Page 37 of Daring to Love You
“Excuse me?” he croaked between his coughing fits. “I umm, we aren’t—”
“Don’t mind my mother,” Dorian said and approached him, gently patting him on the back as he continued coughing. She was so embarrassed. “Virginia doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Here, drink some water.”
Dorian handed him his glass, then scowled at her mother. The woman thought nothing of humiliating her, and Dorian couldn’t understand why she couldn’t see what she was doing. How could she not comprehend these little stunts were getting old, and they were embarrassing?
Going along with Lynix’s plan had been a good decision. It was the only way to get free of her mom.
Dorian grabbed the bouquet from the counter and excused herself from the room. She needed to find a quiet place to call Lynix, and as she strolled down the hallway to the front of the house, she decided the living room would be perfect.
A short while later, she entered the brightly decorated space with its tall ceiling, butter-yellow walls, and elegant white crown molding. Thankfully, no one was in there. Setting the bouquet on the coffee table in front of the sofa, Dorian pulled her cell phone from her back pocket.
She called Lynix, then paced the length of the large space, her feet silent on the oriental rug that covered the hardwood floor. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest, and Dorian wasn’t sure if it was from being angry at her mother or anxious to talk to Lynix. Maybe a little of both.
When the call picked up, she stopped moving. There was loud talking and laughing coming through the phone line before Lynix said, “Hey, sweetheart. Everything okay?”
With those few simple words, Dorian’s heart rate eased, and she melted a little inside. She loved his deep, calming voice, and the concern she heard seemed genuine.
“Everything is perfect thanks to you,” she said, deciding not to vent to him about how her mother was trying to push her onto another unsuspecting man. “The flowers are stunning, Lynix. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness.”
“Anything for you,” he said, his voice dropping an octave, and she no longer heard talking in the background. But then she remembered—poker night with his brothers.
“Shoot. I forgot you were playing poker tonight. I’m not going to hold you long.”
“It’s not a problem. We were taking a break to replenish our snacks,” he said with a chuckle. “Anyway, I’m glad you received the bouquet. Hopefully, they did the trick.”
Dorian dropped down on the sofa and leaned forward to sniff the flowers, then touched a delicate petal on one of the white roses. “Yes, they are perfect in every way.” She would go into detail, about how the delivery played out, the next time she saw him. “I love flowers, and no one has ever sent me any before now.” She hadn’t planned to admit to that and cringed when the words left her mouth.
It was bad enough he knew about how things ended with Rodney. If she kept telling Lynix everything, he was going to think she was beyond pitiful.
“Seriously?” he said, shock dripping from that one word. “I guess I’m going to have to make up for the assholes who didn’t send you flowers. Actually, I’m going to make sure I give you experiences that will make you forget about the losers. You’re special, Dee, and it’s about damn time someone treated you as such.”
Dorian was too surprised to respond. It was sad to admit, but with the few men she’d dated, she couldn’t say she’d everreally felt special. Yep, that was just sad. Now, here Lynix comes, her fake boyfriend, promising to change that. She had no doubt that hanging out with him was going to be very different from what she was used to with other men. And he called her Dee. She secretly loved when he used her nickname. A nickname only used by her family.
Instead of telling him that he didn’t have to prove anything to her or go to any trouble for her, she said, “I’m looking forward to our time together. Are you free one day this week?” she asked. “I’d like to cook dinner for you.”
There was a slight pause before he said, “I wouldneversay no to that. I’m on second shift for the next three days, but how about Thursday night?”
“Works for me. I’ll see you then.”
“Oh, sweetie, you’re going to see me before then. There’s no way I can go that many days without spending time withmy woman.” He chuckled, and she smiled at the joke. “Text me when you make it home tonight.”
“Okay.”
By the time the call ended, Dorian was grinning like an idiot. Pretending to have a boyfriend for a few months was going to be fun. She just had to make sure she didn’t fall for said boyfriend.
Chapter Seventeen
Lynix’s cell phone alarm blared from somewhere to his left, and he groaned as he patted the top of the nightstand, trying to silence the device. When his hand didn’t immediately make contact, he lifted his head and searched the tabletop through half-opened lids until he found the phone.
He hit the snooze button, then dropped his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes. It felt like he had just climbed into bed minutes ago. When in reality he’d been asleep for three hours—not nearly enough after working a twelve-hour shift.
All he wanted to do right now was roll over and return to a deep sleep. Another five or six hours would be perfect.
He couldn’t. He needed to get up and get dressed because Dorian agreed to come over to watch a sunrise with him from his rooftop deck. In hindsight, he should’ve planned this for a day when they both were off work. Unfortunately, their schedules weren’t lining up. Her days typically started super early, and he was working second shift this week.
But this was just temporary. In another two weeks, he’d have more control of his work schedule, and he’d plan around her days. She typically worked split shifts at the B&B. Maybe he’d be able to steal her away for lunch or something.
In the meantime, Lynix would figure something out. If left up to Dorian, they’d only get together whenever they had to put on a show for their parents. That wasn’t enough for Lynix, even if they were supposed to be pretending to be a couple. He had a small amount of time during this so-called fake relationship for her to see he wasn’t a man whore. That he had changed, and they belonged together. He planned to use every opportunity to bring that message to the forefront.
