Page 55 of It's About Time
Chapter 13
Dilynne
Rules & Roles
I’m tightening up the lug nut on a tire when my phone buzzes in my pocket. Setting the impact wrench to the side, I fish it out and see Elliot’s name flashing on the screen.
“Well, hello, my betrothed.”
“Dilynne,” he snaps.
“Aw, are you having a bad day, honey? Do I need to suck your dick later to turn that frown of yours upside down?”
He doesn’t answer me right away, and for a moment, I think I took our ruse too far. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“What?”
“Nothing,” he grates out. “I don’t have all day. I just wanted to know if you’re busy tonight.”
“Oh, you wanna take me out on a date? Show me off all over town?”
“Do you know how to have a serious conversation? Or is this just going to be one big joke to you?”
“Jesus, you really do need someone to suck you off, don’t you? Like a penis exorcism, maybe?”
“You have no idea,” he mutters under his breath, but I caught it. “But to answer your question, there is no date. However, we do need to meet up and go over the rules like we discussed yesterday.”
“Pretty sure you were the one that suggested rules. You know I hate them.”
“Well, I need them. So…are you busy tonight?”
My eyes move to the Porsche in the corner of the shop. I had planned on staying late to start rebuilding the fuel system, but Elliot sounds like he might burst into flames if I don’t let him feel like he has some modicum of control in this situation. “I mean, I was just going to work on the Porsche, but since this can’t wait…”
“It can’t. Meet me at my house at seven.”
“Where are your manners? No, please? No offer to pick me up?”
“Seven sharp. Don’t be late.” And then the call ends.
I take the phone from my ear and stare down at the blank screen. “Jesus, it definitely has been too long for him,” I mutter to myself before I pick up the impact wrench and finish tightening the lug nuts on the tire. “So much for quiet time with Betty tonight…”
“Oh, shit. You’re gonna stand up your girlfriend? For who?” Steven hovers over my shoulder.
I swing the impact wrench toward him, but he dodges it. “My fiancé,” I reply.
Steven covers his mouth as he laughs. “I still can’t believe that you’re pretending to be engaged to Elliot Thorne.”
“Trust me, I never thought I’d utter those words either. But desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“You and the word ‘desperate’ in the same sentence doesn’t make sense.”
Sighing, I push my rolling chair away from the car I was working on so I can face Steven. “Did the carburetor come in for the Porsche yet?”
“Tracking said it’s supposed to be here tomorrow, and I know you’re just trying to change the subject.”
“What about the radiator hose?”
He grins. “Next Monday, probably.”
