Page 13 of Summer Fling (The Kingston Brothers #5)

Chapter Nine

Dalton

T he girls had been watching Henry and Lilliana, talking and laughing. Every once in a while, they'd look over at us, and I wondered if they were talking about us and our new relationship. I hoped that Blake was handling the questions without any problems.

I hoped she'd relaxed after she saw how our relationship was received by my family. They wanted me to be happy, especially after everything Oakley put me through.

Shep smacked me in the head. "Stop staring at your girl. She's not going anywhere."

I flushed because she wasn't mine. She could leave at any time. I didn't have any hold over her, even if she felt amazing when I held her in my arms. Between the dance the other night and putting my arm around her today, I couldn't get enough.

I wasn't sure what it was about her that was different from anyone else. Maybe it was the contrast between her and Oakley.

Shep followed my gaze to the girls. "She's good for you."

"Since when do you want me to settle down with a woman?" I turned my attention to the game while Shep set up for the serve.

He threw the ball and slapped it over the net. "I'm the last one standing now that you're with Blake."

I got into position, following the ball as Hudson set it for Cooper to spike it over the net. I dove for it but ate sand for my effort.

Hudson and Cooper high-fived while I accepted Shep's help up. "I think the sex is making you slow."

I shook off the sand. "That's not a thing." Plus, I wasn't having any sex. It had been so long for me; I wasn't sure what it was even like anymore.

Shep grinned. "It absolutely is. Especially if you're doing it right. Are you keeping her up all night? If not, you should be."

Everything in my body tightened at the idea of keeping Blake up all night. There was zero chance of that happening. We weren't even in a real relationship.

I could see now how easy it was for Brady to fall for his best friend when they were pretending to be engaged. But things were different between me and Blake. We weren't friends before this. We were in an employer-employee relationship.

There was no history to fall back on. There was just this pesky attraction I had to her. And there was no way of knowing if she felt the same.

When we danced together, she hadn't seemed affected in the slightest. She was more interested in whether I could dance than worrying about her heart rate increasing when I touched her.

I was in this alone. I'd have to hide my attraction to her. Keep my distance when we didn't have to be girlfriend boyfriend. Then my phone buzzed, and I held up my hand to pause the game. There was a string of texts from Oakley raging about being served with the custody papers as if she were a criminal. I didn’t bother to mention to her that it was a civil case, and that’s how it worked.

Then she demanded that I give Lilliana back. "Oakley wants to get Lilliana tonight."

"I thought you were going to take her over tomorrow morning?" Hudson asked, everyone crowding around me.

"I could drop her off tonight. It would be an easy transition." But did I want to do that? Should I stick to my word? There was the other issue of being alone with Blake. With Lilliana not there to be a buffer, would I give into my desires and do something I'd regret later?

The guys gathered around, and Hudson asked, "What did your attorney say?"

I thought back to our discussion in his office. "That I should stick to whatever schedule I set."

"Then that's what you should do," Hudson said reasonably.

They made it sound so easy. For a long time, I agonized about rocking the boat when it came to Oakley. But I had to make some changes, especially now that Lilliana was getting older.

Dalton: I'll drop her off tomorrow morning like we discussed.

Oakley: Why are you being like this?

Dalton: I want to create a stable life for Lilliana.

Oakley: She's one. She doesn't need stability.

"There's no point in arguing with her," Marshall advised, reading over my shoulder.

"I'd shut this down. You're not available for any discussion," Shep said.

I was as little surprised that Shep was involved at all. Since when did he care about things like this? But I had to agree with him.

Dalton: I'll drop her off on my way to work tomorrow. See you then.

Then I turned off my phone and slid it into my pocket. I didn't need to deal with Oakley anymore, and it felt good. For too long, she held all the power. But from now on, I'd be clearer when I communicated with her about what I wanted.

A voice in the back of my head reminded me that I should be honest with Blake too, but I needed her to think that this was platonic. That I wasn't secretly thinking about what she looked like under her dress.

Shep was the first to break off from our huddle. "Let's play some volleyball, gentlemen."

We returned to our spots, and I caught the questioning look from Blake from where she sat by the fire. I gave her a reassuring smile.

Oakley wasn't her problem. Or at least, she wasn't supposed to be. I'd been worried that Oakley might show up at the house when Blake was alone. But so far, she hadn't done that.

Oakley was my problem, and I'd done a shit job of handling her up until now. That was all going to change. The situation wasn't sustainable for any of us. It certainly wasn't healthy. I felt good knowing that I was protecting Lilliana and, in a way, Blake.

I liked being the person who stood up for what was right. So much of my life had changed in the last few weeks, but I felt like I was on the right track.

After the game, I grabbed a drink, and Blake stood with Lilliana, who'd tucked her head on her shoulder and stuck her thumb in her mouth. Her eyes were drifting shut.

"She's ready for bed," I said to Blake.

Blake nodded. "She's tuckered out."

"I'll grab her things." We'd left toys all over the house, so I gathered everything up and put it in the backpack I used when I took Lilliana anywhere.

Then I took her from Blake so that I could change her.

She'd probably fall asleep in the truck on the way home, and with any luck I could transfer her to her crib without waking her.

We said our goodbyes and then headed out to the truck where I buckled Lilliana in. On the drive home, the cab was dark.

I looked over at Blake. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I was worried about how they'd take me dating you. I remember them being so worried about you and what was going on with Oakley."

"They've always been worried about me since I'm one of the youngest kids.

Then when I got Oakley pregnant, it got worse.

The drama back then was over the top. I thought I could get a hold of the situation, but it became clear early on that wouldn't happen.

Oakley held all the control. It took a while for me to assert any. "

"You did the best you could. That's a big transition, from single to a father, and Oakley didn't make it easy on you."

"She had her own agenda. She wanted me to live with her and go along with whatever she wanted. But my family convinced me that I needed to get my own place, so that I could provide a stable home for Lilliana."

"That was smart."

"It also sent a message to Oakley that I was less available for her drama about me moving in with her. But I hated the idea of not being in Lilliana's home."

"I'm sure it sucks not being there for her all the time. But now that you've set some boundaries, Oakley might realize that she can't go back to her old ways."

I grinned at Blake. "So there's hope?"

"Of course there is. I believe that people can change, or at the very least, we can teach them how to interact with us."

I parked at my house and threw the truck into Park. "I'm going to transfer her to her crib. Can you get the door for me?"

"Of course," Blake said, getting out of the truck.

I grabbed the car seat and carried it inside. Then I set it on the floor of Lilliana's bedroom, careful to unbuckle her without jostling her too much. Then I cradled her against my chest.

I met Blake's gaze over Lilliana's head.

There was something in her expression I couldn't get a read on.

But I was focused on getting Lilliana into her crib without waking her.

I walked softly across the carpet and slowly lowered her onto the mattress.

I turned on her sleep noise machine and slowly backed out of the room.

In the hallway, I whispered, "I think we're in the clear."

Blake grinned. "You want to sit out back and listen to the waves?"

"I'd love that," I found myself saying, even though I knew it wasn't a good idea to socialize with Blake outside of her nannying duties.

We headed downstairs, and I grabbed two wine glasses along with a bottle of white wine. I needed something tonight.

Tomorrow, I'd need to give Lilliana back, and I didn't know when I'd see her again.

Outside, I poured two small glasses of wine that we could sip while we enjoyed the evening.

Blake swirled the liquid in her glass, sipping it before leaning back on the couch cushions and closing her eyes. "You're so lucky to live on the beach. I can't even imagine what this must be like, knowing you own a slice of heaven."

Her skin was tan from the sun and her hair in what my younger sister would call beach waves, but it seemed to be natural for Blake. She was effortlessly beautiful and fit in here as if she'd grown up on the island.

"I never thought about it like that. I grew up on the beach, so it was only natural that I live here now. When we were looking at houses, we were more concerned with blocking off the access to the pool and renovating the house so that it would be safe when Lilliana started to crawl and walk."

Blake opened her eyes, meeting my gaze. "You're such a good dad."

I felt a pang of regret when she said that. "I wasn't always a good dad. I let Oakley have too much power. I gave into her so that she wouldn't follow through on her threats. Then I realized by not standing strong I was hurting Lilliana."