Page 32 of Stolen Dreams

“I’m going to let myself out,” I tell him, wanting to sit beside him with my head on his shoulder.“You call me if you need anything.”

“I think my favors with you are all used up, don’t you think?”he asks, and I smile at him.

“It’s a good thing that you’re a good dad”—I wink—“and you are smoking hot even though you can be a pain in my ass.”The minute the words are out of my mouth, I want to die.Did I just tell him that he’s smoking hot to his face?

“Smoking hot?”He lifts his eyebrows, trying not to laugh.

“Goodbye.”I turn and walk to the door.

“Lilah,” he calls, and I turn to look over my shoulder.“I may be smoking hot,” he says, “but you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.”The air leaves my body.

“I’ll remember that the next time you call me a pain in the ass.”I take one more look at him before I walk out of the door and head to my truck.The rain is done, and the only raindrops that fall on me are the ones falling off the leaves of the trees.

“He thinks I’m beautiful.”I can’t help the smile that fills my face.“Who knew?”

ChapterNineteen

LILAH

The door opens, and I look up from my desk and smile when I see Lucy bouncing inside.It’s been over a week since her breakdown from the thunder, and thankfully, there hasn’t been another storm since then.It’s crazy that every single day I get up and check the freaking weather now, something I haven’t done I think ever.“Good afternoon, Lucy,” I greet her when she walks toward my desk, dumping her bags on the floor, and the front door is then pulled open by her father.

“Hey, Lilah,” Lucy replies.“Guess what I got on my math test?”She bends to get something out of her bag, and I lean back in my chair, putting my hands on the armrests.

“Ummm, one hundred percent,” I guess, and she shakes her head, taking her test out.

“One hundred and four percent.”She holds the paper up in her hand.“It’s more than a hundred.”She points at the red mark with a sticker on the top and the word excellent written across.“I got the bonus right.”

“Aren’t you a smarty-pants,” I tease her, and she shrugs.

“Tell her what you got on your spelling,” Emmett prods her, and she looks over at him.

“One hundred,” she states.“There was a bonus, but most people got it wrong, so she didn’t count it.”The annoyance in her voice is evident, and I can imagine if he brought it up it’s because she did in the truck also.

“Did you get it right?”

“I did.”She nods at me and walks around me to grab the chair I now don’t move from beside me.“Now I have new words I need to study.”

“We’ll do it tonight,” Emmett states.“Is she good with you?”His eyes go soft when he looks at me when she’s near me.

“Not if she’s going to correct my spelling.”I side-eye her, making her giggle.She puts her hand on her mouth to stop it from coming, and I feel like my heart can’t be fuller.

“Come and get me if you have to go.”He looks at me, and I just smile at him.For the past week, we’ve been teetering on a string.He’s trying not to show how aggravated he gets with me when he sees me riding, and I’m trying my best not to push his buttons.

“Will do,” I assure him softly and watch him walk back out into the barn.Trying not to ogle Emmett in front of Lucy is harder than I ever thought it would be.

“Okay, homework.”I point at her book.“I have homework myself that I have to do.”

We work side by side until Emmett comes back in, and we both look at him.“It’s getting late.”He puts his hands on his hips.“Thought for sure you would come and get me.”I look over at the clock hanging on the wall, seeing it’s almost six.“We should get going.”Lucy pushes away from the desk and walks over to her bag.

“Have a good night.I’ll see you on Monday.”I hold up my hand to both of them as they walk out of the office, and my phone beeps on the desk.

Looking down, I see it’s from an unknown caller.

Unknown Caller: Hey, Lilah, or at least I hope it’s Lilah.It’s Derek.

The phone crashes to my desk with a clatter at the same time the door opens, and Emmett comes back in.The smile on his face quickly falls.“What happened?”

“Nothing,” I lie, feeling the heat on the back of my neck.“I just…” I push up and put my phone in the back pocket of my jeans.“I was feeling a little lightheaded.I didn’t eat today.”

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