Page 34 of Hello Tease

Bennett: Can’t wait for our date tonight. *rose emoji*

Taylee said, “The worst Knox can say is no. The best he can say is, ‘Let’s skip your date and do it on the kitchen floor.’”

I snorted so hard I nearly choked on my spit. “You’re terrible.”

She smiled. “I’m here for you always. And I’m buying those tickets for you to come visit over Thanksgiving, okay? I want to see you and hug you and squish Em and Jack’s little cheeks.”

“You mean it? I know they’re not cheap.”

“Bitch, I’m a single professor. I can afford it.”

I smiled, shaking my head. “We’ll be there.” It hit me how great it felt to be able to make Thanksgiving plans all on my own. In the past, Seth always insisted we go to his parents’ for every holiday, but he hadn’t called me or the kids since we moved here. As far as I was concerned, this was my decision, one I was happy to make.

I got closer to the diner, seeing Knox’s cop car out front. “I’ve gotta go.”

“Au revoir,” she replied in her flawless French accent.

“Au revoir.”

I took a deep breath and walked up the cement ramp into the building. Through the heavy glass door up front, I saw quite a few people inside, enjoying meals together. It made me miss lunches with my sister when she was getting her doctorate in Dallas. Maybe I could invite my new girlfriends out for a meal sometime.

When I walked inside, a wave of air-conditioning coming over me, I immediately scanned the place for Knox. It was like some masochistic part of me had to know where he was, had to see his smile, especially when I was feeling low.

I found him sitting a few booths away from the entrance, across from an older man I assumed was his dad. His eyes glanced up and landed on me. And then he gave me one of those smiles. The kind that made everything feel better.

I walked toward him, a moth drawn to a flame.

They both smiled up at me, so much alike, but different at the same time. Knox was like an echo of his father. Same blue eyes, blond hair instead of gray, similar broad shoulders and easy smile.

“Nice to see you again, Larkin,” his dad said, seeming to mean it.

Knox nodded, something behind his expression that I couldn’t quite read. “Care to sit with us?”

“I’d love to, but I’m just ordering coffee before I get back to work.”

Knox moved over. “You can order here as good as anywhere else.”

My heart beat quickly as I realized Knox was inviting me to sit by him in this diner booth. And even if I wanted to, it would have been rude to turn him down. So I sat next to him, our arms brushing. My body instantly reacted, like simply touching his arm was the thrill of my lifetime. When would I stop reacting like this to him?

Gray took a sip of his tea, then said, “Knox told me your daughter’s interested in horseback riding?”

I nodded, thankful to him for starting the conversation. But I was also hyperaware of Knox next to me, of the view he had of me. What did I look like to him wearing scrubs, my brown hair up in a ponytail, only foundation and mascara for makeup? I tried to bury those self-conscious thoughts as I said, “Every girl I know Emily’s age is obsessed. I think it’s something about that age.”

Gray nodded. “Any time you want to come out, we’ll saddle up the horses and take her for a ride.”

“You mean it?” I asked. I was used to people making “someday” promises that they never planned to follow through on.

“Of course. I can’t this weekend, but what about next Saturday? Hell, I can have Fletcher and Liv bring over the girls too. I’m sure they’d have tons of fun riding together. We could get some steaks on the grill and make it a day.”

My heart warmed. It was exactly what I imagined life would be like if I had a big family all in the same place. “I’d love that. Thank you.”

Gray dipped his head in a nod. “Knox here could give you directions to the home place.”

“Of course.” Knox’s low voice hummed through my body.

I gave him a grateful smile, trying not to show how every bit of him captured my attention. Just his voice made butterfly wings tickle my stomach.

But then I remembered my predicament, what brought me to the diner in the first place, and my stomach dropped. “Actually, there was one more favor I’ve been meaning to ask.”

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