“It’s about time she agreed to marry me.” He eyes soften over my head, and I know he’s looking at Michelle. Luka was a player before her, but somehow she wrapped him around her tiny little finger within a week of dating, he’s been asking her forever to marry him. Laughing, I step back to stand next to Dillon and feel his hand against the exposed skin of my back.

“Luka, Dillon. Dillon, this is Luka,” I introduce them, since Dillon knows everyone else at the table.

“I gotta say this and get it out of the way, so we can relax and enjoy dinner. You hurt our girl, and I will personally kill you,” he states, completely straight-faced, and I feel my eyes widen. Looking up at Dillon to see his reaction, I almost fall over when he nods and takes Luka’s hand in a firm shake. “Now, that’s out of the way. I need a beer.” He smiles at Dillon then chucks me under my chin with his fist.

I expect it to be awkward after that, but as soon as we sit and the waiter comes over, the guys each order a beer and us girls order a bottle of wine to share, along with appetizers to munch on while we wait for our food.

“Fuck,” Michelle says, and I turn to look at her with my fried mozzarella wedge halfway to my mouth.

“What?”

“Your ex.”

“What?” I frown then turn my head and catch my ex, Josh, heading toward our table.

“Oh, great,” I grumble, setting my uneaten cheesy wedge of goodness on my plate. Josh and I dated about eight months ago and had approximately two-point-two dates before I ended things with him. He really didn’t do anything to me; he was just annoying.

“Ashlyn, I thought that was you,” he greets, coming to stand at the table near my side. I tilt my head back to look at him, then squeak when Dillon grabs my chair and slides me so close I may as well be on his lap.

“Hi, Josh.”

“How are you?” he asks, tucking his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

“Really good, and you?”

“Good, good.” He nods then looks around the table, smiling at everyone and saying hi. “My mom and I are actually moving to Knoxville next weekend.”

Okay, so maybe there were a few reasons why I stopped seeing him besides the fact he was annoying. He also lived with his mom and still had her cooking, doing his laundry, and cleaning up after him. She even filled his car up with gas when it needed it.

“That’s great.”

“Yeah, it really is.” He nods then tucks his hands farther into his pockets, making his shoulders shoot forward. “I was going to call you to see—”

“You’re not calling her,” Dillon cuts in, and I hear someone, probably Michelle, giggle.

“Uh… what?” Josh frowns, pulling his eyes from me to look at Dillon.

“You’re not calling her. There’s nothing for you two to talk about. Now, if you could step away from the table, we’re in the middle of dinner,” Dillon continues, and my shoulders stiffen. I couldn’t care less about Josh, but there is no reason for him to be so harsh.

“Oh. Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t think.” He looks at me, and I give him a weak smile, because I have no idea what else to do. “See you around.”

“You won’t,” Dillon mutters. “Bye,” I say, watching him move back through the restaurant.

“You know Ash has dated a lot, right?” Jax asks, and I turn to look at my brother, wondering where the hell he’s going with that statement. “You gonna do that to all of her exes?” He lifts his chin in the direction Josh just left.

“Maybe.” Dillon shrugs, and I bite the inside of my cheek. Feeling eyes on me, I turn to look at Michelle, who is sitting next to Ellie, and they both have bright smiles on their faces.

“You’re gonna be busy,” Jax says quietly, wrapping his arm around Ellie, who rolls her eyes but cuddles into him.

“I know,” Dillon says, and my insides twist.

“I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime,” Luka puts in, and Michelle turns to glare at him. “Just sayin’, baby. You and Ash have run the men in this town through the ringer.”

“Excuse me?” Michelle voices my question, but he’s right. I’ve dated a lot, probably too much, but what was I supposed to do? How else is a girl supposed to find the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with? I can’t help that most every guy is an idiot.

Feeling fingers trail lightly down the skin of my back, I turn my eyes to Dillon, seeing his worried ones looking back at me. I don’t know if he’s worried I’m pissed, or that Luka is right. Leaning closer, he presses a kiss to my ear and whispers, “Mine,” sending a shiver down my spine and making me wonder if it’s wrong that the one word turns me on. I don’t have time to think about it for too long. Our meals arrive, and I use eating as an excuse to ignore the feeling in my chest.

Standing outside the restaurant saying goodbye to everyone an hour and a half later, I give out hugs then let Dillon lead me to his car and help me inside. Once I’m in, I buckle up and turn to watch him fold his tall, lean frame behind the wheel.

“I need to stop at my house and grab some stuff,” he states, starting up the car and putting on his seatbelt without looking at me.

“Okay,” I agree softly as we pull out into traffic. I have no idea what to say to him or how I feel. We didn’t really talk at dinner after the whole Josh thing. I don’t know if I’m mad at him for how he acted, or happy he feels so possessive over me. If you would have asked me three months ago how I’d feel if a guy, any guy, went caveman and basically pissed on my leg, I would have told you I’d hate it, but with Dillon my emotions are totally jumbled.