“It’s uncanny, isn’t it?”
“I totally get why being around Lindsey was freaking you out. So tell me about the days captured in these photographs.”
At her invitation, he went on a long and probably boring spiel about their various adventures: kayaking the Rio Grande in Big Bend, picnicking at Mount Bonnell overlooking the Colorado River, hiking through Arbor Hills, swimming through the waterfall in Hamilton Pool, and their road trip through the desert when Sara got it into her head to take a picture of every species of cactus in Texas—all one hundred of them. He’d always loved the outdoors, and he and Sara had spent countless hours exploring the great state of Texas. Dawn laughed at his funny stories, smiled when he was nostalgic, and encouraged him to share details that were becoming embarrassingly fuzzy in his memory.
“I’ve never spent much time outdoors, but it looks fun. Maybe we could do things like this together.” She glanced at him. “Or would that make you uncomfortable?”
“Why would it make me uncomfortable? I love the outdoors.”
“Well, those are activities you shared with Sara, so I thought maybe I’d be trespassing or something.”
“I did this kind of thing before I met her. And I still do this kind of thing with Owen. So, no, you wouldn’t be trespassing. I’d like to show you the world—the natural part of it.”
“And I’d like to show you the world—the historical cities, the rich cultures.”
He grinned. “Sounds like we’ll be busy.”
She stared at him for an extended moment, as if she were seeing their future together. When she smiled, he figured she liked what she saw.
She turned to the next picture on the wall—him and Sara on one jet ski and Owen on another, riding solo. “Where’s this?”
“Uh, that’s Lake Travis in Austin.”
“Did you two hang out with Owen often?” She angled her face toward him, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Actually, no. I’m singularly focused when I’m involved with a woman. I’m kind of a dick to him, to tell the truth.”
“I noticed that,” Dawn said. “I thought maybe you were always a dick to him and just didn’t realize it.”
“I have this very strange inability to focus my attention on more than one person at a time.”
“I’m a bit like that myself. But it is possible to date one person and have a brilliant friendship with another.”
He grinned. “I’ll have to try that sometime.”
“And who is this handsome guy?” Dawn said, her attention on the fishing trip photo.
Sara was plastered to Kellen’s side, a net in one hand and a Solo cup holding tadpoles in the other. The two of them were smiling like idiots. Chad had an arm around Owen’s shoulders as they posed for Jodie, who’d been volunteered to take a group picture of them. They probably should have found a stranger to take the shot so Chad’s girlfriend could have been included in the picture.
“You don’t see the resemblance?”
“He looks a lot like Owen,” Dawn said. “A bit less pretty boy, but they definitely have the same eyes.”
Kellen chuckled. Owen was somewhat of a pretty boy.
“That’s Chad, Owen’s older brother. He’d just joined the army and left us right after that was taken.”
“Is he still serving?”
“Yeah, he’s in Afghanistan. Cleaning up IEDs or something. We don’t really talk about that stuff when we hear from him. He just wants to know what’s going on back home.”
“That makes total sense to me.”
“He’s supposed to be coming home soon. Owen is stoked.” Kellen was pretty stoked too, but he was a little better at hiding it.
“Maybe I’ll get to meet him.” She glanced up at him, expectation in her eyes. She wanted to be a deeper part of his life; he recognized that. He just hoped he could allow it before he did something totally idiotic and pushed her away.
Kellen pulled his gaze from hers and focused on the picture again. “Well, if you’re not into saving tadpoles when you’re supposed to be tossing back beers and landing a huge fish, I’m sure he’d be happy to have you along.”
Kellen soon had her laughing about the slipperiness of tadpoles and Sara’s insistence that none of them be squashed by their man-hands and using all their beer cups for her rescue mission.
“You don’t have to worry about me trying to save slimy creatures,” Dawn said. “I nearly catapulted myself into the Gulf when I stepped on a jellyfish.”
“Sorry I missed that,” he said, chuckling as he imagined her leaping into the air. “You didn’t get stung, did you?”
“No, but I was traumatized just the same.”
“So what do you like besides pianos and baking and being a general pain in your father’s ass?”
She laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “There’s more to life than that?”
“Just a bit.”
“I like you,” she said.
He had the sudden urge to kiss her, but couldn’t bring himself to do it with dozens of pictures of Sara all staring at him. “And what else?” he asked, standing up straight when he realized he’d been leaning in to steal the kiss.
“Being tied with my legs wide open and your mouth reminding my pussy what it was made for.”
He felt a flush creep up his cheeks, but wasn’t sure if it was due to embarrassment or undeniable arousal. Why had he insisted on coming here first? If they’d started at Dawn’s place, he could already be giving her pussy another reminder. Maybe even two by now.
“What else?” he asked, hoping she’d change the subject and at the same time wishing she’d demand he take her home and then directly to her bed.
“I also like the scent of lilacs. Exploring foreign villages. The sound of rain against the roof. The tastes of cinnamon and vanilla. What do you like, Kelly?”
“The taste of you.”
She bit her lip, her gaze heated as it searched his bare chest before settling on his eyes. “I’m willing when you’re able.”
Was he able? He caught sight of Sara’s bright blue eyes in a nearby photo and decided not quite yet. The true test of letting her go would be fucking Dawn in the bed he’d once shared with Sara, and he wasn’t sure if he’d take that step this weekend or in the future or ever. But he could fuck Dawn in her own bed, and he would even allow himself to enjoy it.
“We’ll go back to your place soon.” He nodded toward Sara’s collection of figurines. “Sara also had a thing for dolphins.”
Dawn’s sigh made him squeeze his eyes shut. He sorely hated to disappoint her and wondered how many times she’d put up with disappointment before she told him to get lost.
“Did you buy all of these dolphins for her?” There were at least fifty of them in the collection, ranging from a tiny silver earring to a large crystal sculpture.