“Of course, I accept! Look at this darlin’. How could I say no to this smile?”
My face lights up at that. “I do have a great smile, don’t I? I had braces for two years in middle school and haven’t lost any teeth on the ice yet.”
“I wasn’t talking about you, Golden Boy.” Dakota’s taunt is so quiet I nearly miss it.
Golden Boy? Oh, I like this.
“Hear that, Mack? She’s already got a nickname for me.” I ruefully wiggle my eyebrows but don’t break eye contact with Dakota. “Careful, Austen, I might develop a crush,” I declare.
“I’m actually from Dallas,” Dakota replies, looking puzzled.
Oh, I know. Any football fan in the country is well aware of Brody Meyer’s roots. Instead of sharing that tidbit, I just shake my head and smile at the English major in a Pride and Prejudice sweatshirt.
Dakota must be someone who appreciates the classics, much like myself. I just met her, but I want to know everything about this woman. What’s her favorite book? Favorite author? Where does she like to read? Is she a Kindle girl? I’d bet she isn’t; she seems like the type of girl to curl up with a good paperback by the fire.
The moment Mack shuts the door behind Dakota after she accepts the position, she turns on me and pokes her pointer finger into my chest. “Stop whatever is going on in that flirtatious head of yours—she’s married.”
Hold up. What?
Married?My dream girl is married? She couldn’t be more than twenty-five. Since when did all of the good ones get snatched up so young?
From the moment I laid eyes on Dakota, I was absolutely enamored. My stomach sinks at the realization that my attraction for her can’t go anywhere. She’s married, so boundaries will be respected, of course. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to get to know her more while she’s hanging out with my little Cadey Cat. Perhaps the two of us can be . . . I run my fingers through my hair before settling on the realization that we can only be one thing, and that’s friends.
1
August
It’s McKenna and my twenty-first birthday today. We didn’t go out last night at midnight because she had a volleyball match this afternoon, but I’m taking Mack out tonight and told her I wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“I already arranged for Dakota to watch Cadence while we’re out celebrating. She’s planning to stay the night and watch her tomorrow morning too, for the guaranteed hangover we’ll have,” I tell Mack as we drive back to my place from her match.
As I pull up to the stoplight, I glance over at my twin sister and see she winces at my words. “I don’t know, Carse. You know I’m not a big drinker, especially in season and since I’ve had Cadence.”
“Fine, no hangover for you. Just a few drinks to ring in our milestone birthday together.”
McKenna has had a challenging two years, and I just want to give her the opportunity to let loose and have a reason to celebrate. Her childhood best friend and our next-door neighbor, Katie Turner, passed away almost two years ago in a car accident. Mack was in the car with her and, as a result, was in a coma for two days. She’s had to deal with a lot of survivor’s guilt along with her grief over losing her best friend.
Not to mention the fact that Katie’s older brother, Griffin, was McKenna’s boyfriend at the time. Katie’s death tore them apart, and Griff left my sister heartbroken. As if that wasn’t enough, Mack discovered she was pregnant with Griffin’s child a few months later. The fallout from her telling him was something I never anticipated.
Loss changes people—it certainly changed me. I never thought Griff would abandon my pregnant sister and his child, but I’ve also never lost my sister, who is my best friend.Though I almost did. I’m not trying to validate his actions because they’re inexcusable, but I know I’d be lost without my sister. We’ve done everything in life together from day one, which is another reason I’m not allowing her to back out of celebrating our twenty-first birthday together.
“I already told Brooke to invite a few of your teammates, and Mom and Dad are joining us, so you have to show up at least,” I add.
“How did you even get Dakota’s number?”
“You have it on the fridge on the ‘Cadence contacts’ list,” I explain. She doesn’t need to know that I added it to my phone contacts the second I saw it on the fridge. I was itching for a chance to use it, and our birthday was the perfect excuse.
Mack also doesn’t need to know that the handful of times Dakota has come over to watch Cadence, I’ve made it my mission to squeeze in a few extra minutes at home to get to know her better.
My conversations with Dakota have been few, but I look forward to each little interaction like an addict waiting for my next fix.
Speaking of my little addiction, Dakota opens the front door of my house with Cadence on her hip, waving excitedly to us as we pull into the driveway. Coming home to the two of them feels right. It makes me want things with Dakota that I know I’ll never get.
You’re just barely friends, remember?
Right, I told myself I could be her friend. She had said she didn’t have many of them here in Minnesota since she grew up in Texas. I just needed to remind myself that’s all we can be.
But god, she looks so cute in her jean short overalls with a white tank top underneath. Her long hair is pulled up into one of those clips she loves so much when she’s nannying so Cadence doesn’t tug her hair—it’s my little stinker-butt niece’s favorite thing to do.