Indy
Dylan was so much lighter the next two weeks. I loved that his brothers were finally giving him a chance, that they were beginning to see what I’d finally realized myself—that Dylan was an amazing man. He was nice and caring and thoughtful.
I don’t know why my dad was blaming Dylan for everything, but clearly that couldn’t be the case.
Dylan wouldn’t plant drugs on someone. Which meant my dad was the guilty one.
Andhe’d lied to me.
“So tell us the story,” Maddie demanded.
I was sitting in her and Nathan’s living room next door with Sabrina, Hope, and Rachel all staring at me in rapt attention. I’d somehow been roped into book club even though I didn’t know that was a thing and I definitely hadn’t read the book.
“Don’t worry about it,” Maddie had laughed it off. “Half the time we don’t even get to talking about the book. And you can join in with next month’s read.”
Apparently, they picked a new romance book to read every month or so.
I shifted on the sofa. “Oh you know, it’s a boring story really. We just got to talking in a diner and one thing led to another…”
“But you guys are liketogether, together, right?” Hope whispered dramatically.
“Oh no, no.” I shook my head. “We’re not a couple. He’s just helping me out. I got evicted, and Anne, the waitress at the diner, was going to take me home, but she doesn’t have a lot of room with her kids and roommate, so when Dylan heard, he offered to help me out.”
“Of course he did.” Maddie smiled. “He’s always had the softest heart. You know when we were in elementary school he wanted to take care of this squirrel that was living in a tree in front of my house. He kept feeding it and trying to get closer and closer so he could pet it.” She shook her head.
“And did he?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Wendy found out about his little hobby and freaked out. Gave us lectures on rabies and fleas and how you’re not supposed to feed wild animals.” Maddie shook her head.
So I was just on a long line of charity cases for him. Right.
I tried not to let the revelation deflate me visibly.
“Are you sure there’s not something there?” Hope asked with a frown.
I raised my eyebrows. “With the squirrels?”
“No. With you two. It’s just…” She sighed. “Ryan told me about how the whole lunch thing went down, and Dylan defended you so passionately…”
“Or do you not think about him that way?” Rachel asked before she took a sip of her wine.
I groaned. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”
Sabrina leaned forward. “Just one more question? Please?”
“No promises that I’ll answer,” I mumbled, shifting on the couch.
“Fine.” She smiled. “Do you think about Dylan that way? Are you interested in him as more than a friend?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “That’s more than one question.”
“Technically it’s the same question,” Hope said as she pointed at me with her water glass.
“Dylan is a great guy. He’s helped me out so much, but we’re just friends.”
Hope groaned. “That’s a non-answer if I’d ever heard one.”
“Because you wish it could be more.” Rachel raised her eyebrows at me over her wineglass.
