Dirty Talker (Filthy Dirty Summer)

“Thank you... again for bringing us. And I want you to know that if you need to ditch us at any point, you can. I’m sure I can catch a ride with Kimber... or Mark is supposed to come another day. I’m sure Ty and I can catch a ride back home with him.”

“No,” I say forcefully. When I realize how it sounds, I try to soften my approach. “I’m not ditching you guys. If anything, you can help save me from Kimber. I don’t think she’s the type to take no easily.”

I gasp, and my hands fly to my mouth. “Oh my God! Kade! I wasn’t even thinking. What about the woman you’re dating? She’s not going to be happy about this. I can talk to her, maybe explain to her that nothing’s—"

Kade stops next to me and grabs on to my hand, pulling it from my face. “Megan, there’s something I should probably tell you.”

I blink up at him, trying to concentrate on the words instead of the vibrations shooting up my arms from his touch. “What is it?” I ask and then clear my throat because the huskiness in my voice is definitely giving off vibes.

“When I said that I was involved with someone...”

He pauses, and I search his face, trying to figure out what he’s about to say. My stomach drops. I don’t want to talk about the woman in his life, but I don’t know how I can stop it, and I’m curious about what he’s going to say. He didn’t make it up, did he? Is he really single?

He takes a deep breath and continues. I swear he seems almost nervous, which is crazy to me. “Uh, so, I am involved with someone. To the point where she’s the one I want. But I don’t think she’s interested in me. At least, not yet. I haven’t been able to win her over just yet.”

“Oh.” I try to keep an indifferent look on my face instead of as if he just dropped some kind of bombshell on me. “I mean, I’m sure she’ll come around. She’d be crazy not to.”

I pull my hand from his to start walking, and he reaches for me, wrapping his hand around my arm. “Megan, wait.”

I take a deep breath before turning around. I smile, but I know it doesn’t quite reach my eyes. “Yeah?”

He pulls me to the side. “It’s you. You’re the one I was talking about when I told Kimber I was involved with someone. Which isn’t a lie. Honey, I’m about as involved as I can get. You’re all I think about.”

“Me?” I squeak. “You like me?”

He laughs and runs his hand along my shoulder with a squeeze. “Yeah. I thought it was obvious, but maybe not. I want to get to know you... I want you to give us a chance.”

I point at myself. “You don’t even know me.”

He laughs, and when I try to pull away from him, he holds me tighter. “I do know you, Megan. I know you love your son more than anything. I know you’ll do without to make sure he has everything he needs. I know you like watching romantic comedies and will read any romance book as long as there is a happily ever after. I know that since your divorce, you’ve started to discover everything you can do on your own. Like patching sheetrock, running string to a weed eater, and more stuff that I don’t even know how to do. I know that your attitude is contagious, and you light up a room when you walk in. People respect you, women want to be you, and men want to be close to you just to be near everything that is you....”

I gasp and stare at him open-mouthed. How in the world does he know all this? “Oh my God, you read my blog.”

He nods. “I love it and hit refresh for hours every Friday, waiting for your new post to come up. So yeah, I read it, but some of that I get just from being around you, Megan.”

I stare at him in shock. Never in a million years would I have dreamed... scratch that, truth is, I’ve dreamed it almost every night since I met him, but when I’m wide awake and I feel that the whole world is caving in on me, I never thought he could actually like me back. Before I can say anything, he continues. “And I saw your poll where you were asking your readers what series they wanted next from you. Dating after Divorce looks as if it’s going to be the winner, but I want you to know that I want to be your first date... all your dates.”

“Kade...” I start, but I don’t get to finish because the door opens, and Ty is running into the lobby. He’s smiling ear to ear, and the interruption is welcome because I don’t even know how to respond to Kade or what to say to him. I’m tempted to throw myself at him, but I know I can’t do that.... even though that’s exactly what I want to do.