“What made you decide to leave Chicago?” The silence stretched as I waited for him to answer, making me wonder if he was going to tell me. It was a simple question, or at least I’d thought so.
“My wife died. I decided it was time for a change of scenery,” he finally said.
His voice was flat, his gaze on the mountains rising up on the other side of the valley. I waited for him to say more, but when he didn’t, I let it go even though I was really curious. How long ago had she died? Had he loved her, mourned her, cried tears for her? How had she died? Suddenly in a traffic accident or slowly because of some god-awful disease like cancer? I’d lived through Natalie’s suffering and understood that kind of heartbreak. But I didn’t ask any of those questions. It was obvious the subject was closed.
“I’m glad you chose Blue Ridge Valley.”
The hint of a smile appeared on his face. “I’m even happier with my decision after meeting you, Red.”
Well. Okay then, Dylan. Just go and wake up the butterflies nesting in my stomach.We fell into silence again, but it was a comfortable one this time. I sipped my wine, watching Dylan out of the corner of my eye. He seemed to be sloughing off whatever had caused him to be moody.
“Hear that? That was my owl.” He put his feet on the railing, tipping his chair back.
“I love listening to them. There’s one that lives somewhere near my parents’ backyard. I actually saw it once, sitting on a tree stump. He just sat there, staring at me with big, unblinking eyes.”
“Haven’t seen mine yet. Are there certain species of owls that live in the Blue Ridge Mountains?”
“Beats me. We’ll have to google it sometime.”
Dylan set down his empty wineglass, reached over, and rested his hand on my thigh. Mercy, I loved it when he touched me. He made me tingly whenever he did.
“I’m sorry for my shitty mood. I have a lot of things on my mind, but I’m better now that you’re here.”
I put my hand on top of his, giving him a smile. “I aim to please.”
“Trust me, Red, you please. Getting hungry?”
For you? God yes.“I could eat.”
“How good are you at making a salad?”
“I’m a master salad maker.”
“We’ll leave the rest of the wine and glasses here for later.” He stood, pulling me up with him, then tugged me against his body. “First, I need a kiss.”
I lifted onto my toes and put my mouth on his. He groaned as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tighter against him. Our noses bumped, and he chuckled, angling his head as he took possession of my mouth. His kisses were lethal, setting my body on fire, making me ache for him. He devoured my mouth, possessing me like no man ever had. It was entirely possible I’d never kiss another man again because after Dylan, why bother? I put my hand on his chest, felt his heart pounding against my palm, and my own heart thumped hard, answering his.
“Dinner,” he gasped, pulling away. “I promised to feed you.”
“Okay.” His kiss had stupefied my brain to mush, and that one word was about all I was capable of. The man did love to kiss. He took my hand, leading me to the kitchen, which gave me time to recover from the hottest kiss on record. I was also worried. I liked him too much. That was a problem because I didn’t want to take off on my world tour, my heart missing a man, any man.
16
~ Dylan ~
I’d almost lost control. That wasn’t me. I was always in control, but Jenny Nance was getting under my skin. Kissing her had set my blood on fire, and I’d come close to taking her down to the floor of the balcony with me. I’d almost called her and canceled tonight. The sour taste still in my mouth with how I’d strong-armed the mayor to get my budget on Thursday night’s agenda, topped by catching Moody stealing the department blind, had put me in a bad mood.
As if that wasn’t enough, I hadn’t slept well. I’d gone so far as to take out my phone to call Jenny before remembering I didn’t have her number. So here she was, and I was glad. Already my mood had improved, and not just because I’d kissed her. Being with her soothed me.
“Want some music?” I asked, letting go of her hand when we walked into the kitchen.
“That would be nice.”
She opened the refrigerator, pulling out the makings for a salad. I liked that she didn’t wait to be told what to do, and there was another thing I realized I liked about her. Jenny Nance was comfortable in her own skin, knew who she was and what she wanted. Like her travel-the-world dream. Nothing was going to get in her way of that. Good for her.
It also meant that she wasn’t looking for a man to put a ring on her finger, which made being with her for however long we enjoyed each other’s company easy. I wouldn’t hurt her, and she wouldn’t hurt me.
When she’d told me about her twin sister, I’d wanted to wrap her in my arms and take the hurt away. But I knew firsthand that there were no words or actions that could ease the pain of losing someone you loved. I understood why she was so determined to see the world. She had an unbreakable promise to keep.
