He squared his shoulders, a nagging feeling sinking in his stomach. “Yes, of course. Something wrong?”
“No,” she said, then chuckled. “I know she’s head over heels over some guy in the neighborhood, who she won’t tell me who that is, and in the last few days I haven’t been able to get hold of her.”
“I see,” he said, still registering the words he just heard. He was the guy, correct? There was no way she had time for anyone else, and she probably didn’t want his daughter to know.
“So I just want to make sure she’s all right and not in a ditch somewhere. Can you let me know if you see her around? And ask her to call me.”
“Sure. I’ll go over the Smiths’ and let her know.”
“Thanks, Dad. Talk to you later?”
“You bet.”
He flicked his phone off then placed it on the nightstand. Head. Over. Heels.
What else had Alyssa told his daughter? Madison was smart, so if she had enough clues she’d piece things together—though he doubted she’d expect her dad to be on the receiving end of Alyssa’s affection.
Still, the whole situation puzzled him. Why would Alyssa even mention anything?
“Who was it?” Alyssa asked, walking around, with one towel wrapped on her body, and another one on her head. This type of domestic bliss always caught him off guard, and made his heart expand. What would it be like to have her in his life indefinitely?
“Madison,” he said, then rubbed his eyes, focusing on the present. “Did you tell her you were into some guy from the neighborhood?”
A shade of pink stained her cheeks, then she looked away. When her eyes met his again, a glint of mischief crossed through them, lighting up her face. “I did. Sorry.”
“She wants me to make sure you’re okay because you haven’t texted her in days.”
“I’ll text her later.”
Did his daughter suspect him? Maybe a neighbor her age saw he and her best friend together and sent her an email. Nah, that was crazy. Madison was a straight shooter, so if she suspected anything she’d ask him. “Why did you tell her about me?”
“How do you know it was about you? I could have talked about some random guy my age I had a crush on.”
“Did you?” he asked, and his foolish heart skipped a beat. Sure, he assumed she was into him, but what if she told Madison about someone else she had her eyes on? A wave of embarrassment washed over him, and soon after a twinge of jealousy.
She walked up to him, and a delicious smile pulled at her lips. “Why? Would that be so bad?”
He shook his head. “I need to know.”
“Why? You said it yourself—we’re just a summer fling, right?” she delivered the words in a playful tone, but as she erased the distance between them, the question lingered in her eyes.
He opened his mouth, then hesitated. They’d been carefully treading around the difficult topic of saying goodbye in the near future. Now, he could tell she challenged him to oppose to their original deal. Hell, a silly part of him not only agreed with her moxie but cheered her on. He couldn’t, though. If he admitted to her that out loud, he was fucked. What could he say? I’m falling madly in love with you, but we can’t be together? That would only open a new can of worms. “Right,” he said, looking at her square in the eye. He felt the vein in his jaw twitch, but kept going, “I want to make sure as your summer fling, I am the only one in your head.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” she said.
That’s where she was wrong. He had every little reason to worry, to dwell, to obsess over. But right now, he had to honor their original deal. Even if his heart had already betrayed him along the way.
The sound of the pins hitting each other reverberated through the bowling alley, and Alyssa jumped from her seat. “Yes. Yes!” She had her first strike, after Knox had slayed quite a few times.
Three weeks had gone by ever since Madison’s call. Of course she made sure she called her often not to arise any suspicions, but the way Knox had denied them any chance of them being together once summer ended hurt her. But she tried not to overthink it.
They’d chosen this bowling alley, located in a rundown area of Los Angeles, a far cry from his exclusive address in Malibu. He’d mentioned over here—in this area where only tourists and the homeless roamed the streets, none of Madison’s friends could see them and tell on them to her.
She’d been taken aback at first, but understood his reasoning. They’d been able to keep their relationship a secret so far, why rock the boat with their arrangement so close to an end?
For the past hour, they had been enjoying themselves, stealing kisses, and she couldn’t help but wonder what their relationship could be like if things were different.
Then she mentally bitch slapped herself. Wondering wouldn’t solve the problem. Maybe they couldn’t have forever, but they could have now. And she had to enjoy it.
