Page 11 of It’s Only Love (Citrus Pines #1)

“Beau!” he hissed, but saw Christy stiffen. She looked uncomfortable and he spotted a single tear slide down her cheek, Beau turned to him and Dean nodded towards the bar.

“Christy needs another coffee,” he said quietly, and Beau jumped up eagerly.

“Sure thing! One coffee coming right up,” he said and left.

Dean looked at Christy, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

She sniffled quietly, and it just about broke his heart.

She had no family left that he knew of, except for Taylor and Justine.

Her dickhead ex had stolen all her money and her father had just died.

She’s having a really tough time and he suddenly felt even worse about acting like a jerk to her.

Another tear slid down her cheek, and he watched as it collected in the corner of her pink mouth, soon followed by another.

“I’m sorry, I’m sure it’ll stop in a minute,” she said softly.

“Don’t worry about a thing, it’s only you and me here, no one else.

Take your time,” he replied gently, trying to use a soothing tone.

He must have said something wrong because more tears fell, quicker and fatter than the first. Her shoulders began to shake, and he ached to comfort her.

He didn’t want to draw attention to her though, guessing she would be embarrassed by that, despite there being nothing wrong with crying.

Dean reached under the table and placed his hand on her knee.

It was bare, warm, and soft and he pushed aside the zing he felt at the contact.

Get your mind out of the gutter, she needs comforting, not pawing.

He was going to pull his hand away, worried it was making her feel awkward, but after a moment he noticed she seemed to relax slightly so he left it right where it was.

He rubbed his thumb back and forth gently, hoping the touch would calm her.

She took a few shuddering breaths and after another moment, the tears stopped, and she hiccupped.

He rummaged in his back pocket with his free hand looking for the clean rag he usually kept there for wiping his hands on when he was fixing a car.

He pulled it out, inspecting it discreetly before offering it to Christy. She took it hesitantly.

“Thank you,” she croaked, her voice thick with tears .

As he continued to stroke her knee he said, “If you ever need anything or if you want to talk, just let me know.”

She smiled at him and his heart thudded in his chest. Her cheeks all red and splotchy from crying, her eyes wide and shining, staring up at him like polished blue topaz. Damn, she was beautiful.

“Thank you, I’m sorry, again. I think everything just hit me right then. Especially having spent all afternoon arranging the funeral details, well as much as I could anyway. I still can’t find anywhere to host the wake,” she said.

His brow furrowed. “Could we not host it here?” he asked. Her eyes widened and he hoped she didn’t notice his use of we.

“Oh my God, I didn’t even think of that, what’s wrong with me?” she groaned. “I’ll go and check with Taylor,” she started to get up, but he tightened his grip on her knee.

As she moved to the side to get out of the booth, his hand slipped to rest on the inside of her thigh.

She slid her eyes to him, and time seemed to slow.

When their eyes met, something hot and unknown moved between them.

He stroked over her thigh once with his thumb, unable to stop himself and her eyes, which had only moments ago been sad, heated as he stared at her.

He felt a prickle along the back of his neck and his blood stirred in his veins.

In the background, he heard Taylor cackle, and the spell was broken.

“I’ll go speak to Tay, you stay here and just take a minute for yourself,” he said, letting go of her thigh and sliding out of the booth.

He didn’t wait to hear her reply, just headed straight to the bar feeling slightly scandalized for stroking her thigh in public.

When he got to the bar, Taylor was gone.

“What’s taking so long?” he asked Beau.

“No idea, Taylor refused to serve me, so Kayleigh is doing it, but she can’t find the filters,” Beau replied sulkily.

Dean chuckled, sounds about right . “Is she in the back?” he asked. Beau nodded and Dean headed around the bar and opened the door to the back office where Taylor was sitting at her desk, punching numbers aggressively into a calculator.

“Hey, sis,” he called, leaning casually against the door frame. She snapped her sharp, emerald eyes up to him and waved him inside. He came in and shut the door to give them some privacy.

“You don’t need to call me that, you know. Our parents got a divorce, any responsibility ended then,” she said this to him regularly as if giving him an out of their relationship and any responsibility. Each time he ignored her.

“That’s bullshit. You’ll always be my little sister,” he said fiercely. She gave him a shy smile.

“What’s up?” she asked, changing the subject quickly. She always did that, keeping her emotional armor in place at all times. Impenetrable, even with him. He explained about Christy needing the bar for the wake. Taylor slapped her palm to her forehead.

“Jesus, I didn’t even think to offer, I’m such a shitty friend! Of course, she can.”

“Thanks, and uh, I’ll cover it,” he said sheepishly.

She eyed him closely, pursing her lips. “Why?”

“Because I can be a nice guy sometimes,” he said defensively.

She scoffed. “I know that, but why this ?”

She continued to stare at him unblinking, and he could feel himself getting ready to crack under the intensity. She would make a good interrogator , he thought randomly.

“Are you trying to sleep with her?” she asked, her voice holding a deadly undertone . Message received.

“Hell no, and you know I don’t do that anymore. I overheard you and Justine talking about her asshole ex, I know she’s broke and this is the last thing she needs to worry about paying for.”

“You’re a little old to still be eavesdropping on our girl chats,” she teased.

He gave her a scornful stare and she sighed.

“Fine, cover the food. Me and Justine will cover the rest,” she said.

He blew her a kiss. “Thanks, sis.”

She smiled at him and that was his cue to leave. As he turned away, he heard her say softly, “You’re welcome, bro.” His step faltered slightly and damn if he didn’t get a lump in his throat. He kept walking, but when he reached the door, she had gotten up as well.

“Actually, I need to check on Kayleigh,” she muttered and came out with him. Dean saw that Beau was back with Christy and making her laugh. The jealousy gnawed at him again, but he was glad she was smiling, even if it wasn’t him making her smile.

He slid back into the booth. When Christy looked at him, he nodded ever so slightly.

She visibly relaxed and mouthed a thank you .

His chest puffed up with happiness at solving this problem for her.

He enjoyed the time he’d spent with her this evening, tears aside obviously.

He loved getting to offer her comfort and support and didn’t want it to end.

“...should take you to that new seafood restaurant that’s opened up on the lake on Saturday night,” Beau was saying. Beau was organizing another date together so soon? His brain screamed don’t , but his mouth said, fuck you, brain and did it anyway.

“Sounds great! Where are we going?”

Both Beau and Christy turned to stare at him like he’d sprouted horns.

“Oh, I meant for me and Christy’s next date,” Beau said motioning at Dean to shut the fuck up.

Dean ignored him. “Great, I can bring Taylor and we can double, that’ll be fun.”

“You wanna double date with your sister?” Christy asked, arching her eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, why not? Hey Taylor!” he called. Taylor was showing Kayleigh how to stack glasses. She glanced over and saw Dean beckoning to her. She huffed and stomped over to them.

“What?”

“We’re double-dating with Beau and Christy.”

“Gross,” she said and then glared at Beau. “I’m busy anyway.”

“It’s your Saturday off this weekend, I know your shift pattern,” Dean replied with a smug smile. She huffed some more then rolled her eyes.

“Fine, but you’re paying.” And then she stomped back to Kayleigh. He chuckled at her enthusiasm, or lack of. Beau watched her leave, suddenly seeming more interested.

“Sounds great!” he enthused, echoing Dean from moments before. Dean felt Christy’s gaze boring into him but refused to meet it. He couldn’t work out whether this was the best idea he ever had or the biggest mistake he ever made.