Page 2 of Sweet Passions at Bayside
“What?” He chuckled again.
She squeezed her thighs together. “Don’t laugh!If I laugh I’ll wet my pants.”
He was silent for so long she checked her phone for a signal. “Hello? Dean? Are you there?”
“Sorry. I muted you.”
“Why?”
“You told me not to laugh, and I’m picturing you bouncing in your seat trying not to pee, and…” His words were lost in his laughter.
And so went the next fifteen minutes as Dean figured out where she was and directed her to his house. By the time she got there she was ready to burst. She flew out of her car, tearing a path around gorgeous, overflowing gardens, and headed for Dean’s front door. He came around the side yard, shirtless, carrying an enormous rock that covered his entire torso. His jaw was clenched tight. Veins bulged in his thick neck, broad chest, and massive arms as he bent his knees and set the rock at the edge of a garden.
Her breath whooshed from her lungs.
Holy mother of hotness.
She’d almost forgotten how large and powerful, howcommanding, he was in person, and how from their very first glance, he’d made her stomach flip and tumble. His hair was the same honey-wheat color as hers, cropped so short he looked military. Andwow, he’d kept the beard he’d grown over the winter after all. He’d told her he usually went clean-shaven over the summers, but she’d pleaded with him to keep it. She’d told him the girls would love it, and she knew she was right. He looked even tougher than usual, and coupled with his perpetually serious expression, he appeared as if he were going to snap at any moment.
The big faker.
Beneath that big, bad facade was the most patient man she’d ever met. That trait had taken her by surprise, and now she found herself swallowing hard to silence the lascivious woman inside her who was preparing for a coming-home party.
No way. Not happening.She’d dated friends before, and it never ended well. She’d long ago put Dean into the off-limits section of her brain, whether her body remembered that rule or not.
He rose to his full height of six-plus feet, spotting her. An amused look rose in his gunmetal-blue eyes, and she realized she was staring at him, with her thighs pressed together.Aw, heck!What could she do but laugh, which quickly sent an urgent sensation rippling through her bladder.
Dean jogged up to the front porch and threw the door open. “Go on, doll. Down the hall to the left.”
“You’re my hero.” She planted a quick kiss on his cheek. She’d asked him why he called her that the first weekend they’d met, and his response had been,No reason.
He smacked her butt as she ran through the door.
“I swear I’ll pee on your floor!”
“Not the response I usually get,” he called after her. “But if that’s what you’re into…”
She couldn’t stop grinning. It was so good to see him, so good to be back near Desiree and the other friends she’d made last winter. With her bladder finally empty, she washed her hands and took a moment to check herself out in the mirror. Yup, she looked like she’d spent all day in a car. Her hair was tied in a knot and secured with a pencil she’d found in the console. Several strands had sprung free, giving her a disheveled look. She pulled out the pencil, and her hair tumbled down her back. She cupped a hand over her mouth and breathed into it.
Ugh. Coffee breath.
She opened the vanity drawer and dug around looking for toothpaste.Floss, Band-Aids, deodorant, nail clippers, beard oil, beard balm.She picked up the beard oil and opened the top to sniff it.Mm. Cedar.She read the label. Organic.Nice.Scented with peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender essential oils. Looked like her second-bestie treated himself well. She put the cap back on and set the beard oil in the drawer, then rifled through another drawer and found toothpaste. She squeezed a bit on her finger and scrubbed her teeth clean.
“Hey, doll. You okay in there?” Dean called through the door.
She pulled it open, held up her finger to indicateone second, and gathered her hair over one shoulder as she turned the faucet on and dipped her mouth under it. She rinsed her mouth and washed her hands as he watched with a curious expression.
“That’s so much better. I borrowed your toothpaste.”
He arched a brow. “Got a date?”
“Ha! I wish.” She threw herself into his arms, hugging him so tight she could feel his heart pounding against hers. “I’m so glad to finally be here!”
“Me too.” He set her on her feet. “Sorry about the dirt. I’m sure I smell pretty ripe, too.” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m landscaping out back.”
She brushed the dirt from the front of her dress and dragged her eyes down his incredibly hot bod, wondering why he didn’t have some chick there with him. Desiree had told her that girls hit on Dean all the time. “You smell like your beard oil, which Imighthave snooped into.”
His eyes narrowed. “Snooped?”
