Hearts Like Ours | Red View Romance #1

🍏 Eight

Dawson knew she was still pissed at him, but she was damn good at hiding it. She held easy conversation with the rest of his family, laughed along with his sister and listened intently when Jack talked business. When Kenzie started spewing about her wedding, Layla wore a smile so bright and beautiful that he found himself transfixed. And once his mom and dad delved into the story of how they met, speaking in tandem and finishing each others thoughts, Layla seemed to melt, watching them with soft eyes.

By the time dessert was served—a healthy, boot camp-approved tart his father whipped up—he was sure he'd spent most of the night stealing glances at her.

"So, Layla," Kenzie turned to her with doe-eyes. "I'm dying to know about your fiancé. Colin, right? I mean, what's he like?" Her voice went playful as she asked, "Is he handsome?"

Dawson had to roll his eyes at the question, but didn't comment—he was curious about the husband-to-be, and didn't want to stray the conversation now that it was taking him where he wanted to go.

He didn't bother asking himself why he was so damn insistent on knowing more about her relationship, why he wanted his suspicions confirmed so badly. The reason, he knew, was the same as the reason he'd shoehorned his way into the workout that morning. There was a pull that he felt towards her, one that he was doing a terrible job of fighting off.

What he knew he should ask himself was, so what? So what if he was right about her being unhappy? If she did confess that something was amiss, what then? Was he planning to help her fix the nameless issue, or to soothe her worries about matrimony?

No, he wasn't. Because even if he couldn't pin down his interest in the situation, he knew one thing: it was selfish. He hated to admit it, but some part of him wanted to be right. He wanted Layla, and as long as that ring was on her finger, he couldn't have her.

But he didn't want commitment, or love, or anything other than to spend the next two weeks drowning in the passion that had washed over him and to pull her down beneath the waves so they could do it together. And he'd have to be the world's biggest asshole to coax her into admitting the faults of her relationship just so he could take her to bed and say goodbye in fourteen days.

So again... why the hell was he so invested?

"Oh! Umm..." Layla picked up her glass. "Yes. I mean, he's got... you know, he's very..." She set the water back down without taking a sip. "Classically handsome, I guess you could say. Blond, blue eyes. Well-dressed. He likes to be put-together."

If Dawson gripped his fork and knife a little tighter, he pretended not to notice it. Colin, apparently, was his exact opposite. He was disheveled with dark hair and eyes, and while he thought of himself as good-looking enough, he wouldn't have used the word "classic" in any description of himself.

Kenzie let out a girlish squeal. "You two have to come to the wedding together. I bet you guys look perfect together. What's he like?"

"Uh..." Layla adjusted her hair, moved the food on her plate around with her fork. Dawson watched her fidget, watched her become less of herself with each question about Colin. "He's sort of hard-headed. Outgoing. Confident."

Dawson cleared his throat. "When are you two getting married?"

She glanced at him for only a second. "We don't have a date, yet. Our parents are still figuring out some of the business aspects."

"Business?" Jack questioned, cutting into his tart.

"Yes. Foster Fitness and Joyful Juices will merge into one business, once we're married."

Dawson nearly dropped his spoon. There it was. The answer he'd been so insistently searching for. A merger.

He'd bet money that it wasn't her idea. That the whole thing was practically an arranged marriage, that she was swallowing her feelings for the sake of the business. Now this he hoped he was wrong about, even though he'd have bet money that he wasn't. Because if he was right, then all of this was a lot more complicated than a romance-less relationship. She couldn't just leave or call it off on a whim. Not when business was involved.