Dylan had surprised me by stopping in for dinner and asking if I’d like to meet him after I got off. I’d given Dylan a lot of thought after he’d kissed me two nights ago. A whole lot of thought. Even though we’d pretended to be a couple the other night, he would be a fun guy to hang out with. The man made me laugh, and that was pretty awesome.
I’d told him my dream of going on a world tour, and unlike Chad the Jerk Who Refused To Go Away, he’d seemed to understand why I’d want to do such a thing. The last thing I wanted was to ruin my good mood by getting caught up in an argument with Chad.
Before he could start in on me, I went to the table in the back corner where Brandy was filling salt and pepper shakers. I slid onto the chair across from her. “I need a favor.”
“Sure.”
That was typical Brandy, agreeing without even knowing what I was going to ask. She was such a sweetheart. “I don’t want to deal with Chad tonight. Would you ring out the couple at the bar so I can slip out the back?”
Big brown eyes peered back at me. “I thought he was your boyfriend.”
“He was and now he’s not, but he’s refusing to believe I broke up with him.”
She glanced over at the bar. “He’s watching you. Go on and get out of here. I’ll take care of everything. Susan’s still here, and Angelo’s cleaning the bathrooms, so if he tries to cause trouble, we’ll deal with him.”
“Thanks. You know I love you.”
She grinned. “Love you back.”
Without glancing behind me, I walked into the kitchen. In the back room I got my purse out of my locker, then jogged to my car. When I arrived at Fusions, I saw Dylan’s car and parked next to it. I lowered my visor. Ugh. My hair was a mess of curls. I fished my brush out of my purse, tamed my wild hair as best I could, and then applied some lip gloss. The black T-shirt withVincennesabove my left breast couldn’t be helped as it would take me too long to go home and change. Maybe I should start keeping a spare outfit in my car if Dylan was going to make a habit of inviting me out for a drink when I got off work. A girl could hope.
At first I didn’t see Dylan when I walked into the lounge, but then he stood and smiled, waving me over to a booth. Mercy, that man’s smile slayed me every time.
“Hey,” he said when I reached him.
“Hey back.” I slid onto the leather seat across from him. A full bottle of Green Man beer sat on the table, so I guessed he hadn’t been waiting long.
“What would you like?”
“Same as you.” I wasn’t a big drinker, sometimes a glass of wine or a beer. Much more than that, I’d be dancing on the table. Instead of waiting for a waitress, he went to the bar and got my beer. “Thanks,” I said when he slid it over to me. He lifted his bottle, holding it toward me. I picked mine up and clinked it against his. “To my new friend.”
He grinned. “To the possibility of more than a friend?”
Now he had me confused. Weren’t we just supposed to be having a pretend relationship? Be seen together a few times so that Chad got the message? Not that I wasn’t interested in more, but I had no clue where Dylan was coming from. Maybe he was only flirting and didn’t mean anything by the question.
“Well, you did ask me to be your pretend girlfriend.” If I wasn’t mistaken, he seemed disappointed in my answer.
“That I did.”
There was something about this man that made me feel all marshmallowy inside. What I really wanted was someone to have fun with until it was time to go see the world, and I suddenly wanted that someone to be Dylan. Only one way to find out if he was interested.
“Okay, let’s back up a minute. I’m just a small-town mountain girl, easily confused. Exactly what did you mean when you said, ‘To the possibility of more than a friend?’ I think I understand…well kind of, but maybe you should clarify things for me.”
He studied me a moment and then smiled, and God help me, I smiled right back at him. Because that oh so charming boyish expression on his face was impossible to resist. Honestly I was finding everything about him irresistible.
“I don’t think you’re confused at all, Red,” he softly said. “Tell me you don’t feel the attraction between us.”
I refused to say a word, which seemed to amuse him.
“Your silence answers my question. Do you have a leave date for your world tour?”
I nodded, wondering where he was going with this. “Mid-December.”
“So about two months.” He reached across the table and covered my hand with his. “Proposition. Spend that time with me. Teach me about your town and the people, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
He meant sex eventually. I think. Maybe I was putting the cart before the horse, but I wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding. “I guess this is where I should say that I don’t jump into bed with the first guy that comes along.” That just wasn’t me.
“Meaning me?”
