Page 42 of Dance with Me on New Year's Eve

CastGamer55::)Bye, Mindy.

I started typing, but then I slowly pulled my hands from the keyboard. That was a little childish … he was probably wondering what was wrong with me.

Whatwaswrong with me anyway? Yes, I’d been drinking, but did that explain my perplexing, uncomfortable feelings when he talked about another woman?

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Not going to overanalyze this.

I’mdonewith overanalyzing everything.

Chapter 10

After a week of overanalyzing my options for declining the weekend hike, I still hadn’t come up with an empathetic way to decline without hurting Lila’s feelings. It was this thought that had me mentally kicking myself as I sat quietly in Jeff’s immaculate living room, avoiding eye contact with him. We were waiting for Lila to finish packing. Apparently packing is one of the most fun things in the world at her age.

“Does she think we’re going camping? We’re just walking, right?” I asked in a half-joking way in an attempt to slice through the awkwardness of sitting in Jeff’s townhouse.

His eyes rose to meet mine as his elbows remained on his knees, and he leaned forward on the small couch across from mine. “This is just a day trip, Roxanne. An hour or so, hopefully, but it’s up to Lila.”

I frowned as I took in his implication. He wanted this to be over as fast as possible, probably because of me. He didn’t want to spend time with me, and he wasn’t even going to try to hide it.

I mean, this wasn’t a surprise. I didn’t want to be here anyway. Yet, his words stung a bit.

My lips stayed tightly closed as we waited for Lila. I avoided his eyes and instead looked around the room. It was tidy and sparsely decorated with tasteful navy blue and dark brown accented furniture and matching lampshades flanking both sides of a small, clean fireplace. A few small photos of Lila, including one with the two of them together, lined the mantle.

So this was where Jeff the Jerk lived. It sort of humanized him a little.

When my eyes accidentally landed on him, I stopped short. The sunlight streaming through the open bay window had shifted closer to him, and I noticed how different he looked here at home. He was wearing shorts, a tech shirt, and a baseball hat. I’d never seen him in anything but dress slacks, button-downs, and neckties.

Did I think he was going to wear business attire while hiking in the woods? I hadn’t thought about it, actually. I didn’t usually notice or think about how he looked. But there was something about seeing him in casual clothes that made him more attractive. And I already knew he was attractive; I wasn’t blind. It just hadn’t mattered. And it still didn’t.

Crap, I’m staring at him.

I jerked my eyes away. They landed on Lila, who was just coming in, walking a bit lopsided with a giant backpack on her back. Her eyes lit up when they met mine. “Roxy! You came!”

“Of course,” I said, pasting on a bright smile. “Wouldn’t miss it!”

“Well, Daddy told me you might not come,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But he’s wrong a lot.”

“I heard that,” came his cross voice. We looked at him as he rose and grabbed his smaller pack. “I packed the sunscreen and bug spray. You can put it on in the car,” he said as he looked her over.

“Yay! Did you pack all the snacks I asked for?”

“Yes,” he said with a sigh. “Sweetie, I’m going to have to carry that overstuffed bag of yours, aren’t I?”

“As if! I’m strong, Dad.” She turned to me and rolled her eyes. “He’s so cringe sometimes.”

“Right?” I winked at her. “Bets.”

Lila’s eyebrows quirked up. Shoot, did I use that wrong? I’d spent an hour last night trying to learn the latest slang that kids use.

“I think you mean ‘bet.’ No one says ‘bets.’ Well, except maybe Dad.” She gave me a conspiratorial look and giggled.

“Heard that too,” he said, crossing his arms over his chestand looking between us. “Are you ready to go, or do you two want to have a gab-fest?”

Lila grinned. “What’s a gab-fest? Let me guess, it’s a thing from your generation, Dad?”

“It is,” I said, unable to resist poking the bear.

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