“Until you have to pop that baby out…”
“Okay, one crisis at a time.” She wiped at her smudged mascara. “And speaking of crises. I meant what I said. Sonya’s wrong.”
Dani’s pulse ticked up. The warm glow of the spotlight turned in her direction, and she shifted uncomfortably in it. “About Dylan?”
“Yes. I mean she’s right, but she’s also wrong. Whatever you see in him, I think it’s really there. For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s a mistake.”
Dani’s shoulders felt like they’d shed a fifty-pound weight. As much as she’d told herself she didn’t feel bad for keeping her and Dylan a secret from Cat, what she really needed was her friend’s blessing. For the person she’d known longest and best to tell her she wasn’t crazy for believing in this. Now that she had it, she allowed herself a little bit of giddiness that she’d been holding back. Whether soulmates were a thing or not, she’d found the person she wanted to spend the foreseeable future with. Her smile pulled so wide she could feel her muscles stretching. “Thanks, Kit Cat. It’s worth everything.”
Twenty-nine
“What do you think? Sage?” Dani held up a picture on her phone and made a face. “Or minty-green?”
Dylan flicked his eyes away from the road to see the options and shrugged. They both looked exactly the same. “I think you ought to call Emma and get her opinion, Dani-pie.”
“You’re no help. I know you like planning parties, Dylan. I’ve been to plenty of them. You can’t hide from me.”
“Baby showers aren’t in my wheelhouse. Find me when it’s Superbowl time.” Though he had to say, listening to Dani chatter on happily about hors d’oeuvres and napkin colors was worth it to see her and Cat back on good terms. It was like someone had upped the wattage on Dani’s whole personality, and he liked a good strong dose of her.
She waved him off and stretched her legs out in front of her. His eyes ran the length of them. The winter leggings she had on for their run were distracting to say the least.
“Fine. Don’t help. You and Shawn should do something for Josh, though. Whatever guys do.”
“We mostly just let it happen and don’t make a big thing.”
“It is a big thing. What did you do for Shawn when he had Mattie?”
“Um. I don’t remember. He was in the Navy. We didn’t even see Mattie much till he was about three or four. Josh probably sent him a gift.”
“Well, Josh is here. Take him out for drinks or something. Buy him some dorky World’s Greatest Dad t-shirt.”
“Ok. You got it. I’ll tell Shawn to get on that.”
She huffed just like he knew she would, and he smiled at the side of her face. He’d probably take her advice, though.
He pulled into the turnoff to the beach trail, letting his car idle for the heat while he gathered his things. “You ready for this? It’s gonna be cold.”
They’d been adding a run into their weekend routine—Dani’s idea to offset all of the takeout—and he’d convinced her to run on the beach today. When they’d woken up and he noted the late fall temperature, he’d contemplated ditching out, but forced himself to follow through. He wasn’t usually this lazy on the weekends but something about Dani in a pair of his boxer shorts made him reluctant to suggest anything that required clothing. Still, having a running partner who looked that good in her winter gear was good motivation.
Dani tightened the laces on her sneaker and tossed him a sideways smirk. “I’m ready to embarrass you if that’s what you mean.”
Competition and lust mixed in his blood, warming it, making it pump. “Oh, are we racing? I can get down with that. What’s the prize?”
“Winner gets to pick dinner.”
He smiled at the subtle indication she’d be staying another night. “You’re on.” He stepped out of the car and the coastal air froze his windpipe. Once their breathing turned heavy, this would be uncomfortable. Dani bounced on her toes at the front of the car and he wrapped his arms around her, blowing on her ear as he spoke. “There’s an old lighthouse foundation down the beach. First step onto the sand is go. First one to get to the stone foundation wins.”
“This isn’t some secret place I’m not going to be able to find, is it?”
“Of course not. It’s plain as day on the sand. Straight shot.”
“Okay.” She shrugged off his hug and stretched her arms over her head. “Let’s go, Rocky.”
“You know Rocky was a boxer not a— Hey!” She was off before he could finish. “We were supposed to start at the sand,” he called, the first long pull of cold air burning his airways.
She shrugged without breaking her stride.
He found his footing and fell into a steady pace behind her, biding his time. More than once, the sight of Dani’s ass bouncing in those running tights caused him to stumble. He was like a salivating dog being led by a piece of meat. Pathetic, but not surprising. He should have taken that into account when he challenged her.
Even with the distraction, though, he gained on her easily.
She tossed a look over her shoulder and pumped her arms, pulling away again. She was quick, but running on sand was his regular training routine. Not exactly the same as the hard-packed soil of the running trails in the city she usually took to. Plus he had the advantage of recognizing the finish line before she did, knowing when to give it his final push.
And there it was.
His footfalls grew heavier as he blew past her. She made a sound that was surprise and anger and stretched her stride, but her legs were too short. She’d never catch him. He looked over his shoulder to gloat just as her knee went out to one side and she fell flat on her ass.
“You okay?” He pivoted and rushed the few steps he’d gained on her, dropping to his knees in the sand. Shit. Maybe racing on unfamiliar terrain was a bad idea. “Did you hurt your ankle?”
“No.” She shook her head, breathing heavily. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?” He went to reach for her foot, but she swung it out of his reach and pulled to her hands and knees, doing some weird bear crawl for a few steps until she could get her top half upright. She jumped the last yard to the old crumbling cement finish line while he sat, his ass and thighs in the cold sand.
“Really?” he huffed.
Dani bent at her waist, her hands on her knees, and caught her breath. “What? I said I was fine. Shoulda believed me.”
Dylan pulled himself to his feet and walked to her. “Should have left you sitting on the sand and made a break for it, huh?”