“Ooo, is that where your sordid love nest is?” Erin says, sliding her hands together.
“For now,” Dylan says, smirking at me with a glint in his eye.
My face gets hotter.
He turns to Erin and then Ava. “Speaking of vibes…anything you want to tell us?”
Ava’s cheeks turn pink, and even Erin looks a little bit shy, which surprises me. I wouldn’t think she was capable of it. I look between the three of them in confusion.
“What am I missing?” I ask.
“I don’t know…is there anything you want to tell them, Ava?” Erin asks softly.
They exchange a long look, and it starts to become clearer.
“We’ve been seeing where this might go,” Ava says, her lips curling into a smile. “But we’ve been keeping it quiet too.” She laughs. “Is that a family trait or something?”
“Pick a family. It fits for either,” Erin teases.
“Why keep it quiet? I think it’s great,” Dylan says.
“It’s really new,” Erin says. “And Ava has had a lot of adjusting to do…finding her birth family, moving to Windy Harbor…I’m the first woman she’s ever dated.” She lifts her shoulder and smiles at Ava. It’s the sweetest smile I’ve seen from her yet. “It’s a lot. I’m a lot. And since your other sister is my best friend…” She snorts. “We’ve got a ‘sister’s best friend’ thing going on here, don’t we?” She leans her head back and cackles and then holds up her hand. “Anyway…we didn’t want to do this whole thing under a microscope, you know?” She lifts her eyebrow and gives Dylan a pointed look. “Turns out there are a lot of secrets in Windy Harbor.”
“What do you mean?”
She sighs. “I can’t tell you. But you Whitmans…and Grangers need to just have a big sharefest. Soon.” She pats her chest. “My little heart can’t take all this cloak and dagger.”
Dylan looks puzzled but glances over at me with a smile. “I’m trying to convince Dahlia of the same thing. I think Bruce will just have to deal with it, the same way he’s dealing with Milo and Goldie and Ava being part of our family.”
My chest hurts. “Trust me. This is different. He won’t…just trust me.”
I know the cutthroat version of Daddy Dearest better thananyone, and I’ll do anything to protect the people I love from that.
It’s like a record coming to a screeching halt.
I love Dylan.
I want to tell myselfNo, no, it’s too soon, it can’t be love, but…is it?
He looks at me, and I don’t miss the hurt in his eyes. He doesn’t say anything, just nods.
We say our goodbyes, and the ride home is quiet.
“Dylan…are we okay?”
He clears his throat. “Yeah,” he says, going for light. “I’m not going to make this day about me. You met your sister today, and it was incredible seeing the two of you.”
He glances at me. “But I don’t want to be a secret forever.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
SHAKY GROUND
DYLAN
I think this is the first time that Dahlia and I have gotten into bed together and not immediately turned to each other. I’m just feeling a little unsteady here, questioning whether I’m in too deep and in these feelings alone. The way I’m feeling about her—I want the whole world to know. And I get that things are complicated with us…her dad…our families. But it’s all felt worth it to me.
She’s worth it.
