Page 39 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
“Mmm, milkshake,” Rose murmured.
He winked. “I’ll let you have some, baby mama.”
Rose grinned, and Lizzy lightly slapped the table to get their attention. “Come on, JJ, say you’ll do it.”
He shrugged. “I have no problem spending time with Dahlia. I enjoy her company.”
Lizzy narrowed her eyes like she suspected he was lying.
She turned to Rose. “I don’t know her as well as you, Rosie, but do you think Dahlia will go for it with JJ?”
“On a date?” Rose shook her head. “No way.”
He kept his gaze on the rainbow grass, hoping no one caught his flinch.
For a second there, he’d thought Rose wanted him to take her out because…
Aw heck, because she’d expressed some sort of interest in him.
But clearly that wasn’t the case. He shook off the wave of disappointment. So, Rose thought Dahlia wouldn’t want to go on a date with him. So what? She was likely right. He was probably nothing like the sort of men she met in New York.
“So, why are we doing it, then?” JJ picked up an orange crayon and glanced up at Rose. “If she doesn’t want to, I mean?”
“To get her out of the house,” Lizzy muttered.
He and Rose ignored that. Rose leaned forward, her expression pleading. “I just think it’d be good for her to get out and have some fun.”
He couldn’t argue with her. Dahlia had seemed more tightlipped and miserable each time he’d seen her throughout the week.
“She’s technically come to Aspire and seen the ranch,” Rose continued. “But her first visit was all about trying to take care of me and the baby and that whole situation with… ugh.” She stuck out her tongue, obviously referring to the baby daddy who had turned out to be nothing more than a sperm donor. “And on this trip, she’s either been working or driving me miles for the baby scan.” She rubbed her belly, a dreamy smile taking over her face. She was having a girl, and Dahlia had specially flown over to be there for that moment when Rose found out.
How could she ever think that Dahlia didn’t love her with everything she had?
Lizzy gave him a rueful smile. “I think we’re all hoping that if Dahlia can find some way to enjoy it here, she’ll get off her high horse about selling the ranch.”
His brows arched again. “That’s asking a lot of one date.”
Rose giggled.
“I mean, I know I can be quite the charmer, but—”
Lizzy laughingly slapped his forearm. “Come on, JJ. Do us a favor. Take Dahlia out.”
He focused on his coloring, trying to stay within the lines, because he knew that was what Chloe wanted. His mind was already racing ahead of him, thinking about a date with Dahlia. “I guess I could take her fishing with me.”
“You’re going fishing? How?” Rose’s nose wrinkled. “Everything’s frozen over.”
He chuckled. “That’s why it’s called ice fishing.”
Lizzy’s laughter held a hint of evil. “Oh, I’m sure the dragon will just love that.”
She was being sarcastic, but he could imagine Dahlia having the time of her life out in the wild. If his brief time with her had taught him anything, it was that she was a tomboy at heart.
And he freakin’ loved that.
He looked to Rose. Surely she knew that about her sister. But she looked unconvinced. “I don’t know. I can’t really picture it…”
He swallowed a sigh of frustration, and for a second, he wasn’t sure if it was toward Dahlia’s sisters for not seeing the woman he saw or with Dahlia herself for not letting herself be seen.
