“Hey. Good timing. I was just about to start patrolling.”
She smiled. It melted me. “I’m glad my dad made us wake up then. He said he refused to let us waste the day away.”
“Wasting a day away is never a good thing.” I wasn’t even paying attention to what I was saying. All I could focus on was Savy’s blue eyes and how they seemed lighter. She was happy to see me. The night before hadn’t just been a fluke.
The girl I assumed was Laney cleared her throat.
“Oh sorry. Glen, this is Laney. Laney, this is Glen.”
I held out my hand to her. “Nice to meet you.”
She grinned. “Nice to meet you too. Savy told me all about you last night.”
“Oh, did you now?” I smiled at Savy. She blushed, and I wanted to make her blush more—but for other reasons.
“I can’t believe you hired a sleigh for her. That’s so romantic.”
Dalton laughed. “Don’t mind Laney, she might be seventeen, but she still thinks she’s going to be a Disney princess.”
“I do not.” She put a hand on her hip and glared at her brother. “It was romantic. No girl could deny it.”
“What about you, Savannah?” Dalton turned to her. “Was it romantic?”
She glanced at me, before moving her gaze back over to Dalton. “Maybe.”
“See.” Laney smiled proudly. “Maybe with a smile means yes. Everyone knows that.”
“Glen, a little help here,” Ted called over.
“Sorry, I’ve got to go, but it was good seeing you.”
“Are we still on for tonight?” she asked tentatively like she was afraid I’d say no.
“Of course. I’ll pick you up at eight like we planned.”
“Ok. Good.”
I didn’t waste the opening. I leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. Laney giggled as Savy looked up at me with surprise. “See you later.”
“You definitely will.” I walked back over to help again with the loading.
“He’s so hot,” Laney said loudly enough that I could hear. Unfortunately I couldn’t hear Savy’s response.
The rest of the day crawled until I was finally able to get off work and head home. I spent over an hour cleaning the place, I needed to make it look as appealing as possible. I knew nothing I could do could make up for the crappy furniture, but I’d do everything else possible.
My phone buzzed with a text at seven thirty. I smiled as I saw Savy’s name. Finished early.
Oh yeah? Couldn’t wait the extra half hour?
Do you think making fun of me is the way to go tonight? Wow. That wasn’t a typical Savy response.
Make fun of you? I wouldn’t dream of it. It’s teasing. I’ll be there in ten minutes.
Good.
I pocketed my phone and grabbed my keys. If she was gunning to see me, I wasn’t going to leave her waiting. I drove around for a few minutes until I gave up and found a spot in the employee area of the garage. At least I could play the employee card.
I braced myself before heading upstairs. I hoped I wouldn’t run into my parents, but I wasn’t going to ask Savy to come out to meet me. I figured showing my face to Layden again wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Layden was the one who opened the door after I knocked. “Nice to see you, Glen. It’s been a while.” He winked.
“Always nice to see you.” I glanced around him into the main living space. I didn’t see Savy anywhere.
“She’s out on the porch.” Her dad walked over. “Good to see you, Glen.” There was something in his expression that made me pause. What did he know?
“Good to see you too, George.”
“Could we have a little chat before you guys leave?” he asked, but we both knew he wasn’t really asking.
“Sure.”
I glanced back toward the hallway. I really hoped he didn’t ask me to talk out there. The chance of seeing my parents would make it that much worse.
“Let’s talk in here.” He gestured to the couch.
“Thanks.”
“I don’t really understand what’s going on, but I know what it’s like to not want to see your parents.” He spoke loudly enough for his father to hear.
Layden laughed. “Don’t get him started on how horrible of a parent I was.”
“You? I bet you were a good dad.”
“Only on Wednesdays.” He winked before walking into the kitchen.
“I don’t need to know what’s going on with your parents, but I do need to know what’s going on between you and my daughter.”
“I care about her a lot.” That seemed like the simplest answer, but it didn’t say enough. It’s not like I could have told him I’d been thinking about her constantly and wanted her so bad it hurt.
“You care about her? Is that all you’re going to give me here?”
“I’ve known her for years, and somewhere along the way I realized my feelings went beyond friendly.”
“You realized that, huh?”
“Yes.”
“I think we all realized that a long time ago.”
“I’m not going to pretend I’m the best guy out there, but I’m not going to hurt her.”
“Are you sure about that?” He glanced out on the porch. Savy was watching us and shaking her head at her dad. I hoped she would come in to rescue me soon.
“I hurt her, but I didn’t mean to. I was trying to do what was best for her.”
“What about what was best for you? Did that have anything to do with it?”
I shook my head. “No. I would have done the exact opposite of what I did if that’s what I’d been thinking about.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
“Afraid?”
“That confirms what happened. I’m putting it together from the pieces.”
“Oh.” Great. Her dad knew we’d come close to having sex. Here was when he was going to tell me I couldn’t take her out.
“She’s an adult, so I’m not going to get in the way of her getting what she wants, but before you do anything this time, make sure it’s what you want too. She’s a strong girl, but she doesn’t deserve heartbreak.”
“I know exactly what I want. The trick will be finding out what she wants.”
“You’ll take care of her?”
“Yes. Is there a curfew?”
“She’s an adult. She hasn’t lived under my roof in ten years. No curfew, but be smart about things.”