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“You got nothing to say to any of this?” Victor growled. “Nothing more than ‘it’s complicated’?”

“Dammit, Vic. I’m not sure…” Dean raked a hand through his hair this time. If this was about any other woman, he’d be spilling his guts, because he needed advice from his friend.

Victor’s voice was calmer, and Dean wondered what his friend saw in his face when he said, “Just say it.”

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on,” he admitted. “We ran into each other at Logan Airport during that hurricane.”

Victor frowned. “That was before the season started. I didn’t even know you were in Boston. Thought you went to see your parents.”

“I think I failed to mention that Mom had her heart attack when they were visiting my aunt. She lives about an hour outside of Boston. When I showed up at the airport, I found out my flight was canceled. I was able to get a hotel room. Viv couldn’t, thanks to so many stranded people. I wasn’t going to let her sleep at the airport.”

Victor nodded. “Of course, you wouldn’t.”

“We had dinner in the hotel restaurant. And…”

Victor grimaced. “Just say one thing led to another. Because if you give me any more details…”

Dean chuckled, even though none of this felt funny to him. “One thing led to another. Honestly, I thought that would be it.”

“It wasn’t?”

Dean shook his head. “We kept running into each other. The café across the street. Your house. One thing sort of…kept leading to another.”

“So you are dating?”

“No. Not really.” Dean held his hands up when Victor started to get worked up again. “We decided we wanted to keep seeing each other, going out on real dates rather than just waiting to bump into each other, but Vivian…”

Victor frowned. “Vivian what?”

“She asked if we could keep the dates a secret. She’s not comfortable introducing me to Pip as a boyfriend. She doesn’t want her daughter hurt if things…”

Victor nodded slowly. “That makes sense…up to a point. I’m sure she just needs time to be sure⁠—”

“I’m not sure time will help. I’m a bad bet. My past doesn’t exactly work in my favor when it comes to fatherhood. It’s not like I was there for McKenna when she was growing up. I was a bank, not a dad.”

Victor scowled. “Vivian said that?”

“No. Of course not. But she did ask to keep us a secret. I assume she doesn’t see any reason in sharing it since, at some point, we’ll reach some sort of inevitable end.”

Victor scratched the side of his head. “That doesn’t sound right…like Viv,” he clarified.

“She’s not wrong to want to keep it casual,” Dean said, all the anxieties he’d been struggling with falling out. “I’m fourteen years older than her and pretty damn set in my ways. My career keeps me busy. You know that. We’re out of town off and on for six months of the year during the season, and I’m gone a good bit during the off-season for scouting.”

“Vivian is an independent woman, Dean. She doesn’t need a man who’s there all the time.”

Dean smiled slightly, amused by Victor’s huge about-face. It almost sounded like he was okay with him dating Vivian.

“Even when I’m in town, I’m focused on the job. Vivian and Pip deserve a man who’s…present.”

Victor sighed, rubbing his lower lip with one finger as he considered that. “I’m not sure what Vivian is thinking, but I know my sister. Even if she said she wants to keep it a secret or casual or whatever, she won’t be able to do it. She’s not wired that way. If this thing continues, she’s going to fall for you.”

Dean fought hard to school his expression, not wanting Victor to see how much he wanted that. Wanted her to fall.

“I have no experience with relationships. I never really wanted one.”

“Do you want one now?” Victor asked.

That was the question Dean had been wrestling with for weeks. There was no question he wanted to be with Vivian, and that he was falling for her, hard. The problem was whether he was the right man for her.