decisions she had in life. It was also the reason she lived a boring one.
Maybe she did need to stop overanalyzing everything. What good could it do besides drive
her crazy? Life confused her. Men confused her more. Dane was dangerous territory. It would be so
easy to fall for him. She didn’t want to admit it, but Dane was everything she wanted in a man.
Lusting over him didn’t help any. There were too many differences between them that were okay in
a friendship but could wreck a relationship. Where she was shy, he was extroverted. While he was
actually funny, he laughed at her corny jokes because he was a good friend. Dane craved new
adventures, where she preferred the familiar.
Was that the reason Dane wanted to be with her? Did he see her as a challenge? She closed
her eyes and Dane’s image came to mind. His likeness was so real she almost thought he was there.
Her attention drifted back to the feel of his lips against hers. He’d kissed her like he couldn’t get
enough of her taste. When he had touched her, his hands had been firm but gentle. Bayleigh could
remember the intense look he gave her as if he were seeing her for the first time.
“You’re doing it again, Bayleigh.”
She jumped at the sound of Giselle’s voice. Embarrassment raced through her. What was
she doing? How could she lust over the man she couldn’t have—didn’t want? It was a bad thing to
do in front of her friends.
Dane was dangerous. Bayleigh wasn’t even involved with him, yet she was already behaving
in a way she shouldn’t be. This was something a woman like her shouldn’t do…wouldn’t do. She
looked up at her friends who were studying her with open curiosity.
“You guys aren’t helping me.”
Maylea smiled. “We are helping you more than you know.”
Bayleigh shook her head and tried to focus on her food. She was able to eat a few more bites
before her thoughts drifted back to Dane. A groan of frustration bubbled to the surface but she held
it back.
A distraction. She needed a distraction.
Bayleigh looked up at her friends who seemed to be eating their food at a rate she would if
she wasn’t so busy lusting over Dane.
“So have any of you said yes to something you would normally say no to?”
Deidre shook her head. “Nope.”
Lea finished chewing her sushi before responding. “No.”
“I haven’t either,” Giselle sighed.
Bayleigh laughed. “Well it seems like we are off to a good start. Maybe we should set a
deadline?”
Deidre wrinkled her nose. “Not a good idea. Then it would feel like work.”
Giselle nodded. “I agree.”
Lea chuckled. “We are so boring.”
“Hey,” Giselle protested. “I’m not boring, just different.”
“We all are,” Deidre added.
Bayleigh rolled her eyes. “But not in the way that counts.”
Lea smiled. “You must be since you’ve managed to capture the attention of one of the most
gorgeous men we all know.”
Bayleigh laughed but her laughter died off when she realized Lea had a point. How had she
captured Dane’s attention? She’d tried to keep the attention of her ex-boyfriend Erwin. To say she
hadn’t been successful was an understatement.
Bayleigh groaned in frustration. “What am I supposed to do about Dane?”
“Easy.” Deidre laughed. “You’re supposed to follow your own advice.”
“What would that be?”
“Do what the nice girl in you wouldn’t do. Just say yes.”
Chapter Three
“Bayleigh, are you okay?”
Bayleigh looked up when her mother spoke. There was a concerned look on her face. Her
sister, Tasha, had one to match.
“I’m sorry, Mama. What did you say?”
Her mother put down her fork and Bayleigh felt awful. She was having lunch with her
mother and younger sister. They did a girls day out at least twice a month and today was their
scheduled day. Yet she wasn’t enjoying herself because her mind was still on Dane and the
conversation she had with her friends last night.
“What’s wrong, Bayleigh?”
“Sorry Mama. I didn’t get much rest last night.”
Tasha leaned forward, her eyes full of scrutiny. “You don’t look tired.”
Bayleigh bit back a groan. Her sister’s innocent statement called her bluff. Her mother’s eyes
narrowed as she leaned closer to study her. Bayleigh looked down at her crispy chicken salad and
picked up her fork.
“Is something wrong, Bayleigh?”
Bayleigh put the fork down and looked away. She wasn’t ready for this, not with her mother.
“Not really Mama. I just have a lot on my mind to figure out.”
Her mother’s expression became even more concerned. Tasha’s inquisitive expression made
her squirm. Even though her sister was younger than her by three years, she was wise. There wasn’t
much she could get by her mother with her sister present. Her sister didn’t disappoint.
“It’s a man isn’t it?”
Bayleigh groaned. “Tasha, please.”
Either Tasha didn’t hear the plea or she chose to ignore it. “It is a man, isn’t it?”
Bayleigh rubbed her hand across her forehead. How was she going to get herself out of this
mess? Her mother and sister stared back at her. She would have to provide answers before the lunch
was over. Answers she wasn’t prepared to give.
“Bayleigh, are you going to tell us, or should I allow Tasha to interrogate you?”
Bayleigh cut her eyes to Tasha. Her sister looked all too happy to grill her if necessary. She
sighed. Would there ever be a day when Dane wasn’t the subject of conversation? “It’s a man, but
not like Tasha thinks.”
Tasha gave her a surprised look. “How do you know what I think?”
Bayleigh smirked. “Because I know you as well as you know me. Besides, you’re still a
newlywed, so it’s obvious what you think.”
Tasha stuck her tongue out at Bayleigh before glancing down at her left hand. Bayleigh
smiled. Her sister had married Jarvis, her boyfriend of three years, six months ago. She felt twinge of
jealousy as she stared at the ring on Tasha’s hand. Bayleigh wanted to get married and have children
someday.
Right now she wasn’t sure it would ever happen. Still, she was happy for her sister. In spite
of them being on opposite ends of the personality spectrum she and her sister were close. It was
Tasha who always tried to get her to open up. The older they got, the more Tasha seemed to realize
Bayleigh was happy being the shy person that she was. At least she had been until recently. Between
her sister getting married and Deidre losing her mother, Bayleigh became conscious of the fact that
life was passing her by. Now Dane had come along making her question everything. She was ready
for a relationship, but not with Dane. It felt forbidden to even think about. She looked up at her
mother and sister.
“So, are you going to tell us?” Tasha asked with impatience.
Bayleigh was unsure of where she should start. How much she should tell them? Her family
knew Dane. After five years of friendship he had been around her family a handful of times. Dane
and her younger brother, Lynden, got along well even with a ten-year age difference between them.
When Lynden pulled out the video g
ame console, put the Madden football game in, those ten years
disappeared.
If she told her mother and sister too many details lunch could end up being longer than it
already was going to be. Bayleigh sighed. She might as well get this over with. “There’s a guy
interested in dating me.”
Her mother smiled. “How is that a problem, Bayleigh?”
Tasha nodded. “Yeah. I would think you would be excited—wait—is he some type of jerk
like Erwin or something?”
Bayleigh rolled her eyes. “No, he isn’t like Erwin. He’s the exact opposite.”
Her mother frowned. “Then what’s wrong?”
Bayleigh paused. If she said much more, she might give away more information than she
wanted to. “I never thought about this guy that way.”
“I’m not surprised, Bayleigh,” Tasha said, around a gentle smile. “You avoid the opposite
sex as much as possible.”
“Tasha has a point, honey. But now that you know about this young man’s attraction to you,
how do you feel about him?”
Bayleigh hesitated. The question didn’t help her any. She had always like Dane, still did.
What she wasn’t sure of was if she wanted to date him. Still, she couldn’t imagine how a relationship
would work between them. How did she know Dane wouldn’t wake up one day and be bored with
her? Worse yet, he could end up thinking she was weird, as some other people had over the years.
Bayleigh looked up at her mother who was still waiting on her answer. “I don’t know, Mama.
This is new to me. I need time to figure it out.”
Tasha grinned. “Is he a good guy?”
Bayleigh nodded.
Tasha’s smile widened. “Is he cute?”
“Gorgeous.”
Tasha leaned forward. “Is he a good kisser?”
Bayleigh’s eyes widened at her sister’s outlandish question.
Her mother shook her head. Bayleigh turned the tables on her younger sister. “Is Jarvis a
good kisser?”
Tasha’s expression turned dreamy. “The best.”
Her mother made a sound of warning, but Bayleigh knew her mother was just going through
the motion of protest. Her mother always had been was open and honest, sometimes too honest.
Bayleigh flushed as she recalled the sex talk with her mother. It had been uncomfortable, but once
she had become sexually active she appreciated her mother’s frankness. Bayleigh wondered what her
mother would think if she knew the man in question was Dane. Both of her parents seemed to like
him. So why did she feel like she was committing a cardinal sin?
Bayleigh giggled when she thought about how jealous Erwin had been over her relationship
with Dane the entire time they were together, though it hadn’t been funny at the time. Erwin would
get angry because of the time she spent with Dane. He even accused her of cheating. She had tried
to soothe Erwin’s male pride several times. In the end Erwin told her she needed to choose between
him and Dane. Bayleigh hadn’t had to think about it. Dane was the clear choice.
Erwin had ended the relationship, throwing several vile names in her direction. Names she
had grown used to during their relationship. It hadn’t been until her relationship was over that she
realized how abusive Erwin had been to her.
Her friends had tried to tell her he was bad news from the beginning, especially Giselle.
Bayleigh recognized how much Dane did for her throughout her up and down relationship with
Erwin. Anytime Erwin hurt her, Dane was there to hold her close. His arms offered her a sense of
comfort she didn’t get anywhere else.
“So what are you going to do, Bayleigh?”
She looked up at her mother. “About what?”
Tasha laughed. “About your admirer silly.”
Bayleigh took a bite of her salad. It bought her time to think about her answer. When she
swallowed, she still didn’t have one, so she shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Tasha looked surprised. “What is there to think about?”
Bayleigh gave her sister a small smile. “More than you can ever guess. Don’t forget, I don’t
have the best record when it comes to dating.”
Her mother frowned. “You’ve chosen a few bad ones is all. We all do.”
Her sister had dated a few losers, but Tasha had gotten lucky when she met Jarvis. She
hadn’t been surprised when the proposal came. The look of joy on her sister’s face couldn’t be
replicated. Her sister’s wedding had been beautiful. It had been the first time Bayleigh thought about
getting married, having a family of her own, since her innocent days in high school. Once she
graduated, the real world had hit her square in the face. Her focus turned to establishing herself.
Now she had the education she wanted, along with the job she loved.
For five years she had been satisfied with those accomplishments, but recently something
inside yearned for more. She wanted companionship. A real connection, not like the relationship she
had with Erwin. Bayleigh become conscious of how quiet her mother and sister had become. When
she looked up, they were watching her.
“It’s complicated.”
Her mother and sister had no idea how accurate those words were. Everything about this
was complicated. What did Dane see in her? Compared to the other women he dated she shouldn’t
be on the radar. She wanted to scream. Trying to figure out what to do about Dane was exhausting.
Her mother put down her fork. “Most relationship matters are complicated, Bayleigh.”
Bayleigh shook her head. “But you and daddy—”
“Argue all the time,” her mother interrupted.
Bayleigh’s eyes widened. “No you don’t.”
Even Tasha looked unconvinced. “Now, Mama, I’ve heard you and daddy argue a few times,
but all the time is an exaggeration.”
Bayleigh nodded her agreement. Over the years her parents hadn’t been afraid to show
public affection, and they had…often. With the closeness her parents shared she thought their
relationship was perfect. It stunned her to know there were problems in their marriage. She was also
curious. “What did you and daddy argue over?”
Her mother smiled. “Everything you can imagine. Money, business ventures, you kids, but
your father and I have always had an open line of communication.”
“It also helps that daddy lets you have your way most of the time,” Tasha teased.
Their mother laughed. “It does help when your father is willing to compromise, but I make it
up to him in other ways.”
“Mama, please,” Bayleigh groaned. “We don’t want to know that.”
Her mother grinned. “Now, Bayleigh, you and your sister are old enough to know your
father and I have a healthy sexual relationship. How do you think the two of you and your brother
got here?”
“Immaculate conception,” Tasha offered.
Bayleigh fought to keep the soda she just drank down. Her mother was a riot. Both of her
parents were. It often made her wonder why she turned out to be so different. She was introverted
while the rest of her family was outgoing. When she was around her family she could relax and enjoy
herself. They understood and accepted her there was any pressure to fit in.
“Very funny young lady. But your father and I tried not to shield you from t
he real world.
We wanted to show you what a real relationship is like.”
Bayleigh shook her head in disagreement. “Mama, your relationship with daddy isn’t normal.
The two of you have the type of relationship I dream of having one day.”
Tasha nodded. “I agree with Bayleigh, Mama. Even with the few arguments we witnessed,
you and daddy never screamed. You never yelled at each other, never degraded each other. You
never became physical with each other.”
Their mom smiled. “Well, I’m glad you consider your father and me to be good role
models.”
Bayleigh sighed. Her parents were great role models for what relationships should be like. It
was also the exact opposite of what her relationship with Erwin had been. There were times when
she couldn’t understand why he had been interested in her. In the end it became clear.