are you okay with that?”
Lina sighed. “She’ll think even worse of me after you tell her the truth.”
“No, I’m pretty sure she’ll take all that anger and focus it on me, where it belongs. It was my idea. You were just my recruit.”
Lina stared at him for several seconds, and then she let a small smile slip. “Your recruit, huh? What does that make you, sir?”
He shook his head, flushing a cute shade of red, just as she expected. It felt good to lighten the moment, to extend him some grace. His habit of sticking his foot in his mouth wasn’t intentional. For the first time, she truly understood the potential of an opposites attract relationship.
He turned to go, but flipped back around when he reached the tiled entryway.
