Chapter 2
two
Dawson
What was I thinking, agreeing to go on a date with Lainey when Esme is the one I really want? I was only helping Wilder and Aspen by filling out the dating questionnaire so the program would have more data to choose from when selecting potential matches.
Honestly, I wasn’t thinking when I agreed to the date. I knew my brother, Dean, was crazy about Lainey, and that she was crazy about him, too. I thought the date would be harmless—a fun way to hang out with my future sister-in-law that we could laugh about later.
My plan for the date was to talk about how great Dean was since he was doing a terrible job of expressing his feelings for Lainey on his own.
Picking up roses for Lainey was an afterthought.
But when I saw the hurt look on Esme’s face when I bought them, I knew I’d made a mistake.
Thanks to Dean, he’s taking over my date with Lainey so I can fix things with Esme.
“Sure.” Esme tucks her phone into the pocket of her apron. “Did you see Dean’s roses for Lainey and decide you want something else to add to your arrangement for her?”
“What? No, I don’t want any more flowers for Lainey.” A customer walks in just as I’m about to explain everything to Esme.
“Hey, Esme.” Bale Blackwood, one of the town firefighters, walks up to the counter. “I got Rand to cover my shift tonight so I can surprise Clover.” The love on his face as he talks about his wife, Clover, makes me want that with Esme.
“Sure, I just received a shipment of gerbera daisies. I think she’ll love them.” Esme rushes to the back of the store without even glancing back my way.
“Hey, Dawson, how’s the spring logging coming along?" Bale makes small talk as he waits for the bouquet of flowers.
“Thanks to the mild winter, we are actually ahead of schedule,” I say, shifting my gaze to the back of the store to catch a glimpse of Esme.
Her bright, honey-blonde hair is like a beacon, inviting me to run my fingers through it. She must sense me staring as she finally glances over her shoulder directly at me. Her cornflower blue eyes widen in surprise as she catches me watching her.
“You might want to lock her down before someone else does,” Bale says, nodding to Esme as she turns her back to us to arrange the daisies, luckily, out of hearing range. “A lot of the single firefighters have their eyes on her.”
“Over my dead body. She’s mine," I snap.
“You might think that, but no one else seems to think that. Or if they did, once you said yes to dating Lainey, Esme was thought to be back on the market.”
Damn it. I thought I’d made it clear to all the single guys that Esme was mine. How could I have been so foolish to think the rumors of me dating Lainey wouldn’t spread?
“I’m not dating Lainey. I was just trying to push Dean into asking her out.”
“Looks like you’ve got some damage control to do.” Bale pats me on the back as Esme carries a beautiful bouquet of daisies to the counter. I step aside as Bale pays for his flowers and then heads out.
“Can we talk now?” I take a step closer to Esme.
She glances at the clock on the wall before responding. “Let me close up first.” I watch as she pulls the shade down on the front window, then turns the door lock and flips the sign to closed. “Aren’t you late for your date with Lainey?” She turns to face me.
I close the space between us in three long steps, “I’m not going on a date with Lainey. That was a mistake to say yes. I only signed up for the dating service as a favor to Wilder and Aspen. I never intended for anything to come of it.”
“But it did.” Her blue eyes fill with sadness. “You and Lainey matched—you’re a perfect couple.”
“But we didn’t match.” She blinks at me, her eyes now showing confusion, so I keep explaining.
“As I said, when I filled out the questionnaire, it was just as a favor. I didn’t answer it the way I normally would—I answered it the way Dean would.
So technically, Dean and Lainey are the perfect match, not me and Lainey. ”
“Why would you do that?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is that it felt too personal to fill out about myself. And since I wasn’t looking for a match, I didn’t give it a second thought after finishing it.”
“So what about Lainey and your date tonight?”
“I went to talk to Dean about the situation. I knew he liked her, but was too stubborn to do anything about it. In my defense, I thought if I went out with her, it would be the wake-up call he needed to go after her himself—which he did.”
“That was a pretty risky move. What if you were wrong about his feelings for Lainey and he hadn’t decided to take your place on the date?”
“Yeah, I realize that now.” I shrug.
“So what brings you here if your intent was to set up Lainey and Dean?”
“You,” I say. “I want to date you.” I take her hand and bring it to my lips, softly kissing her wrist.
I’m not sure what I expected her response to be, but it definitely wasn’t the answer she gave.
“No,” She shakes her head, pulling her hand out of mine. “I don’t want to date you.”
“But.” I start to say, but she cuts me off.
“Let me explain. I want you, but I don’t want to date you.
” Having her slap me across the face wouldn’t have surprised me as much as her words.
“I really like you, Dawson, but I don’t have the time or the energy to invest in dating right now—my business comes first. But I would like to have a friends with benefits situation with you.
” I was wrong; her last words are more shocking than anything I was expecting.
I try to wrap my mind around what she is saying, but none of it makes sense. Why can’t we have a relationship built on love, not just a situation built on sex?
“So you want us to be fuck buddies?” My words are harsh, but if that’s the kind of relationship she wants, then she needs to be able to handle the dirty side of it.
Her face goes slightly pale, “Yes, that is all I can offer you, Dawson.”
I might go to hell for taking her up on her offer, but if it’s the only way I can have her, I’d be a fool to turn her down—especially since I plan on changing her mind and making her fall in love with me.
“It’s a deal,” I say, turning toward the front door, needing to escape into the cool night air outside. “I’ll come to your house tomorrow night at nine p.m.” I unlock the door, turn the knob, and walk out into the darkness without saying another word.