Page 33 of Changed By You
Lincoln: Are you able to talk to her? Or would it put you in an awkward spot?
Dalton: Awkward spot, but doing it anyway.
Lincoln: Good for you. Gotta shoot your shot.
Dalton: How’s the fam?
Lincoln: Good. Trin convinced me to take in a litter of 5 puppies someone dumped by the side of the road. So just when Micah starts sleeping through the night, we’re bottle feeding puppies.
Dalton: You can’t say no to dogs, though.
Lincoln: Nope. That’s how we ended up with eleven of them, plus 5 puppies.
Dalton: Good luck with that.
Lincoln: Good luck with your thing, too. Lemme know how it goes.
Dalton. I will.
“Come on in, the water’s perfect,” June purrs.
I glance up from my screen. She’s wearing a tiny white bikini, her nipples and areolas visible through the scraps of fabric on top.
“I have to go make a call,” I say, getting up.
“You’re no fun!”
June and I have different definitions of fun. But I just wave and don’t look back. My only concern today is making sure I get some time alone with Alice.
It’s almostten thirty that night when Alice comes walking down the hallway to her room, stopping when she sees me sitting on the floor next to her door, my back against the wall.
“Dalton. What are you doing?”
I nod toward my phone screen. “Watching the last game of the playoffs. I choked so hard it was almost impressive.”
She lowers her brows, glancing over her shoulder at the door she just closed behind her, which leads from the kitchen to this staff quarters hallway.
I stand up, my legs tingly from spending the past hour and a half sitting here.
“You know what I meant,” she says in a hushed tone, walking toward me.
“I told you we’d be talking today.”
She stuck like glue to Farrah today, deliberately not giving me a chance to get her alone. I don’t know if she’s playing hard to get or if she just doesn’t want to talk to me. Either way, it’s making me insane.
“I didn’t mean any of that in the hot tub with Farrah the other night.”
Her eyes widen and she puts a finger over her lips. “Someone might hear.”
“You want to talk in your room?”
She considers for a second, then opens the door and steps inside. I follow, and she closes the door behind us.
“Dalton, I--”
“Let me go first. I really like you, Alice.” She shushes me again, and I can’t help smiling. “I don’t care who knows.”
“You can’t blow Farrah off,” she whispers, her eyes pleading with me. “She wants you.”
