Page 10 of Next Door Midlife Alpha
There was no chance for him to be the gentleman his bear demanded him to be, but they’d never said this was a date. She was just repaying him for the help, right? “Family is important. My daughter Lila has been splitting her time between Boston during the school year with her mother and out here with me in the summer. She seems happy,and I know it’s what’s best for all of us, but I also feel like I just want to spend all my time with her.” Dylan did at least get the chance to open the door of The Dune Stop.
“What a cute place,” she commented as they stepped inside.
“It’s been here forever.” Dylan lifted a hand to wave at Harold behind the bar before he guided Stacey to a table out on the porch overlooking the water. “It’s not the fanciest, but they’ve got the best seafood on the Cape. Don’t tell my brother Ross, though. He owns a restaurant up in P-Town.”
Her head turned as she took in the various fishing-themed décor. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“I highly recommend the lobster rolls,” Dylan advised.
“Maine or Connecticut?”
“Both, actually.” The waitress stepped up to their table and handed them menus. “We offer a little bit of everything for every taste. How are you, Dylan?”
“Just fine, thanks. Any good specials today, or is Harold just going to toss me the scraps like he usually does?”
“I’ll have to ask,” she replied with a smile. She took their drink order before returning to the kitchen.
Stacey was frowning at the menu.
“What’s the matter?”
“Everything just looks so good, honestly.” She scanned through the options, her eyes skimming over the simple paper menu. “I was going to leap on that lobster roll as soon as I found out they have the mayo-based one here. That’s my favorite.”
“Better than butter?” Dylan challenged. “With that griddled bun? No way.”
“Yes, way,” she countered. “Some nice lettuce to line the bun, the contrast between the cold lobster salad and the warm bun, mm! Nothing better than that!”
Dylan laughed. “Good thing they have both here.”
It was a small gesture, but it was enough. Dylan’s bear had been simmering under the surface of his skin all day. He’d made a practical decision to help her with her furniture, but he hadn’t anticipated just how sexy it would be to see her moving and sweating, especially as she smiled and chatted the entire time. Her new home was one he was familiar with, and yet it was now distinctly hers. Being inside it, touching her things, had created an intimacy he couldn’t have predicted. Now, sitting there across a table from her, with the sun setting out over the bay,Dylan found that he was starting to lose control of the beast inside him. It wantedher.He tamped it down, reminding himself that he was on a mission.
“So you know how I wound up here,” Stacey started after their food had arrived. She’d decided on that lobster roll she’d initially found so enticing. “What about you? How long have you lived out here?”
His muscles tightened as he watched her take another bite of her sandwich. It shouldn’t be a turn-on to watch someone eat, but there was something about the way her lips wrapped around that bun that made him think of things other than food. “I’ve lived here my whole life. Generations of Brighams have, actually, right there on our little stretch of the beach.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. I’m sure your daughter enjoyed the summers with you.”
Their conversation roamed from parenthood to careers to the weather. It drifted back to parenthood several times, of course. Dylan liked the warmth in her eyes when she talked about her children. Though he couldn’t truly find out how she might feel about his kind during a simple dinner out, he knew with certainty that she was a devoted mother.
He also knew that his bear was getting more andmore difficult to control. It was getting hard to eat. Focusing on their conversation was almost impossible as he studied her features and curves. She was gorgeous in bright daylight, but the soft string lights that glowed in the porch ceiling only enhanced the effect. Dylan forgot that she was human. He forgot that he was there to find out more about her, not for his own curiosity but for the sake of the clan. It was hard to step back into reality when the check came and it was time to leave.
“I know I was taking you out to thank you,” Stacey said on the way back, “but I feel like I should thank you all over again. Seeing a bit of the local culture is just what I needed, the perfect break from packing.”
“It was my pleasure,” he replied. His heart was beating far too fast. The underside of his skin itched, his bear irritated at being so roused. Dylan could feel the truth looming inside him, and his inner animal didn’t like how hard he was fighting to stay distant from it. “We should do it again sometime.”
“I’d like that. And if we come back to The Dune Stop, I guess I’ll have to try the other lobster roll so I can debate with you more thoroughly over which one is better. I still think I’m right, though.”
Dylan instantly imagined her biting into theConnecticut-style sandwich, with hot butter dripping off her lips. He swallowed, wondering if she had any clue what she was doing to him. He pulled up to her house.
The lights were all off, but someone had left the fixture on the porch glowing. Stacey checked her watch. “I didn’t realize how late it’d gotten. Mom and the kids must be in bed. Do you want to come in for a drink?”
He twisted the key in the ignition and shut off the engine without giving himself the chance to think about it. “Sure. That sounds nice.” Hedidstart to think about it as they walked up to the door. It was the neighborly thing to do, right? And it would only give him that much more of a chance to find out if she was safe or not. Excuses, he knew, but right now, he didn’t give a shit. He just wanted to stay close to her.
They quietly threaded through the furniture and boxes, which had progressed a bit since he’d seen them earlier in the day, and into the kitchen. “Do you like whiskey?” Stacey asked.
“Suits me just fine.”
The light over the sink was the only one that guided her as she found a couple of mismatchedglasses and poured them each a generous serving. “Let’s go out onto the back deck,” she suggested.
