Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(17)

“I bet the girls were falling all over you.”

I chuckled at that. “There was an increase in female attention.”

Her lips turned up. “Who could blame them?”

There was a hint of flirtatiousness in her voice. Playful rather than aggressive.

And damn it, as much as I wanted to deny it, I liked it.

Trouble. So much trouble.

She glanced around. “Can you point me in the direction of the ladies’ room?”

I gestured toward the side of the gym. “It should be over there.”

“Thanks.”

With a seductive twitch of her lips, she turned and walked away.

Walked was not the right word. Nora Lakes didn’t walk like a mere mortal. But she didn’t strut or saunter, either. Her movements were more subtle than that, as if sexiness was simply baked into who she was, rather than something she was attempting to exude.

Trouble.

But damn, that ass.

Tearing my eyes away, I looked around for Riley and found her near the gym entrance. She had her backpack slung over one shoulder and stood talking to one of her classmates.

“Hey, Dex.”

My internal alarm blared at the voice behind me. Oh shit. I turned, my back tensing.

Aimee Bachman’s dark hair was up, highlighting the fact that her shoulders were bare. She wore a bright red tube top and tight jeans, which was not the most provocative outfit I’d seen on her at a school function.

I suppressed a shudder. Some women got divorced and went on being normal moms in the neighborhood. And I was the last guy to judge anyone for getting a divorce or being a single parent. But Aimee had taken a different route, turning into a predatory man-eater who seemed to be interested in only one thing—sleeping with every unmarried man she could get her hands on.

She’d been after me for years.

“Hi, Aimee. Enjoying the show?”

Her eyes flicked to my crotch. “Definitely. So much talent.”

I rolled my eyes. Somewhere along the way, she’d lost all ability to be subtle. It wasn’t a good look. “Yeah, well, I need to find Riley.”

She stepped closer. She smelled faintly of mint gum, cheap perfume, and cigarette smoke. “I’m sure she’s fine. What about you?” She touched my arm. “How have you been?”

“Fine.”

“Are you sure? You seem lonely.” She lowered her voice. “I could help with that.”

“Sorry honey.” Nora appeared out of nowhere and hooked her arm in mine. “I didn’t mean to take so long. Hi, I’m Nora.”

Aimee looked like she’d just been slapped. She stepped back, eyes wide, lips parted.

Nora went on, as if this wasn’t insanely awkward. “What a great show this was, don’t you think? This school must have an excellent art program.”

Aimee’s cheeks flushed red. “Who are you?”

“Nora Lakes.” She slid her hand down my arm and twined our fingers together. “Dex, we should probably get going. We promised Riley ice cream.”

I glanced down at her, trying not to laugh at how she was playing this so flawlessly. “We did promise her ice cream, didn’t we? Let’s go.”

She squeezed my hand as we turned away from Aimee. I squeezed back.

“Night,” I said, half over my shoulder as we walked off.

“Sorry if I read that wrong, but you looked like you could use a little help.”

“You read that exactly right. Thanks.”

I dropped Nora’s hand before Riley caught sight of us. I didn’t need those kinds of questions. She hitched her backpack higher up her shoulder and met us at the door.

“Dad, can I spend the night at Katie’s?”

My brow furrowed. “Which one is Katie?”

She pointed to a girl wearing a boxy t-shirt and jeans. Like Ry, she wore her hair in two French braids and she had purple Converse to Riley’s turquoise. I recognized her and her mom, standing nearby. Riley had spent the night at her house before, but it had been a while.

“Sure, I suppose.”

Riley smiled. “Thanks, Dad. If you can’t drive me over there, Katie’s mom said she can pick me up. They’re ordering pizza and we’re going to make root beer floats.”

“Sounds awesome. I can take you.” I turned to Nora. “Give me a second.”

I walked over to confer with Katie’s mom—her name was Kristin—and solidified the plan. I’d take Riley home to get her stuff, then bring her to their house. Kristin would drive her home tomorrow afternoon. Pretty standard stuff.

“Thank you so much, Dad, you’re the best.” Riley waved at her friend. “Bye, Katie. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Man, it was great to see her happy.

Riley practically ran out to the car. Apparently getting to Katie’s in a hurry had become her biggest priority.

“I guess we’ll have to do ice cream another time,” Nora said as we crossed the parking lot.

“And it sounded good, too. Thanks again for coming. And for fending off the horny mom.”

She laughed. “Happy to help.”

We stopped and I felt a strange pull, as if we were connected by a taut rubber band. If either of us slipped, it would snap us together.

That wouldn’t end well. It never did.