One Last Time ?: Bad Boy Bachelors of Orange County BK 1

by Gray, Khardine

  “Please don’t blame yourself. Things happen, and we can’t explain or understand why they happen. I just know we shouldn’t blame ourselves for things we have no control over.”

  “Yeah, you’re right… Come here.” He pulled me back to him and rested my head against his chest. I loved the feel of his heartbeat against my ear. “He taught me about the stars when he took me camping. We used to go every month without fail.”

  “Every month?” I smiled. I would have hated to go camping. “Was he how you learned to sail too?”

  “Yup, that was him too. We’d alternate between camping out in the wild or camping at sea.”

  “I like the sea. We should do this again.” I said that without thinking. If things went according to plan, this might not happen again. We had two weeks and a day left.

  He pressed his chin to the top of my head. “We should do this again.” He repeated the words but with more fervency than how I’d said them.

  I lifted my head, and he guided my lips to his for a kiss that spoke to my soul.

  Open mind, open heart…

  What was I opening myself to? The fact of the matter was, I loved being with him.

  I loved the way he made me feel. It was different. Different than when I thought I was in love.

  Different than everything, and I didn’t want to say goodbye.

  * * *

  The thought still weighed heavily on my mind the next day when I got home.

  It was late in the afternoon.

  I expected an empty house, but Abby was here. She sat out on the terrace looking at the garden like she had stuff on her mind.

  It wasn’t often that I’d seen my sister look so deep in thought. She smiled when she saw me and seemed to brighten.

  “Thought you might have another all-weekender with Dylan,” she cooed.

  I sat beside her. “I could have, but I thought I should come home. He wanted me to go back to his place.”

  “Why didn’t you, Taylor?”

  I looked down at the stone floor, then back to her. “I thought that maybe it would be best to start distancing myself. I don’t know. I don’t want to, but it feels like I should.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t. Why would you do that?”

  “We have two weeks.” Of course, I’d told her everything, including our time frame.

  “Why does it have to be two weeks? Why can’t it be more? You look like you want more.” She gave me a kind, understanding smile.

  “I want more,” I replied. It was the first time I’d confessed that. “I want more, but I think it would be selfish of me. The whole thing has been selfish of me. Abby, he promised his father he wouldn’t sleep with his clients. Jesus, just that part alone should fend me off. I knew what I was getting into, that it couldn’t be more. It’s not like his father doesn’t know who I am. We haven’t even been on a real date yet.”

  To my surprise, she chuckled. “Taylor, you think too much and worry too much. I personally wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone if I were so lucky as to find a guy I could fall for.”

  “Fall for? You think I’ve fallen for him?”

  “I think, my dear sister, that it’s more of the past tense. You’ve fallen.”

  Panic gripped me because I wasn’t sure if I should be doing anything of the sort so soon. It was too soon after Brody. And not because I loved Brody and was getting over the heartache he’d caused. It wasn’t that, and the fact that it wasn’t told me Brody was the absolute wrong guy for me. Dylan, on the other hand, was something else. Someone I’d never expected to find. He just happened, and I wasn’t sure I knew how to deal with that.

  “I’m… scared. I can’t fall for him, Abby. It’s a bad idea.”

  “It’s not. Trust me. Better to fall for someone and know it’s real than live like me… floating around the world not knowing what I’m doing.”

  I looked her over. Something was wrong. I could tell.

  “Are you okay, Abby?”

  She gave me a little smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “I’m okay. I’m just acting stupid.”

  “Oh please, you are far from stupid. Did something happen?”

  “Yes, two good somethings, but I’m acting stupid because the somethings gave me an eye opener,” she confessed.

  Now I was totally curious to hear what on earth these somethings were. “What are the somethings?”

  “Porsha and Bella both invited me to dinner. I thought it was going to be the usual catch-up.” She smiled again. Back in high school, she, Porsha, and Bella were the clique. They were her girlie friends, next in line to Gilly and us as her sisters. “They both had good news. The kind they wanted to share in person. Porsha and Jeff are engaged, and Bella and Kirk are expecting their first child.”

  My lips parted in pure surprise because these ladies were the equivalent of the perpetual bachelors. They were perpetual spinsters who walked around like goddesses treating every guy they were with like they were lucky they’d been acknowledged.

  Porsha was getting married, and Bella was pregnant. Wow. That really was some news.

  “That cool. I’m happy for them. But what was the eye opener?” I was stuck on that part.

  She raised her shoulders into a shrug and sighed. “Me. I was the eye opener. They’re moving on, and so fast, while I’m here, the same. I’m going to be thirty next year, and until tonight, it didn’t bother me that I have no plans to get married, no plans to have kids, and no plans to do any of the stuff people want to achieve before that time.”

  “Abby, that means you’re content with who you are and what you have. Most women aren’t like that,” I pointed out.

  “I know, but I joined them tonight. I joined big time when two of my best friends changed before my eyes. Taylor, you should have seen how happy they looked. They looked so happy, and it wasn’t down to the foolishness we’d previously thought was happiness. Bella was practically glowing with it. You think you have it all wrong because you’re a relationship girl, but you don’t. There comes a point in life when you stop living it up, and when you look around you, it’s like there’s nothing. You have nothing. Just moments of fun, and then it’s gone.”

  I hung on to her words, listening eagerly because I’d never heard her speak like this before.

  “Abby, everyone has different stages in their lives.”

  “Yeah. Sure. I’m just at the stage where I’m either going to continue as I am, spending my weeks with these men who just want fun and sex, or I’m going to take stock of myself and look into what I want for the future. How nice it must be to fall for someone. I would love to feel that… It must be nice.” She reached out and lifted the ends of my hair, allowing them to curl around her thumb then loosen. “Taylor, go with how you feel. If you feel anything for Dylan, then don’t give it up for anything. You look happy. Happier than I’ve ever seen you.”

  I pulled in a deep breath. She was right. I was happy, happier than I’d ever been. I just didn’t think the decision was as simple as that, or that it was all mine.

  If it were, I’d want to keep seeing him. I absolutely would.

  Someone cleared their throat loudly, and we turned to see Gilly coming through the door that led out to the terrace.

  Much as Abby and Gilly annoyed the hell out of me with their weirdness, it was nice to see him. I hadn’t seen Gilly in weeks, but I swore The Centaurs’ quarterback looked more handsome every time I saw him. And taller too.

  “Girls,” Gilly said, acknowledging both of us.

  Abby literally brightened like someone had switched the lights on, and she practically flew into his arms. I’d never seen anything like it. It didn’t matter if she saw this guy ten times a day; she would always greet her best friend the same. I’d been the witness of it for as long as I’d had a memory.

  “Gilly, what are you doing here? You said you were out with the guys,” Abby bubbled.

  “You sent me a message with a blank-faced emoji,” he an
swered.

  “So, you came here?” she gasped.

  “Of course, I did. You only send me those weird signals when something’s wrong with you.” He chuckled.

  What a sweet thing to do. Although, he was always doing things like that for her.

  Back when she was eighteen Abby had a near brush with death. It was a horrible time that had us all on edge because we didn’t know what was going to happen to her. The problem started out with her needing her appendix removed but then she got very sick after the surgery. Gilly had flown all the way back from a family holiday in Italy to be with her.

  After that incident it didn’t take much for the man to rush to her side. Once he even flew back from somewhere just because Abby had cramps. Cramps as in the standard cramps everyone woman got, but he had to come home to make sure it wasn’t serious. That shocked me, but then he shocked me even more when he’d flown back from football camp when he just got accepted with The Centaurs because Abby had a bad cold.

  A cold… not even the flu.

  “You shouldn’t have done that. You should have guy time.” Abby shook her head at him.

  “Whatever. I came over and walked straight in off the streets. I could have been an ax murderer.” He looked at me when he said that.

  It was him I got that whole ax murderer thing from. “Why are you looking at me?” I asked with a frown.

  “Taylor, you’re always leaving the front door open. Your car’s open too. It’s eight o’clock in the night, prime time for hoodlums, burglars, and creepers.”

  I groaned inwardly. I didn’t think he’d understand if I said I’d mindlessly come into the house because I was thinking about Dylan.

  “Well, thank God you came by. Who knows what could have happened to us?” I shot back.

  He rolled his eyes at me and returned his focus to Abby. “Blank-faced emoji after you tell me about Porsha and Bella? What’s up with that?”

  She pouted. “I don’t know.”

  “Come, let’s get some ice cream. You can tell me what’s wrong with you over a double chocolate candy surprise.” He took her hand and led her away. “Taylor, make sure the house is locked properly,” he called over his shoulder.

  Abby giggled, and the two left.

  I kept watching them, wondering how they were the way they were, and couldn’t see what I saw every time I saw them. Abby talked about not being able to fall for someone, and she said she could see in me the feelings I had for Dylan. I wondered what she would say to me when I pointed out she had the same for her so-called best friend.

  I looked away from the path they’d left and stared out to the scenery before me. The trees swayed in the gentle breeze in tandem with the slight ripple of the water in the pool. Dylan filtered into my mind and stayed there.

  Stayed there, like how I wished he would stay in my life.

  Chapter 14

  Taylor

  * * *

  Saturday came again.

  Dylan and I had, had the house to ourselves since last night.

  This time, it was all planned because I knew my sisters would be away all weekend.

  Mia was with her guy again, and Abby had gone to the spa with Mom.

  Dylan came over last night, and it was like it could have been a normal weekend. Not one that was a week and a half away from our last.

  In close to two weeks’ time, Dylan would be going to New York to work on the real estate firms we had based there. While we were predominantly OC based, we had a number of real estate offices across the country. The plan was for Dylan to do some sort of tour and spend ten weeks at a time with each branch. Apparently, they were losing a lot of money, and his expertise would help them.

  Knowing how my cousins were, it didn’t surprise me, and it wouldn’t be down to anything like what had happened to me. After weeks of us working together, I’d only cut down on a few things that actually did pack a punch because those few things saved in the long run.

  With my cousins, it would be all down to lack of expertise and know-how. My uncles weren’t like Dad, who took charge of his business affairs. They literally did hand over the various branches of business to their kids on a silver plate.

  A gentle breeze lifted my hair over my face as I kissed Dylan. We were on the terrace by the pool. I sat in his lap, kissing him. We were supposed to be having a mini barbeque. So far, we hadn’t even gotten the fire started. We were indulging in our own fire that consumed us.

  “I think I’d prefer to eat you.” He groaned against my lips.

  I laughed. “No, one of us needs to make sure we survive with the basic needs. You haven’t eaten since last night.”

  It was four in the afternoon, and neither of us had eaten anything because we’d spent the day in bed.

  “Taylor, if I choose to eat you, you can’t be blamed for my dietary choices. Except for maybe your fine ass and perfect body.”

  I slid out of his lap and swatted his hands away when he tried to reach for me.

  “No, I’m serious. Plus, I could say the same about you.” His fine ass and perfect body had taken me straight to some alternate dimension where I was this woman who thought she had everything. Even though she had this perfect guy she knew she couldn’t have. The perfect guy she knew she’d fallen for.

  I’d accepted it and decided I wasn’t going to pull away or wean myself off him. I’d accepted it and decided I’d enjoy what I could of him and let nature take its course in whatever way that meant.

  “Hey.” He reached for my hand and tugged me back as I tried to walk away. “I’m making the food. You can relax and let me spoil you.”

  He stood up and planted a kiss on my lips.

  “That sounds nice.”

  “Yes, and I happen to make the best barbeques.” He gave me a wolfish grin.

  “Well, I would love to be spoilt in that case.”

  He seated me back down, and I allowed my gaze to drift over his perfect body as he walked back into the house.

  I didn’t even get the chance to rest against the chair when I saw a familiar car pull up out by the front drive.

  Of course, I would recognize the black Porsche I’d helped Brody buy.

  My heart stilled, and my chest tightened right up when Brody got out of the car and saw me looking at him.

  The gates leading up to the pool were open, and in he came. I wished like hell I had taken Gilly’s advice last week, because while Brody may not have been an ax murderer, a burglar, or even a creeper, he was just as bad to me. He was a cheater.

  Deceptive. Deception was what all those people had in common. That and all things bad because they came with the intention to hurt. To hurt and harm.

  When he walked up the path with a tentative expression on his face, I bolted up out of my chair and glared at him.

  What the hell was he doing here?

  Why would he come to see me? After those phone calls of his weeks ago and the text messages, I’d blocked his number and thought that he’d get the message that I didn’t want to see him.

  “What do you want?” I asked. No need for pleasantries at all.

  “Hey, Taylor, I wanted to see you.” He nodded. I gazed at him, now thinking that I couldn’t believe I’d been with him. He was very good looking and the type of guy I would normally go for, but his personality made him ugly.

  “What the hell for? We’re done. Why are you even here?” I would be very interested to hear this.

  “Taylor, I can’t apologize enough for what happened. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just…”

  “Saw me as an opportunity to help your business?” I filled in. “I understand perfectly. That woman you were with is your girlfriend, and she knew about me. She looked like she knew about me, so that meant you came up with some plan to be with me.”

  He didn’t answer. Thinking it in my head was bad, but looking at him and getting a confirmation was a truth that was hard to accept. It reminded me of what had happened and all the past fake boyfriends.

  “
I’m sorry, Taylor. I am. I came by today hoping you could forgive me enough to still put the investment you wanted to make in my company.”

  Oh my God in heaven.

  My eyes could have popped out of my head.

  I stared at him point blank trying to process what he’d just said. He came here to ask for money. More money, like I hadn’t given enough.

  I stared not quite knowing what to say. What was a good enough answer to give in this situation? Fuck the hell off didn’t feel sufficient.

  The door opened behind us, and Dylan came out holding a tray with the packs of meat he was going to use for the barbeque.

  His eyes narrowed when he saw Brody.

  “Hello,” he said, looking from Brody to me. I couldn’t hide how upset I was, and he noticed. “Didn’t know we were having guests, Taylor. Who’s this guy?” He set down the tray on the table and walked closer to Brody.

  Both men were the same height, but Dylan was built with muscle.

  “This is Brody,” I told him.

  “And what is Brody doing here?” Dylan asked Brody, who was dumb enough to square off against him.

  “He came to see if I could forgive him enough to still invest in his business.” I had to say it. Repeat the words that were uttered seconds ago, and yes, they sounded as insane saying them as hearing them.

  Brody looked at me, then back to Dylan when he balled his fists.

  “I wonder why Brody would think that was a good idea?” Dylan spat, stepping into his personal space.

  “Who the hell are you?” Brody shot back when he saw the way Dylan looked at him.

  “I’m Dylan, Taylor’s boyfriend, and you made a big mistake coming here today.”

  Brody laughed and looked at me. “Is this the kind of idiot you picked up after me? Damn.”