“Oh, no, I plan to go out as much as I can. I haven’t enjoyed anything that much in longer than I can remember. The girls are so sweet, and the boys! I thought I’d die laughing when Aedyn roped Dusty’s hat!”
Austen’s brow furrowed. “Dusty was there?”
“Yeah, he’s volunteering, too. He’s terrific with the kids.”
“Huh.” He blinked, his gaze drifting past me. “You know, it sounds like a pretty cool experience. Think I’ll come with you to that work party on Saturday.”
My whole body warmed right to my toes. Did he really want to come with me? I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time together. “You will? You’ll love it, I promise!” I stood on my toes to kiss his cheek.
“I’ll love it even more if you kiss me proper.”
I laughed. “Deal.” He leaned down, and I sank into his arms, wrapping my own around his shoulders. His hat was in the way, but we figured it out.
Until my dad cleared his throat.
I jumped, but Austen didn’t pull back that quickly. He lingered, his hands only slipping reluctantly away when I took a breath and put on a smile. “Hi, Dad. This is Austen.”
He raised his eyebrows, but that was all. Dad had always been good at not embarrassing me, but I could tell he was just as uncomfortable as I was. He put his hand out. “Ahem. Nice to meet you, young man.”
Austen remembered to take his hat off before he shook my dad’s hand. “Likewise. Jed, isn’t it?”
Dad’s eye twitched. “That it is. I hear you’re joining us Saturday evening for our wild night of puzzles and pizza.”
Austen glanced at me. “I hope that’s okay. If I’m messing with any family traditions…”
“No, no, that’s fine. Hey, since you’re here, I could use a hand in the garage. Do you have a minute?”
“What did you need, Dad?” I asked. “Is it the hotrod? I brought a new oil filter home. We can work on it later.”
Dad shook his head. “This will only take a minute. I need someone tall to get that extra hood scoop down that’s hanging on the wall.” He winked at me, then gestured to Austen. “Well, come on, young man, I promise I won’t keep you too long.”
Austen followed my dad out to the garage, glancing questioningly over his shoulder at me as he went. I just lifted my arms. I had no idea what my dad was up to because he’d never dragged any of my boyfriends to the garage before. I guess he really just needed someone tall.
Chapter 14
Dusty
“Forty-nine,ninety-nine…seventy-six,ninety-five…twenty-eight…” The door opened behind me, but I didn’t stop tabulating. If I broke concentration, I’d forget where I was on the week’s expenses and have to start all over again. Besides, it was probably Luke, and he’d wait.
“Sixty-four, ninety-f—” Something heavy plopped on my desk. I stopped, the figures long lost, and turned around.
Austen Conrad pointed at the leather-bound book he’d dropped beside my elbow. “I brought your journal back.”
“You could have knocked.”
“Would you have answered?”
My hand was smoothing over that familiar cover, caressing the worn leather, but I looked up in surprise at the accusation in his voice. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Austen stuck his hands in his pockets. “You tell me. Maybe you’re not the nice guy I thought you were.”
I swiveled my chair around and got to my feet. “Just what is that supposed to mean?”
“I think you know exactly what that means. It means you knew all about me wanting to get together with Jess, and you moved in to get in the middle. You’re trying to screw me over, and I’m calling you on it.”
The blood started pounding in my ears. “What?You think I’m trying tosabotageyou? I’ve done everything I could to help you!”
“Only because you couldn’t get her attention any other way. I guess you figured you’d just watch my moves and jump in when you saw the chance?”