She groaned at the last option because it was just so typical of Dylan.
And how crazy was it that she knew what was typical of him after knowing him for less than a week?
They rode together to his shop and while she got set up at the front desk and checked in customers, Dylan went about his business and started working on her car.
Now it was lunchtime and she wanted to scream. Would it have killed him to just say…something?! It didn’t even have to be major, just something like “Hey, I guess we got carried away last night” or maybe “I’m sorry about that kiss. It won’t happen again.” But then…pretty much anything he said was going to rub her the wrong way. She didn’t want him to apologize or regret it, but a little compliment about how hot it was wouldn’t hurt.
Looking up, she saw two women heading through the door. They clearly looked like they were on a mission and made the oddest looking pair – one was a tall blonde, the other a petite redhead. Maybe their car broke down and they were here for an emergency tow? Or maybe…she cut off her train of thought because suddenly they were right there in front of her. Smiling brightly, Chloe welcomed them. “How can we help you today?”
The two women looked at each other and grinned before looking back at Chloe. “Um…hi,” the redhead began. “Are you Chloe?”
Eyeing them warily, she nodded.
“Okay, good!” the blonde chimed in. “I’m Hailey Bennet and this is Phoebe Spencer and we’d like to invite you to lunch!”
“I was handling this, Hales,” Phoebe said. “You’re not mayor anymore. You don’t need to be the one in the spotlight, issuing all the invitations.” She rolled her eyes before looking over at Chloe. “Yes. We would love to invite you to lunch. We’re not too late, are we? Have you eaten yet?”
“Um…” Chloe began.
“If you have, we’ll just tell Dylan you’re taking an extended break. He won’t have a problem with it,” Hailey stated firmly – as if she knew Dylan well enough to know he’d be okay with the whole thing. “We’re just going to go over to Dottie’s. You’ve been there, right? They have a little bit of everything you could want for lunch on the menu. So what do you say?”
“Um…”
“Ladies,” Dylan said with a grin as he stuck his head into the waiting area. “You’re not scaring Chloe are you?”
Both women shook their head, looking as innocent as nuns in church. “Who, us?” Phoebe asked sweetly.
“We were just here to invite her to lunch,” Hailey said. “We wanted to welcome Chloe to Sapphire Falls and…”
Dylan chuckled. “Just can’t take the mayor out of the girl.”
Hailey frowned at him. “This has nothing to do with my being the former mayor,” she protested. “This is simply about being friendly. Besides, Chloe’s stuck here with all you guys and smelly, dirty cars. We just thought she’d like to take a break and have a civilized lunch with the girls.”
Dylan didn’t look completely convinced. He turned toward Chloe. “If you’re okay with it, go on. We can cover the phones and the desk while you’re gone.”
Not sure if his being agreeable was a blessing or a curse, she shrugged and reached under the desk for her purse. Besides, the girls looked nice enough – although she had a sneaky suspicion this lunch invitation wasn’t purely for her own benefit. Judging from the town’s reaction to her the last few days, Chloe was pretty sure Phoebe and Hailey were simply looking to get the dirt on her and Dylan’s relationship.
Something that was completely confirmed the second the door to the shop closed behind them.
“So…you and Dylan, huh?”
“Is it true you just met him when your car broke down?”
“And you’re staying with him? Ooo…nice!”
“And working with him too? That is so sweet!”
“But you like him, right? Like really, really like him?”
“Dylan is one of the best guys I know. Believe me. Many women have had their eyes on him for a long time but he hasn’t seemed interested.”
“Have you kissed him yet? I bet he’s a great kisser.”
They hadn’t even made it out of the parking lot when Chloe stopped in her tracks. “Okay,” she began diplomatically. Honestly, Hailey and Phoebe weren’t being catty or snarky. They were genuinely excited about the prospect of Chloe and Dylan being an item. But… “Those are a lot of questions in such a short amount of time,” she went on. “Could we maybe pull back a bit and just…I don’t know…get to know one another before you start the inquisition?”
Both Phoebe and Hailey stopped and looked at her – all wide eyes and serious expressions.
For about three seconds.
Then they burst out laughing.
“You know what,” Phoebe stated, “I like you.” She put her arm around Chloe and started walking toward the diner again. “You’re going to fit in perfectly here.”
“Oh…no,” Chloe protested. “I’m not…I mean…I’m just…”
Hailey came up on the other side of her. “Sapphire Falls is literally the greatest place to live. Has Dylan told you about the festival? Because seriously, it’s amazing. The food, the games, the rides…”
“Careful,” Phoebe whispered loudly to Chloe. “As the former mayor of this town, she is prone to start waxing poetic about it. You can tune her out.”
And honestly, Chloe kind of did. Not because she wasn’t interested in hearing about the town or the festival, but because for the first time in a long time, she felt like she actually fit in somewhere.
Five
Lunch ran long – much longer than Dylan had expected – and then Chloe announced she was going out for a girls’ night out at the Come Again.
Seriously? A girls’ night out? And what was worse, she asked if he minded. As in asking his permission. What was he supposed to say? Part of him actually did mind – he looked forward to their dinners together and just having some quiet time back at his house. And even though he tended to head to his room early, it wasn’t because he actually wanted to. It was self-preservation. And after last night’s kiss, he would need to keep on doing it.
Dammit.
If she stayed for much longer, Dylan was going to have to just start skipping dinner or eating in his room.
The shop was closed and everything was quiet. Hailey had stopped by and picked up Chloe about thirty minutes ago and claimed they were going to grab a quick bite before meeting everyone at the bar. Now that he thought about it, Hailey had given him a pretty detailed itinerary of what was going on tonight. Part of it was just her personality – it was who she was – but he kind of felt like she was baiting him a little bit. Dylan contemplated going. He knew everyone would be there. The town was filling up in preparation for the town festival and even though he was exhausted, it might be fun to go out and see some old friends.
Or keep an eye on Chloe.
Two birds. One stone.
Whatever.
Doing a quick scan of the garage, he noted how everything was in its place and there wasn’t anything that required his immediate attention. If he left now, he’d be able to go home and shower and change and make himself a sandwich before heading over to meet up with everyone. Fashionably late, isn’t that what they called it? Although he didn’t want to be too late – no point in letting the single guys of Sapphire Falls start hanging around Chloe. She was off limits.
Including to himself.
So why was he going and torturing himself again? Oh yeah, because…well, there was no logical explanation. Maybe he was a glutton for punishment. Or maybe he just enjoyed being in her presence and hearing her laugh and watching her smile. He had it bad. He knew it. But for the time being, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Grabbing his keys, Dylan walked out of the shop, locked it up and headed for home. With any luck he’d get himself ready and go have some fun. Fun on a weeknight? It had been a hell of a long time since he’d allowed himself to do that. The long hours of running his
shop pretty much made him a homebody with an early bedtime. Maybe it was time to actually start living his life – and having a life outside of his business.
****
“Oh my gosh! I love this song!” Chloe cried as she, Hailey, Phoebe, and a half a dozen other women got up to dance. She was a little hot and sweaty but she was having so much fun that it made it all worth it. The whole day had been amazing and it was thanks to this quirky little town and the people who lived in it.
Lunch was something she wasn’t likely to forget any time soon. As soon as they had sat down in their booth at the diner, Phoebe and Hailey started firing questions at her – about her life, where she was from, why was she moving, what her hobbies were…it was exhausting. But clearly she wasn’t the first person to be on the receiving end of such a thorough line of questions. No, they were too finely honed in their ability to find new topics and draw out answers.
It was a gift for some people.
The afternoon back at Dylan’s shop had flown by and before she’d known it, Hailey was back for her. Chloe hadn’t been so sure about a night out – she didn’t have anything fun to wear and she was a little self-conscious about going out right from work at the shop, but Hailey had assured her she’d take care of it.
That should have been a major red-flag.
Now, as she danced around to the latest Meghan Trainor hit, Chloe almost couldn’t believe how different she looked. Hailey had lent her a pair of black skinny jeans and a fabulous pair of boots. Phoebe had shown up with a pizza and a gift bag for Chloe with a bedazzled Sapphire Falls tank top in it. They had helped her do wonders with her hair – which had been up in a ponytail all day – but now was soft and curly and looked as if she’d gone to a salon. All in all, it had been a long time since she’d put in such an effort for a night out.
Or any night.
Or any outing.
The song ended and another great one started up immediately, but all eyes had turned toward the door.
Dylan.
When Hailey picked her up from the shop earlier, Chloe kind of had a feeling she was doing her best to convince Dylan to come and hang out, but he hadn’t seemed interested. But judging by the way he was scanning the bar – and the way his gaze seemed to lock on hers – he was definitely interested.
For as loud as the place had seemed a minute ago, Chloe couldn’t hear anything now except her heart pounding at the sight of him. Faded blue jeans, a snug black t-shirt – neither of which were out of the ordinary, but the way he was holding himself was – as if he were barely holding on to the control he always had. Her breath quickened and suddenly she wished they were back at his place, just the two of them.
“Just a kiss, huh?” Hailey said directly in her ear. At lunch, Chloe had admitted to kissing Dylan, but she had played it down. “I don’t think so.”
Chloe turned toward her, even though she hated to look away from Dylan’s heated gaze. “What? What do you mean?”
Phoebe danced over with a knowing grin on her face. “That is not the look of a man who you shared just a casual kiss with.”
Daring a glance over her shoulder, Chloe couldn’t help but look at him again. Nope. Nothing casual about it. She missed the look that exchanged between her two new friends. It didn’t matter how hot the kiss was between her and Dylan, he’d pulled back and pretty much sprinted from the room as if his feet were on fire. And the fact that he hadn’t mentioned it at all told her he wanted to forget it.
Then what was the hot stare about?
“You know, now that I think of it, Dylan is a pretty good kisser,” Phoebe said and Chloe’s head spun back around.
“What?” she cried.
Phoebe nodded. “It was a while ago – long before Joe – but yeah. I’ve kissed Dylan. It was pretty hot.”
So many thoughts raced through Chloe’s mind.
“Hell, I bet if you asked a lot of girls in this room, they’ve kissed Dylan,” Hailey added.
Why? Why on earth were they telling her this? So Dylan was a player? The type of guy who kissed like a damn dream and pretty much ruined you for any other kiss ever? Great. Got it.
She tried to look uninterested and noticed the song was coming to an end. Dylan had moved over to join a bunch of the guys at a table in the corner. Swallowing hard with disappointment, she didn’t make eye contact with anyone as she murmured, “I’m going to grab a drink.”
At the bar she had more than one guy offer to pay for her beer, but she passed. No need to get anyone’s hopes up. Making her way through the crowd, she sat down at the table the girls had claimed earlier and wanted to pout.
“Here’s the thing…”
Chloe almost jumped out of her skin at Hailey’s voice in her ear. Her hand flew up over her heart as she tried to calm down.
“Dylan’s lived here his whole life. He’s dated a lot of girls because…well…look at him. He’s freaking handsome as hell! Any single girl in town would love to be in your shoes.”
A headache was beginning to build behind her right eye and she wanted to tell Hailey to shut up because she didn’t want to hear any more about how great Dylan was or about his love life.
“But…” Phoebe chimed in, now sitting on Chloe’s other side, “there has always been two places Dylan never brings a woman – his business or his home.”
Chloe looked at them both in confusion until they nodded at her. “But…”
“It’s not like he doesn’t allow women in his shop,” Hailey clarified. “It’s more like he doesn’t let anyone hang out or…visit him there.”
“But I’m not hanging out or visiting. I’m working for him,” Chloe stated, still feeling confused. “And the only reason I’m staying with him is because the Rise & Shine was booked up along with all the area hotels. It’s not like Dylan wants me to be there.”
Phoebe shook her head. “You’ve met enough of the people here in town to know if it really bothered him, he could have found you a place to stay. Everyone in Sapphire Falls would take in someone in need. You’re staying at Dylan’s because he wants you there.”
That was really what Chloe had hoped for but was afraid to really let herself believe. “It doesn’t matter. We kissed and…”
“And Dylan’s a nice guy who probably thought he was going to scare you off or that he’d acted inappropriately. The man has manners. They all do here in town. Trust me,” Hailey said. “I’ve traveled around a bit and there aren’t any better men than the ones here. They were raised right and know how to treat a woman.”
“Okay, okay, we get it,” Phoebe interrupted. “But that doesn’t mean the men from outside of Sapphire Falls are all bad. Joe isn’t from around here and he does just fine.” She gave a sassy grin and a wink to make sure they all knew what she meant.
Chloe wanted to groan. This was all a little TMI for her.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Hailey asked.
Wait. What?
“We may not have known each other very long, but it’s obvious you’re crazy about him and he’s been staring over here at you since he got here. That tells me the feeling is mutual,” Hailey reasoned. “So…my question remains.”
Damn. Chloe’s first thought was how she wanted to drag Dylan back to his house and have her way with him. But that was totally out of her comfort zone.
“You’re thinking way too hard about this,” Phoebe said after a long silence. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“It’s not going to go anywhere,” Chloe admitted sadly. “Once my car is fixed, I’m leaving. Or…after the festival. I really want to be here for that. But I don’t want to impose on Dylan for much more than that.”
Without a word, Hailey got up and walked away. It was fine. All of the fun from earlier had worn off and now all Chloe felt was disappointment. Dylan was here but so was half the town of Sapphire Falls and amongst them, a lot of single women. And there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that if he wanted to, Dylan could have any one of them.
> Before she knew it, Hailey was back with three shot glasses. She put one down in front of each of them. With her mouth opened to protest, Hailey held up a hand to stop her. “Wouldn’t you rather have a week of wonderful than a lifetime of wondering?”
Damn.
“You say you’re leaving after the festival? That’s over a week away. Why spend that time being miserable…”
“And frustrated,” Phoebe interjected.
Hailey chuckled. “When you could be spending it wrapped around a sexy guy who is probably dying for you to give him the merest hint that you’re interested.”
Chloe took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And the shots?”
“For a little encouragement,” Hailey said with a grin. “We’ll toast. We’ll drink. And then you are going to get your man.”
Could it really be that simple? Hmm…
With a sly grin, she looked at her new friends. “Actually,” she began and then quickly downed her tequila, “I think I’m gonna need a little while longer to dance and meet more of the good people of Sapphire Falls.”
Both Phoebe and Hailey laughed out loud. “She means men!” Hailey whispered loudly.
“Excellent plan,” Phoebe agreed. “Let’s guarantee that by the time you’re ready to leave, Dylan won’t be able to say no.”
“Well? What are we waiting for?” Chloe asked as she stood. “Let’s go get ‘em!”
****
She was dancing. Again.
Six songs later and Chloe hadn’t sat down for a minute. Dylan should know. He’d been watching his watch. Well…when he wasn’t watching her.
She looked beautiful and wild and totally uninhibited – like she was having the time of her life. And the guys of Sapphire Falls were practically panting after her.
“Dude,” Will said from beside him. “Why don’t you just go and ask her to dance? Or better yet, haul her over your shoulder and take her home!”
Sapphire Falls: Going My Way? (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 5
