“It feels personal,” he muttered.
A small sigh escaped her. “I don’t know enough about you to make this personal,” she countered. “Honestly, Daisy told me who you were, but before that…I had no idea. I’m sorry.”
For a minute, he could only stare. Was she for real? Not that he thought that highly of himself, but he knew that in current pop culture, he was a pretty big name. And she had no idea who he was?
“Do you listen to music? At all?”
She laughed. “Of course I do. And I’m sure if you told me what band you’re with—”
“Shaughnessy.”
“Oh! Oh yes! I really liked your last album,” she said with a genuine smile. Then she shrugged. “But I’m the kind of person who can listen to the music and not give any thought to the people behind it. I know that sounds horrible but…there it is.”
Okay, this wasn’t a bad thing. It could totally work in his favor. If he could convince her to sign him on without having to get into the whole community service requirement quite yet, he’d be thrilled.
Relaxing, he crossed his arms over his chest and smiled at her. “It’s okay, Paige. I don’t have that big of an ego, where I expect everyone to know my name. Still, I feel like you’re cutting me off—and anyone who isn’t an author. I don’t know what your sister’s logic was behind the changes, but maybe she’s onto something. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have authors in the bunch. You totally should. But there’s something to be said for adding another demographic. I’ll bet we could organize a concert of some sort to raise money and awareness.”
And if she agreed to sign him on, he’d make it happen come hell or high water!
Her eyes went wide. “A…a concert? Really? I didn’t even think of anything like that. But then again, I haven’t had the time to really look at this from every angle. I was so set on just having authors doing this that a concert wasn’t even on my radar.”
“Between the band and my connections, I’d like to think I could help you put something together that would get the attention your cause deserves.” Then he leaned forward and took one of her hands in his. “And I truly believe in this, Paige. I think what you’re doing is very…noble. There are a lot of kids who grow into adults without learning how to read—or who can’t read beyond the basics. With any luck, this campaign will not only raise awareness, but it will also provide the funds needed for programs to help people of all ages.”
When he stopped talking, he saw how Paige’s eyes were bright with unshed tears.
What the…?
“I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”
She shook her head. “No. No, not at all. You said something completely right.”
He looked at her with confusion.
With a quick swipe of her eyes, Paige looked at him with a small smile. “I feel like I’ve been fighting an uphill battle with this particular project. It’s something that’s personal to me, and I can’t seem to get that same excitement from anyone else at the firm.” She paused. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like anyone’s sabotaging it, but—”
“But they’re also not going out of their way to support it either,” Dylan finished for her.
“Exactly.” She sighed. “I was in the middle of my presentation yesterday when I discovered the changes to my list. Then my sister… Well…never mind. It’s not important. Let’s say that my presentation got cut short and now I need to decide how to move forward.”
It hit him then that he wasn’t going to get an answer today. Clearly, she was a person who thought everything through, and from what she just said, this particular campaign was her baby, and she wasn’t going to take to making changes kindly. He knew when to throw in the towel and let things go. And he would.
For now.
Picking up his cup of coffee, he took a long drink and then put it down. “Well, I guess I’ve taken up enough of your time.” Standing up, he smiled and held out a hand to her. “It was nice meeting you, Paige, and I hope to hear from you soon.”
His abrupt change of action seemed to fluster her. She went to stand and shake his hand at the same time and ended up almost knocking her chair over and did succeed in dumping her satchel. With a muttered curse, she apologized and dropped to her knees to pick up her things. Dylan crouched beside her, and they both reached for a book that had fallen out. Dylan grabbed it first and smiled.
“I finished this last night,” he said, handing it to her. “I love a good whodunit, don’t you?”
For some reason, that seemed to fluster her too. She accepted the book and hugged it to her chest even as she frantically scooped up the rest of her things. With a muttered thanks, she stood. Dylan straightened and studied her. Paige kept her back to him as she repacked her satchel and he wondered if she was going to turn around or acknowledge him again. He was about to tap her on the shoulder when she faced him.
“So um…yes. I mean…I do love a good whodunit too,” she said softly. “Do you have a favorite author?”
Dylan motioned toward her satchel. “I like his entire series. I started it about three months ago, and now I’m bummed because the next book won’t be out for another couple of months.”
“You… I mean… That’s book eight in the series. You read all eight in three months?”
He nodded. “And a few others. Like I said, I’m a sucker for that kind of story. There were also a few Stephen King books, and I’ll admit to a couple of graphic novels that I threw in for variety. It’s a great way to pass the time.”
For a minute he thought she was going to comment, but all she did was nod.
All righty then.
Deciding there was more to Paige Walters than he was going to figure out today, Dylan knew it was time to go. “I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy your book,” he said and then grabbed his empty cup and walked away.
“Dylan?”
Was it wrong how he got a little bit excited at the thought of her calling out because she had changed her mind and was going to sign him on the spot? Taking a steadying breath and hoping he didn’t appear too anxious, he turned around.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling. “I appreciate the coffee and cake.”
“Oh…uh…sure. No problem.”
“Have a good weekend,” she said and then gave him a little wave.
The urge to ask her for a definite confirmation of at least a call back for next week was fairly strong. But he knew it would only hurt his cause. He had to be patient and give her time to think. With any luck, he’d given her enough information to at least consider him for the project.
Walking out onto the sidewalk, he slipped his sunglasses on and took a moment to enjoy the sun on his face. It felt good. And he even enjoyed the smell of the city air. In rehab, he had been up in the mountains of Colorado and it had been beautiful, but he was a city boy at heart. The noise, the people…even the smog—it made everything seem right.
After a minute, he started toward PRW’s building, where he’d parked his car. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was a little after four. Traffic was going to be a bitch, but it wasn’t as if he was in a rush to get anywhere. Well, there had been that thought of getting laid tonight, but it was something he had to think about—no need to repeat what had happened with Heather. Or what hadn’t happened. Just the thought made him shudder.
Pulling his keys from his pocket, he approached his Mercedes AMG GT and used the remote to start it. The sporty convertible had been his first purchase after rehab. It was the first time he’d trusted himself to own a nice car. Now he was able to enjoy driving himself around—something he hadn’t done in years—and it felt good. It gave him a sense of pride, and then he felt foolish for it. After all, most people were capable of driving themselves around town.
And now he was one of them.
With a grin, he opened the door and slid behind the
wheel and sighed with pleasure at the feel of the soft leather and how the seat hugged him. Yeah, life was good.
And if he could get Paige Walters to take a chance on him, he might even be able to say that life was great.
* * *
“Brilliant. Just brilliant,” Paige murmured as she placed her trash in the pail and carefully wove her way through the crowd of people in the coffee shop. Over and over in her mind, she replayed her clumsy act of knocking her stuff to the ground.
And that was after practically orgasming while eating a cake pop.
Okay, two cake pops.
She groaned as she exited the shop and walked toward the parking garage. Why had she agreed to go to coffee with Dylan Anders? Why hadn’t she stuck to her guns and had Daisy call him with an appointment? Not only could she have avoided making an idiot out of herself, but she also could have kept her previous clueless opinion of him intact and not have to deal with the fact that he was a nice guy who seemed to get what she was trying to do.
Other than Daisy, he was the only one who seemed to get what she was doing.
And now she realized she had a fascination with tattoos. Tattoos! When Dylan had first taken off his jacket, she was shocked and a little repulsed by the sheer amount of ink on his arms. But after a little while, she couldn’t help but keep noticing the artwork and found it to be…exquisite. Beautiful. More than once she had to stop herself from reaching out and touching his arms—which, forgetting about the tattoos, were muscular and sexy—and asking him to tell her what had inspired the choices.
Why? Why him? Why couldn’t one of her favorite authors have come in and talked with her like this? Why did it have to be a scruffy, tattoo-covered rock star who not only didn’t look the part of anything she was trying to do, but who potentially would also be a distraction for…well…her and probably any female in a ten-mile radius?
Although, she had to give him credit—other than the barista who handed him their order, no one bothered him. No one came looking for autographs or pictures. He blended right into the crowd. How was that possible? When she got home, she would do a thorough Google search and see what else she could find out. Yes. That’s exactly what she’d do. As charmed as she was by him—and she truly was—she had a feeling that part of it was an act to get her to agree to have him join the campaign.
But why? Why was this such a big deal to him? He wasn’t going to be paid for it. And really, compared with being in one of the biggest rock bands in the world, this was nothing. It wasn’t doing anything for him on a professional level, so why was he so anxious to be a part of it? What could he gain?
If there was one thing Paige prided herself on, it was being a good judge of character. And Dylan didn’t strike her as the selfless type. He had a swagger and a confidence that seemed in direct conflict with the image she was hoping to project with this campaign.
So was this personal? Did he know someone who struggled with reading? He was clearly well read based on what he’d shared with her, so she knew he didn’t have the issue. Someone who struggled with literacy didn’t read that many books in a three-month time span. Should she decide to work with him, she’d have to ask.
With a groan, she pulled out her keys as she approached her Toyota Prius Prime. Her sporty little hybrid was shiny and new, and she loved how she was doing something good for the environment at the same time. It had been a fight to get her father to install charging stations in the company garage, but he had relented and now…
She stopped and noted that her car wasn’t charging.
“Dammit, how could I have forgotten to plug it in?” Then she remembered how she had hurried in this morning and feared she was late. Honestly, it wasn’t the first time she’d forgotten. But as she stepped closer, she saw that was the least of her problems.
She had a flat tire.
“Dang it,” she hissed. With a loud sigh, she opened the door and tossed her bags in and then popped the trunk to get at her spare tire.
Then she really started to curse.
It wasn’t until that moment she remembered how this model no longer came with a spare but with a patch kit and a pump. Great. Like she had even the slightest clue how to patch a tire! She let out an aggravated growl and slammed the trunk shut.
“Everything okay?”
Great. Just great. Turning around, she forced a smile. “Oh…hey, Dylan. What are you still doing here?”
“I wasn’t in a rush to get anywhere and I got a call, so I decided to take it rather than be distracted on the road. So…what’s going on? Everything okay with your car?”
And for the life of her, she didn’t know why her temper chose that moment to snap, but it did. “Actually, no. It’s not. And you know why?”
Dylan was about to answer, but she cut him off.
“Because life sucks, that’s why!” she cried. “Or maybe it’s just me. I forgot to put my car on the charging station. Why? Because I’m too worried about how it will look if I’m three minutes late for work! Then—because that’s not enough—my front tire is flat. Flat! It was fine this morning! And my super-new, super-cute, super-efficient, great-for-the-planet car doesn’t come with a spare tire. Oh no. That would have been too easy. No, this car comes with a patch kit and a pump. So I have more trunk space, but now I have to figure out how to patch a tire!”
“I’m sure it’s not—”
“Do you see the lighting in here? My glasses? Do I look like someone who is going to be able to spot a hole in a tire and then patch it? Take the tire off and put it back on? Do I look like I even want to?” she asked, her voice going into the hysteria category.
Slowly, Dylan climbed from his car and walked toward her. “Okay, okay. How about we call AAA or something? Maybe they can send someone to do it for you?”
While it was a completely reasonable suggestion, it pissed her off even more. “Because I wanted to leave! I wanted to leave an hour ago! And now I’m never going to get to leave or go to the grocery store to get brownies and wine, so I can go home and Google who the heck you are!”
“Who I…? Um…”
A rather unladylike snort of disgust came out before she could stop it. “I know who you are, Dylan,” she snapped. “Sort of. But…what’s your deal?”
His dark eyes went wide. “My deal?”
“Yeah. Why would someone like you—a rock star with the whole…I don’t know…rebel-look thing going on—why would you want to be involved in something so boring as a reading campaign? It doesn’t fit. So the way I see it, there’s got to be something in it for you, or you lost a bet.”
“A bet?” he croaked. “Paige, look…I know you’re upset about your car and all but…you’re talking crazy here. Let’s call AAA or a mechanic and get your tire fixed so you can go and get your brownies and wine. Okay?”
If he wasn’t so darn tall, she would’ve slugged him.
It wasn’t his fault—not completely. She didn’t know if her tire was flat an hour ago, so she couldn’t say with any great certainty that he was the reason she was stuck here right now.
But she was.
“Fine,” she sighed, pulling out her cell phone. It didn’t take long to get AAA on the phone, but unfortunately, at four thirty on a Friday afternoon in downtown LA, she was going to have to wait.
Goodbye, brownies.
Goodbye, wine.
When she slipped her phone into her satchel, she looked at Dylan and gave him a weary—and apologetic—smile. “They can’t get anyone here for two hours. So…I guess I’ll hang out up in my office until they get here.”
He studied her for a minute. “Where were you going to get your brownies and wine?”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I’ve got absolutely nothing to do right now and I feel bad that I interrupted your afternoon. Maybe I can take you to pick up what you need and this way you don’t have
to sit around and wait. And besides, you seemed like you wanted to get out of the office today. It would majorly suck if you had to go inside.”
You got that right, she thought.
“I’m not going to ask you to take me grocery shopping. That’s ridiculous.”
Dylan chuckled. “Really? Why?”
“Seriously?” she asked without hiding the sarcasm. “When was the last time you went grocery shopping?”
He laughed a bit harder before saying, “Last Tuesday.” At her shocked expression, he looked a little smug. “Believe it or not, I’m not so much of a diva I can’t do things for myself.”
Somehow Paige had a feeling that wasn’t necessarily the whole truth. “So no one does your shopping for you on a usual basis?”
He shook his head. “They used to, but not for a while now. Ever since re…” He stopped and cleared his throat. “Ever since the band went on hiatus, I found that I was tired of never having anything in the house I wanted to eat. It was easier to shop for myself.”
Still, she couldn’t hide her disbelief.
“And shame on you for making assumptions,” he said, leaning closer, but she could tell he was teasing.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
Tucking his hands into his front jean pockets, he gave her a lopsided grin. “So, come on. You know you don’t want to go into the office. You’ll get sucked into working, and before you know it, it will be late and everyone will be gone, and you’ll still be sitting at your desk doing the work you wanted to put aside for the weekend.” He paused. “We’ll shop and by the time we return, AAA should be here and your tire will be fixed and you’ll be free to go. What do you say?”
She’d say he was crazy, but she had a feeling that of the two of them, right then, she had clearly come off as the crazier one.
“Only if you’re sure,” she began. “I don’t want to put you in a situation where…”
“We’ve been over this already, Paige,” he said patiently. “I’m not going to cause a riot at the Whole Foods. Or anywhere, for that matter.”
Holiday Spice Page 33
