Page 62 of Kissing Her Rescuer

Eliza had packed Carrie's bag and kissed her goodbye. For the night.

After the daddy-daughter photo shoot at the local park, Dewey took Carrie for a spend-the-night party that included a tent Dewey claimed he'd set up in his living room. It was adorable and sweet...

And it hurt, giving up control, even to someone as capable of protecting her as Dewey. She trusted him. Really. But that didn't take away the stomach-dropping feeling she experienced each time someone in town mentioned how nice she looked with him. How sweet he was with Carrie. What a nice husband he'd make.

Not all husbands were like Zach. She knew that.

But why couldn't things stay the same?

Eliza stepped into the diner, smiling at Juliana, who waited for her at the long, stainless steel counter. The counter faced a wall of mirrors, giving her a good view of the stress on her face. She forced herself to relax.

Behind the counter, Becky's head was bent over the milkshake machine. Since she'd taken over the diner's ownership, nothing much had changed except the stools along the counter. The orange, plastic seats were replaced with stainless steel to match the counter and were surprisingly comfortable.

“Hey, Sis,” Juliana said, patting the seat beside her. “Where's Carrie?”

Eliza tried to act nonchalant. “Oh, she went to stay with Dewey for the night.”

“Are you okay?”

“Don't I seem okay?”

Juliana pursed her lips together before shaking her head. “No. You seem stressed. I think she'll be fine with Dewey.”

Eliza waved her hand in the air. “That part I'm not worried about. I know he can take care of her.” She slouched and rested her elbows on the counter. “It's just the rest of...it.” Juliana was her sister. If anyone understood, it would be her. Every time she tried to talk to Dewey about it, he got an irritated look on his face.

Becky passed off the milkshake to one of the new waitresses, grimacing as the young girl turned away. Becky approached Eliza and Juliana, leaning onto the counter and lowering her voice.

“She acts like this is a music video or something. All she does is sway her hips and try to balance everything on her tray. It’s one damn milkshake. Just carry it.” She nudged Eliza's shoulder. “What's wrong with you?”

Juliana answered. “Dewey has Carrie for the night.”

Becky's lips curved into a sly smile. “Awe, are you jealous you’re not playing spend-the-night?”

Eliza looked away. She'd finally stopped worrying about being pregnant from their debacle, but she wouldn't risk it again this soon. No more spend the night parties with Dewey.

“Hell. No.” Becky bounced up and down. “You already slept with him. I can see it in your face.”

Juliana shifted to face Eliza. “Have you? And you didn't mention it?”

“Yeah, like after you slept with Grayson or Hudson, you both picked up the phone to let me know.”

“So, that's a 'no' then?” Juliana asked.

“It's none of your business.”

Becky stood, her smile falling away even though the amusement in her eyes remained. “Well, aren't you touchy.”

“Very,” Juliana added with a straight face.

“Defensive, too.”

Juliana grimaced. “Uh, oh. Sounds more like regret.”

Becky's nose scrunched up like she smelled something bad. “I had high hopes for you that Dewey might be better in bed than he is cooking.”

“Well, damn.” Juliana paused, taking a deep breath. “If that's the measurement of a guy, we need to send flowers and our condolences to Lexi. Nash can't cook for crap.”

A smile finally broke through, and Eliza unclasped her hands. “Dewey wasn't bad. The opposite, really.” She was not getting into those details. “But, it only happened once and scared the crap out of me.” She'd leave out the condom breaking part of the story. No need to jinx herself. “I think Dewey wants this picture-perfect, instant family. I don't. I don't want to be married again. I’ve told him that, and I can tell that makes him mad, but I just can’t.”

---