Page 137 of Make Me Swoon

I know the hickey is visible and a small smile curves my lips. I look at him out of the corner of my eye but don’t say anything as I take a seat on the couch. Roman and Flynn sit down in the two chairs and Lincoln takes the spot next to me. We sit in silence for a minute, watching the puppies chase after each other.

I still can’t believe that Lincoln rescued eight puppies. I know that he did it for Adeline though and as I think about it, I realize that I would have done the same for Bianca. I rub my hand through my hair as I think about how wrapped around her finger I already am.

I’ve known Lincoln since the Navy. We both enlisted at the same time and went through boot camp together. We ended up in the dorms on the same base together and we’ve been close ever since. He told me he wanted to get out about four years ago and I agreed that it was time. I was starting to lose myself more and more with each deployment. Lincoln wanted to start a security company, really use the skills that we had and I agreed, giving him half of my savings to start our company. It’s paid off and now I’m set for life.

I listen to the girls talk in the kitchen. They’re contacting different places and scheduling when they can go see venues or try out cakes. I smile when I hear Bianca laugh at something Aspen says and I see Lincoln give me another pointed look. I smooth out my features, adopting the blank mask that I usually walk around wearing. Suddenly, I hear my name mentioned and my ears perk up.

“You and Bryson seem pretty close.” Adeline whispers. She’s talking just loud enough that I can still hear every word they say though and I strain my ears to catch Bianca’s response. Before Bianca can respond though, Aspen interrupts.

“Please tell me that you’re not going to do your usual one date disappearing act with him. He seems like a good guy and besides, you’re guaranteed to run into him again.”

“That’s true.” Adeline pipes up. “I think that Bryson could be the one to finally break the one date streak. You guys will date and fall in love and then we’ll be planning your wedding next.” She says dreamily.

Sounds good to me.

The dogs start barking and I look at my watch to realize that it’s been two hours.

“Bryson, you ready to head home? I need to get some stuff done there.”

I nod as I stand from the couch, saying goodbye to everyone before I grab Naia and follow Bianca out of the house. We take the long way home, letting Naia stop to sniff everything on the way. I think over something that has been bugging me for a while.

“Why do you never go on second dates?”

Bianca stares at the ground, thinking over my question as we continue walking in silence. I never understood that. Bianca is beautiful, smart, funny, loyal; she should have been snapped up by now.

“I had this boyfriend in college. He was my first serious boyfriend ever and I was in love with him, or at least I thought I was.” I frown at hearing her say she loved someone else.

“It was about six months when he started acting weird. Wanting me to see my parents more or encouraging me to answer their calls. I have a bit of a rocky relationship with them. They want me to be this perfect socialite daughter who marries a man from an equally respectable family and does all of the right charities and functions like them. I never wanted that and we just fought about it constantly so I stopped spending any time with them. They cut me off but I have an inheritance from my grandma so I do ok without their help.”

Her parents definitely wouldn’t approve of me then. I grew up in a poor family from the wrong side of town.

“Anyways, I finally broke down and we went over there for dinner one night. It was awful. Turns out they paid him to talk me into seeing them again and then paid him more when he broke up with me. They had another guy waiting to take me out, someone with a better pedigree.” She spits bitterly.

“What an idiot.” I mutter.

“Yeah, I should have known better. They’ll never accept me for me.”

“No! I didn’t mean you. I meant your boyfriend and your parents. You’re amazing just the way you are, Bianca. They must be blind or stupid to not be able to see that. You don’t need them. You’re better off without them.”

I see her watching me as we turn the corner and she has a speculative look in her eyes. We stop for the crosswalk light and she reaches over, gently squeezing my hand once. She drops my hand after that and we make our way across the street.

“So, you think that other people are going to do that too. Take their money and leave you behind.” I say as I realize that’s why she never goes on a second date.

She nods her head as we make our way down the sidewalk.

All of a sudden, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. My eyes immediately scan the area, looking for threats. We’re almost to her building and as I look across the street, I finally see him. Brad Mikales. He’s leaning against his fancy sports car across the street and his eyes are locked on Bianca. She seems to pick up on my tension because her head snaps up and she follows my line of sight to see him too. She steps closer to me as her breath catches in her throat.

“Breathe, Bianca.” I whisper.

“What do we do?” She asks.

“We keep walking. We’re going to go right down to the police station and file a restraining order against him. He’s on the coffee shop video surveillance footage harassing you at work and now this.”

“That will stop him?”

No.

“It’s a start.” I say instead.

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