Page 48 of The Bluffing Game

“Me neither.”

“What’s going on?” Dalton asks, coming out of the kitchen with a stack of papers in his hands.

“Oh, nothing. We were talking about Izzy and Colton,” Lucia says, rolling her eyes, and I can tell she’s been holding in some comments during the conversation.

“I see.” He nods his head, walks toward me, and offers me a smile. “So, how’s the dating going?”

“I haven’t gone on a date yet, so I guess it’s not going very well. Why are you asking?”

“I was just curious.”

“I see. Well, there’s really nothing to be curious about. Why do you care? You haven’t even been here for over a week, so …” I want to slap my hand to my mouth. Why did I bring it up again?

He cocks his head to the side and surveys my face. I’m curious as to what he’s thinking, but I’m not going to ask.

“I haven’t been here because of you—you know that, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“The last time I saw you, you asked me not to flirt with you.”

“What?”

“You said that it would be too complicated, and I wanted to respect that boundary. You’re my employee, and I am in a power position over you. So I didn’t want you to think you had to flirt back with me to keep your job or anything. Frankly, I like being around you and seeing you. And there’s just something about you that makes me want to tease you and flirt with you. So, that’s why I haven’t been here, Sage.”

“Oh.” I stare at him, blinking rapidly. “Like I said, I didn’t even notice.” I stop as he chuckles. “Fine. I noticed, but you didn’t have to not come because of me.”

“I wanted to show you that I wasn’t going to cross that line. And, sure, I could have come and just been here, but …” He shrugs. “I didn’t want you to cross that line either.”

“What do you mean, me?”

“Let’s be real here, Sage. You definitely seem as attracted to me as I am to you.”

“I don’t know where you got that from, but it’s not true.”

“Uh-huh. Plus, you’re right. I have a son. He’s my first responsibility. And then I have other obligations and other family members I’m taking care of. I don’t have time for dalliances.”

“Well, lucky for you, there was never going to be a dalliance between you and me anyway.”

“That’s great. So, do you need some help?”

“Help with what?”

“Your dating situation. Do you need a coach? I know you’re looking for a husband, and it doesn’t seem like you’ve had any offers yet.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “I’m good, but I’m not that good, Dalton. Did you seriously think I was going to meet someone, date them, and have an offer of marriage within a week?”

“I don’t know. I’d like to think if I were one of those mysterious men you were after, I could be convinced to propose to you in a week.”

“But you don’t even want to get married.”

“I don’t, but if I were someone else, maybe I would.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Maybe not.” He cracks a smile.

“No, I don’t need your advice or help with dating. I think I got this. I think I do pretty well on my own.”