Page 40 of One More Shot
The flirting, I mean.
I’m pretty sure that being an unrepentant flirt is simply a non-negotiable part of his personality. One he doesn’t know how to switch off.
And I absolutely shouldn’t be falling for it. Especially after I’ve put up these boundaries between us. But I can’t stop my cheeks from warming, the urge to lean right into the moment and throw one of my own carefully crafted lines right back at him is overwhelming.
It would be so easy, too. Natural, even.
Instead, I roll my eyes as he walks past, feigning indifference. ‘Well, I guess we’re about to find out, aren’t we?’
He laughs and shoots me an easy grin. ‘I guess we will.’
Everything about Dane is easy and I feel an increasingly familiar twinge of envy towards him. It must be nice to just be able to float through life without having to be in a perpetual state of worry.
Sometimes it feels like I can never just be in the moment, focused on one thing. I’m either worrying about Nan or sorting out something for Leanne, or – and this is the current bane of my life – emailing back and forth with our landlord because Sasha refuses to engage with him and leaves any issues up to me to deal with.
There’s alwayssomething.
Even now, I should be working on edits and most definitelynot following Dane through Nan’s house so I can make sure the patio gets sorted and not have to worry about Nan snapping an ankle every time she steps outside.
‘Everything all right?’
I blink up at Dane. He’s crouched down by the pile of tiles he ordered to the house, watching me curiously.
‘Everything’s fine,’ I sigh.
His brows furrow slightly.
‘It’s fine,’ I say, a little more forcefully this time. ‘Just… life, you know?’
He opens his mouth immediately, a response already on the tip of his tongue. But then he clamps it shut and gives me an annoyingly sympathetic smile. ‘Got it.’
‘Pretty sure you don’t,’ I mutter. It’s petty and childish, and Dane doesn’t deserve my ire, but the words come out before I can stop myself.
‘Try me,’ Dane says with another easy shrug. He’s started lifting the broken tiles and stacking them in a pile.
I hesitate.
I should really let him get on with it. He knows what to do and definitely doesn’t need me lurking around. But there’s something in his expression, a kind of earnestness that reminds me of the look he had back at the restaurant. Before I know it, I’m settling down on the garden steps.
‘It’s a long story,’ I say.
His gaze flits over to me for a second, and a teasing grintugs at his lips. ‘A long story like how the patio was? Or an actual long story?’
I laugh. ‘Anactuallong story. The patio’s part of it, I guess.’
Dane nods in understanding. ‘Cool. So start with that.’
‘Do you ever feel like—’ I pause. There’s a lump forming in my throat. I don’t think I’ve ever voiced this aloud. Not even to Sasha. It’s been my own secret burden to bear for as long as I can remember and the fact that I’m telling it to Dane, of all people, is enough to make a nervous laugh bubble out of me.
Maybe it makes sense that it’s Dane. Someone I’ve got no real connection with. Someone who doesn’t expect anything from me.
‘Do you ever feel like everyone’s relying on you?’ I ask after a few seconds. ‘Like you’re the one everyone turns to in a crisis, and you can’t let them down?’ The words come out and my chest suddenly feels lighter. It’s like a weight has been lifted, but I’d become so used to it I hadn’t even realised it was there.
Dane frowns. ‘Not really.’
The weight settles on my chest again. ‘Didn’t think so.’
‘Why can’t you let them down?’ Dane asks.
