Wait With Me (Wait With Me, #1)(52)

I take pity on him and ask, “Want to come inside for a coffee?”

He smiles. “Is it complimentary?”

I pin him with a look. “For people who aren’t assholes, yes.”

His eyes cast downward. “I won’t be an asshole, I swear.”

“You sure?” I ask, gesturing down the road. “Nothing to say about Miles’s truck? Did you hear how loud that muffler was?”

His brows lift. “I’m surprised you even know what a muffler is.”

I frown at that comment. “Me too, actually. I guess some of my research has been sticking.”

The corner of his mouth tips up into a smile. “I’ll be good, I swear.”

Dean follows me inside, and I drop my bag on the floor and set about making us a couple of coffees. Exhaustion begins to overtake me as well, but I know I need to talk to Dean. I’ve been avoiding his calls and text for the past several days, and I don’t want this to completely ruin our friendship.

He props himself on a barstool and takes the coffee from my hands. “Did you spend the night at Miles’s house last night?” he asks, his eyes staring down at my neck.

I look at him and blink a few times. “Are you really asking that?”

He rolls his eyes and points at a spot on his neck. “You may have a little something…”

My eyes fly wide at the memory of Miles sucking hard on my neck. I move to cover the mark, and Dean quickly says, “I’m not judging, Kate, I’m just making small talk. Work with me here, okay?”

I take a deep breath in and pull my shirt up to try to cover it. “We were camping.”

“Camping?” The disbelief in his voice isn’t lost on me.

“Yes, camping,” I reply, dropping my hand. “It was for book research, and it was really fun.”

Dean shakes his head. “So I take it you’re writing something quite a bit different from your other series?”

I shrug. “I’m trying to.”

He stares down at his drink. “Inspiration must be flowing.”

“It has its moments.” Even if they do involve sneaky little hickeys.

“And Miles is the guy who brings that out in you?” Dean asks, looking up at me. I look closely for a sign of judgment in his expression, but I don’t see anything. It’s a genuine question.

“He’s certainly not hurting things.” I shrug and prop my elbows on the counter, hunching over with my coffee mug between my palms. “He’s not like anyone I’ve ever hung out with before. He’s a salt of the earth kind of guy. So different from Dryston.”

“So different from me,” he adds, a pained look behind his dark-framed glasses.

I pin him with a look. “Dean, look…I never had a clue you had feelings for me. If I had, I would have done so many things differently.”

“Like what?” he asks, his brows pinching together in confusion.

“I don’t know. Maybe come over less often. Acted differently.” I run a hand through my hair and sigh. “I love you as a friend, but I just don’t see us that way, and I’m sorry if I led you to believe otherwise.”

“You weren’t leading me on, Kate. You were being yourself. And that draws people in.” He stares at me through wide, understanding eyes, then adds, “It’s the same reason Miles can’t stay away from you even though he’s told you he doesn’t want a relationship. You’re so…magnetic.”

It’s really weird getting a compliment from a guy you’ve just rejected, but I can tell Dean is trying really hard here to make amends, and I’m so relieved. “Well, Miles is still keeping me firmly in the casual corner, so apparently, I’m not a strong enough magnet.”

Dean thinks on that for a second while taking a sip of his coffee. “I think if you really like Miles, you need to come clean with him. If you guys develop into more and he finds out you’re keeping stuff from him, it’s not going to end well, Kate.”

“I know,” I groan and run my hands through my hair. “I just like who I am with him. I like having no baggage.”

“You still technically live with your ex, Kate. That’s about the worst kind of baggage you can carry. No guy is going to take that information well, and the longer you wait, the harder it will be.”

“Are you sure I can’t keep pretending to be Mercedes? She never would have gone out with dippy Dryston.”

“You’re not pretending to be anyone,” Dean corrects, adjusting his glasses to pin me with a serious look. “You are Mercedes. You are Kate. You need to quit looking at them like they’re two different people because they are both you. You’re the porn writer and the friend. You’re the bestselling author and the neighbor. You don’t have to keep the two sides of yourself separate. Let them merge. Maybe the Kate part of yourself that you’re holding back will be exactly what brings you and Miles together.”

I look over the counter at Dean. My friend. My true friend who I’ve become so comfortable with the past couple of years. He’s sitting here, giving me advice on how to win over a dude that I’m rejecting him for. Whatever asshole tendencies he may have on occasion, he’s still a really frickin’ good person as a whole.

“Thanks, Dean.” I smile softly.