Page 74 of The Rules

Dani rolled over dramatically, causing the sheet to tug down to her waist. Maybe he didn’t need coffee that badly after all. He tossed on his side to follow her, but before he landed where he was headed, he caught a glimpse of the clock on her bedside table.

Damn it.He didn’t have much time. When he’d picked her up for lunch the day before, he’d been hoping to bring her back to his house. But after a quick, celebratory meal that turned into mid-day drinks, it had seemed urgent that they get to the nearest bed available to continue the celebrating. That was Dani’s condo, and considering this was the first morning he’d actually wanted to linger in a woman’s bed, he cursed himself for making plans.

“I have to head out soon,” he said, kissing her shoulder. “I’m supposed to meet Josh to go surfing. I don’t even have any clothes with me.”

“Mmm. I have brunch with Cat. It’s their one day a month apart.”

He leaned down to kiss her stomach, rethinking the entire day. “You wanna blow them both off and go for round… four?”

She giggled and swatted at him. “No. Go make coffee.”

After coffee and a shower, Dylan sat on the edge of Dani’s bed, buttoning his shirt from the day before and watching Dani prance around in her underwear while she searched for something to wear after her shower.

“So, you’re having brunch with Cat, huh?” He gave her a sly smile. “Does this mean you’re not mad anymore?”

Dani slipped a cotton t-shirt dress off of a hanger and popped it over her head, smoothing the skirt with her palms. “It’s with everyone, actually, and the scheduling predates me being mad.”

“Still. You didn’t cancel it.”

Dani made a huff and plopped down beside him. She pushed his hand away and took over his buttoning. “I haven’t spoken to her since we went camping.” She sighed. “I can’t remember a time we’ve gone weeks without speaking.” Dani’s lower lip jutted out in the saddest of pouts, and something twisted in his chest. “I guess I’d rather be mad with her than without her.”

“I saw her a few days ago,” he offered. “She came into the office.”

Her eyes shot up to his. “How’d she look?”

“Fat.”

Dani reached under the shirt she was buttoning and pinched his skin.

“Ow! I mean like cute fat, like she’s supposed to.”

She finished with his shirt and smoothed down his collar. “Still sick?”

“Josh said she’s a little better.” He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. “So listen, I’m gonna spend the whole day with Josh, and I need to know. Are we still keeping this a secret?”

Her eyebrows jumped. “You want to tell him?”

Wantwasn’t the right word. It wasn’t that he had some burning desire to gossip about this new thing between them. In fact, having Dani without the “will he or won’t he fuck it up” spotlight was nice. But not telling Josh that he was dating Cat’s best friend felt like a big omission. “I feel bad lying,” he said.

“Like they did about Cat being pregnant.”

“That’s your fight, babe. I get how you feel, why you’re mad, but that’s not something between me and Josh. This is starting to be.” He gestured between them. “Dani, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it. We’re all going to be in the same room at some point, and I’m not pretending.” He thought of the game at Josh’s house, their fight in the bathroom. It had turned into a good night for both of them, but he’d bet she didn’t like the feeling of it either—lying to everyone they loved. “Either we keep this secret and never go to a group get together again, or we come clean.”

“It’s going to get a lot harder once everyone knows.”

Fuck if he didn’t know that. “I don’t care.”

She pulled her lip between her teeth and studied him. “You really don’t, do you?”

“I really don’t.” Hell, he’d woken up that morning with both the job and the girl. Keeping it to himself was sucking some of the glory out of that.

“Okay,” she said, one shoulder lifting. “Tell him.”

“Are you going to tell Cat?”

“I haven’t decided yet, but either way, after today she’ll know.”

Twenty-eight

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