Page 21 of Daring to Love You (Priestly Family #3)

“If you knew I was feeling her, why didn’t you call me out on it?”

“Because I had hoped you’d get distracted by one of the other twenty women who’d been trying to get your attention over the years.” Zion shook his head and went back to eating. “How long have you and Dorian been dating?”

“Since yesterday,” Lynix said. There was no need in telling him that they were fake dating, because Lynix didn’t see it that way. He also was confident that soon Dorian would see they were great together.

Zion’s hands, holding the large hamburger, stopped inches from his mouth when he turned to look at Lynix. “ Yesterday? ”

Lynix nodded.

“Man, you must be losing your touch. It doesn’t typically take you that long to convince an unsuspecting woman to fall for your charm.”

Lynix chuckled and thought about how he and Dorian had spent most of the day together yesterday. She laid out the rules for how they’d move forward, including reiterating how there’d be no kissing and very little touching.

He wasn’t concerned. He had no doubt she’d be changing her mind before it was all said and done.

“Your sister is the exception to the rule in every way possible. She told me no more times than I can count, but I guess I wore her down.”

“Or she was secretly interested and tried to resist your charming ass,” Zion said with a laugh.

Lynix smiled but didn’t comment. There was no doubt Dorian was feeling him, but she didn’t fully trust him or herself.

Granted, there were enough reasons why she should tread lightly with him, especially knowing his reputation with women.

But he sensed she didn’t trust her judgment when it came to men.

With them dating, he would make sure she held all the power where the two of them were concerned.

Lynix had no intentions of pushing her into anything she wasn’t ready for.

His plan was to follow her lead but make sure they both had fun in the process.

That’s how confident he felt that she’d come to her own conclusion about them being meant for each other.

His phone vibrated, and he dug the device out of the front pocket of his jeans and glanced at the screen.

My mother’s at it again. She brought a guy home from church.

Lynix couldn’t help but smile. Virginia had no clue that she was helping his cause.

Then he laughed aloud when Dorian sent another text with a ton of emojis, including a head exploding emoji as well as a crying one. Then in bold letters she typed, HELP!

“What’s so funny?” Zion asked as he wiped his mouth.

Lynix started to blow off the question but decided to be honest. “Your sister. I guess your mother has been playing matchmaker, and it’s making Dorian crazy.”

“My mother has issues,” Zion joked. “The woman is relentless, and I’m glad I’m no longer on her radar. My sisters have been hassled by her more than I ever had, thank goodness. I guess that means my mother doesn’t know you and Dorian are dating.”

Lynix shook his head. “Nah. Our relationship is new, and you’re the first to know. We’re still in the getting to know each other stage. Dorian’s probably not ready to scream the news to the world that she and I are an item.”

“Well, you guys might want to make your relationship known. Otherwise, my mother’s never going to give Dorian any peace.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Lynix didn’t have time to stop by the B&B because he was headed to his brother, Thane’s house, after he left the bar.

He got together with him, Wes, and a couple of their friends monthly to play poker and tonight happened to be that night.

But he couldn’t leave Dorian hanging. He needed to do something.

An idea popped into his head, and he found the telephone number he was looking for, but before he could make the call, Zion nudged his arm.

Lynix glanced at him.

“If you’re serious about Dorian, you might have to find a different bar to hang out in.” Zion nodded his head toward the entrance. Lynix moaned when he spotted a woman—Willow. A friend with benefits.

“I think you’re right,” he said when Willow spotted him and headed in their direction.

Lynix hadn’t seen her since the beginning of the year and had honestly forgotten about her.

She traveled for work more often than not, and that played out well for them both.

They only saw each other a few times a year, with him sometimes going to wherever she was in the country.

However, today he needed to let her know things had changed.

But before he dealt with Willow, he had to take care of Dorian’s problem. He shot off a quick text to a contact who could help him get Virginia off Dorian’s back—at least for today. Lynix only wished he could be there to see both their reactions.

Once that was done, he stood and dropped plenty of money on the bar to cover his and Zion’s tab.

“Good seeing you, man. I’ll be in touch.”

Zion chuckled. “Yeah, go and handle your business.”

Willow flashed him a beautiful toothpaste-white smile, and Lynix tried not to groan. It was moments like this he wished he had cleaned house, so to speak, years ago. Because if his past messed up his future, he was going to be pissed.