Dylan looked at her and grinned. “We’ll be done in a minute. Maybe you should go inside and see about calling the Toyota dealer about that new tire.”
Her dark eyes narrowed at him. “I don’t want to go inside.”
“And we’re not ready to move the truck yet,” he countered.
“Oh, we’re not ready?” she mocked. “Seriously?”
“What can I say? I can’t disappoint a fan.” Turning his back on her, he walked over to the driver’s side of the truck and then spent another five minutes signing papers, flyers, hats, whatever the guy could get his hands on. When he was done, he looked at Paige, who was fuming, and felt like poking her some more. “Is that it? I’ve got time.”
“You know, my girlfriend would go crazy if you spoke to her,” the man said hopefully. “Would you…I mean…would you mind if I called her and you could get on the phone and say hi? I swear it won’t take long and you’ll really make her day!”
“I would love to! Go for it!”
Paige looked like her head was about to explode.
Was it wrong that he was having so much fun?
Before he knew it, a phone was thrust into his hands, and he was saying hello to a shrieking female. Dylan did his best not to wince at the high-pitched squeal and forced himself to smile at the AAA guy. As he listened to the squeals turn to excited chatter, he noticed an older gentleman walk toward Paige.
He also noticed her stiffen.
Was this guy someone she worked with? Someone she had a problem with? Her body language told him that she wasn’t comfortable and yet…she smiled at the man. Curiosity got the better of him and he had a gut feeling that this was a man he needed to meet.
“Well, I need to go, sweetheart,” Dylan said cheerfully into the phone. “I hope you have a great night so…take care!” Handing the phone to the driver, he wished him a good night as well and then walked to where Paige and the older guy were talking.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” he heard her saying. “The tire’s repaired, and I’ll take it into the dealer Monday and get the tire replaced.”
“Are you sure it’s safe to drive? Maybe you should have it towed and I’ll drive you home.”
“That’s not necessary, Dad. But I appreciate the offer.”
Dad? So this was Robert Walters, the head of the firm. Interesting. Dylan straightened a bit as he strolled over, smiling. Paige glanced at him and frowned, and Dylan noticed how her father caught on to her instant change in demeanor as well.
“Paige?” her father asked. “Is…everything all right? Do you know this man?”
Still smiling, Dylan walked up and extended his hand. “Dylan Anders. I’m hoping to be working on Paige’s literacy campaign.”
Robert Walters shook his hand and visibly relaxed. “Splendid! Are you an author?”
Paige coughed and turned away to hide what was—no doubt—a snort of disgust.
“No, sir. I’m a musician. Your daughter Ariel reached out to me about the campaign and I came by today to talk to Paige about my participation.”
“Nothing’s confirmed yet,” Paige interrupted, shooting him a warning glare. “I’m still not convinced that Ariel’s suggestion is how I want to go.”
Robert studied Dylan for a moment and then turned to his daughter. “I looked over her proposal—she gave me a copy after the meeting the other day—and I have to admit that it does sound intriguing. Getting members of various arts could extend our reach with the campaign, Paige. It’s not an uncommon approach, and it’s proven to be successful in the past. I know you wanted this to be your baby, but that shouldn’t mean you automatically disqualify suggestions just because they’re not your own.”
For a minute, Dylan felt bad for her—she was getting reprimanded by her father right in front of him. That had to be embarrassing.
“Well, to be fair,” Dylan began, having a sudden urge to clarify, “I don’t think she’s against all non-authors, just me.”
“Wait…now I remember. I read your bio,” Robert replied. “You’re with a band, you play the bass, and you’re fresh out of rehab for your drinking, correct?”
Okay, right to the point. Dylan nodded. “Yes, sir.” Then he braced himself for the condescension and disapproval.
Crossing his arms across his chest, Robert gave him a hard look before turning to his daughter. “And you have a problem with this? With him?”
Her cheeks turned a light shade of crimson as she studied the pavement. “It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
“Paige,” her father began sternly, “it’s not like you to be so judgmental. Personal feelings should not play into what’s going to help your cause. I think you’d be doing the campaign a disservice if you eliminate willing volunteers based on your own bias.” He paused. “You should reconsider.” Turning to Dylan, Robert extended his hand. “I’m looking forward to seeing you on this project. I’m sure my daughter will do the right thing.”
And then he bade them both a good evening, walked over to his car, and swiftly drove away.
Leaving the two of them standing in awkward silence.
Just when Dylan thought he’d go a little mad, Paige spoke.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, not quite meeting his gaze, and he knew she was uncomfortable.
A few minutes ago, it would have been fun to make her work for his forgiveness, but now it seemed mean.
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice equally quiet. “I get it, you know. I know you had envisioned someone completely different for this project and then I walk in and ruin it.”
This time her eyes did meet his and what he saw there was gratitude, plain and simple.
“It isn’t personal…”
He laughed softly. “I think it’s a little bit personal.”
That had her laughing with him. “For the sake of total honesty, fine. I do have an issue with your…past. I can’t help it. I lost a friend to a drunk driver so…”
Dylan held up a hand to stop her. “I’m sorry. Truly.” Then he stopped and raked a hand through his hair. What was he supposed to say to her admission? “I’m sorry for your loss. I am. But you have to know that I am trying to get my life straightened out. I hate how I let it spiral so far out of control, and I’m thankful I didn’t kill anyone in the accident. I’ve worked hard to clean up my act and become a better person. Every day is a struggle, Paige, and it continues to be a struggle when people want to pass judgment.”
She sighed. “I’m sure, and I hate how I added to that. I’m normally not like that…I don’t usually act that way.”
Somehow he had a feeling she didn’t realize how transparent she was. And while he had her pegged as the kind of woman who would be a total pain in the ass to work with, there was also something about her that he found…appealing.
“I’m not saying you have to like me,” he said. “Most of the time I don’t particularly like myself. I’m still trying to figure out who I am now that I’m not wasted all the damn time. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance. In the grand scheme of things, I’m going to be a tiny part of this project. You’ll probably only have to spend like fifteen minutes with me.”
With another soft laugh, she shook her head. “It would probably be more than that.”
“Just…just promise me you’ll think about it. Don’t write me off because of something I did in the past. I’m trying really hard to stay positive and look to the future, but I can’t if people keep forcing me to relive the past.”
She pointedly looked at his arm—where his new tat was—and he knew the instant she made the connection.
“I need to keep looking forward,” he said gruffly.
Paige’s expression turned serious. “The past isn’t going to change, Dylan. I’ll admit I don’t know the specifics about what you did or about you in general, but your actions had a de
finite effect on people. You can’t erase that because you’re ready to move on.”
“I get that, I really do, but I’m not going to let it define me for the rest of my life either. I have to live with what I did every day. Trust me when I tell you that it doesn’t just go away. But I think I deserve a chance to prove to the world that there’s more to me.”
His heart hammered in his chest as he waited for her to respond.
“Why this?” she asked, her voice so soft that Dylan almost wasn’t certain he’d heard her.
And her eyes.
Damn.
They looked up at him with so much emotion and conflict that he almost didn’t know what to say.
“Honestly? I don’t know. When my manager first presented me with it, I thought, No way.” And when he paused, he knew exactly what he needed to say—to share. And not because he was using it as an angle to win her over, but because she deserved the truth.
“When the band first got signed by Mick, our manager, I could barely read. I struggled with it all through school but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone and I sort of…I don’t know…fell through the cracks, so to speak. I dropped out of high school at sixteen.” He shrugged. “Mick hired tutors and helped me pass the GED, but it took a couple of years for me to realize what a gift it was.”
“Dylan, I…I had no idea.”
He shrugged again. “I don’t talk about it. Ever. I don’t think the guys in the band even know about it. I was embarrassed. Ashamed. Up until then, it didn’t matter to me, but when we had to sign contracts, and there was so much to read and learn, Mick figured it out. He never made me feel bad about it. He simply stepped in and offered to help. I owe him a lot for that.”
“He sounds like a good person.”
That had Dylan laughing out loud. “Sorry. It’s just…Mick’s…Mick. He can be a complete asshole most of the time and he’s really a hard-ass about a lot of things, but deep down? Yeah. He’s a good person. He just doesn’t want anyone to know.”
Paige smiled. “Then I won’t be the one to tell them.”
All the tension started to ease away. “I’m not saying I want to put that information out there—about my learning struggles—but let’s say I understand now why reading is so important.”
She nodded. “And if I said I wanted to use it for the campaign, what would you do?”
Dylan’s first instinct was to get defensive, to get mad, but he squashed it immediately. “I’d probably say I’m not comfortable with it, but if you thought it would help, then I’d agree to it.”
“Wow.”
“Exactly.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I wish you had been honest with me earlier.”
Dylan took a moment to let that sink in before responding. “Would it have made any difference? You still would have been disgusted. You took one look at me—the leather jacket, the tattoos, the whole image—and you formed an opinion. Nothing I said was going to change that. The only difference is that we wouldn’t have gone and had coffee and cake pops,” he said solemnly before adding with a sheepish grin, “or gone food shopping together.”
The sound of pure feminine laughter echoed around the parking garage, and Dylan’s grin grew.
“You’re crazy, you know that, right?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Part of my charm.”
She sighed. “Oh, Dylan—”
He knew that tone, knew where it was leading, and he had to stop her. “Don’t!” he quickly, but lightly, interrupted. “Just don’t make any decisions yet. Please. Take the weekend to think about it.”
When she didn’t immediately respond, he began to feel desperation clawing at him. Reaching for her hand, he clasped it in his. “I promise you, Paige, from now on, I will be one hundred percent honest.”
“But you—”
“I know I should have been that way from the moment we met, but…can you blame me? You know how you reacted to the news, and you’re not the first one to respond like that, so I’m a little cautious about putting it out there. It was wrong of me, and I’m sorry. Please. Give me a chance to prove to you that I’m not a bad guy.”
“You don’t understand.” She carefully removed her hand from his. “This project…I had it all mapped out. I wanted authors and only authors.”
“But from what your father and your sister said earlier, you need to consider some other options. Let me be one of those options!”
“I don’t think—”
“What about the clients?” he asked, almost frantic now. “Don’t your clients deserve to have a say in this?” Wait, did she have clients for this campaign, or was it well and truly hers to do with as she wanted? Why hadn’t he thought of that?
But by the look on her face, he knew he had her.
There was hope.
For him, at least.
“I…I hadn’t thought of that,” she admitted slowly.
“Look, I’m sure you’d like nothing more than for me to leave and let you get on with your weekend.”
“Well—”
“But,” he quickly interjected, “promise me, Paige, that you’ll think about this. Okay?” He paused and then almost sagged with relief when she nodded. “And would it be all right with you if I came by on Monday? I do have an AA meeting at noon, so maybe I can come by in the afternoon, like I did today?”
“I think Daisy would faint at your feet,” she said with a smile.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine. I want you to know I’m serious. I’m willing to do whatever it is you need from me—even let you go home and have brownies and wine for dinner when I’d like to keep talking to you and pleading my case.”
And he realized that was only partially true. He enjoyed talking to her. He had a feeling if they didn’t have this conflict over the campaign between them, they’d be able to talk about any number of things at length.
Paige looked at him as if she was trying to figure out if he was serious or not. It was enough to make him squirm. “Why don’t you come in around four on Monday?” she said finally. “I’m not making any promises though, Dylan. I am going to talk to my friends over at Literacy Now, and if they’re not okay with the changes Ariel and my dad want, then I have to honor their wishes.”
He nodded. “Okay, but you need to promise me you’re not going to try to sway them to your way of thinking,” he countered. “I mean, I know where you stand on this, and I can respect that. But like you don’t know me, I don’t know you. For all I know, you’re going to get on the phone with them and paint them a picture of a guy out of rehab who’s a hot mess.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she said stiffly.
“I have no choice but to take your word for it, don’t I?”
Paige at least had the decency to look contrite. “Point taken.”
“Okay then. As long as we understand each other.”
She nodded. “I am sorry, Dylan. That was crappy on my part to just…to jump to conclusions. It’s a sore subject with me…the whole drinking thing.”
“I get it. And I am sorry about your friend.”
“It was a long time ago. High school. But it still…it still hurts. She barely had a chance to live, to experience anything, before it was all taken away,” she said sadly. “It doesn’t take much to bring me there, to that place where it breaks my heart to think about all Marni missed.”
There wasn’t anything he could say. For months, Dylan had been telling himself he was thankful he hadn’t seriously hurt or killed anyone with his drunk driving, but he knew he could have. And standing here now and hearing Paige put it so simply—how those actions affected others—it was powerful.
Unable to help himself, he reached out and took one of her hands in his again and gently squeezed. “It’s not fair,” he said softly. “I can’t even imagine what that kind of loss is like.”
�
�You’re lucky. It was hell. In some ways it still is for me. I keep in touch with Marni’s parents. I go to the cemetery with them every year on her birthday and the anniversary of her death. And when I’m with them, I can’t help but notice how even ten years later, it’s still heartbreaking for them.”
With her hand still in his, he nodded. “That’s very nice of you to go with them. I’m sure they appreciate it.”
“They seem to, and honestly, it means a lot to me to spend that time with them. Marni was their only child, and I was in the car with her that night. Part of me feels guilty that I’m here and she’s not.”
“You can’t think like that, Paige,” he said earnestly. “You know they can’t possibly think that.”
“No, I don’t think they do. It’s just how I feel. Marni was… Gosh…she was so amazing. She was student body president, captain of the tennis team, and had been accepted to UCLA and had this incredible future ahead of her! She had so much more going for her than—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” he said fiercely. For the life of him, Dylan had no idea why this bothered him so much, but it did. How could she possibly think that her life wasn’t worth as much as her friend’s?
Those big, dark eyes looked up at him, and she gave him a sad smile. “You’re right. I know I shouldn’t think like that but…I do. Like I said, this is a sensitive subject for me. So while it’s personal, it’s not about you. Not really.”
They stood there in silence for a time, and Dylan realized he was still holding her hand and was reluctant to let it go. But he needed to. He needed to let her go and have her weekend, and he needed to… Well, there was nothing he needed to do. Again.
Earlier, he had envisioned going out later that night and finding someone to hook up with, but now? Now it didn’t seem nearly as urgent. So he’d go home, eat one of the meals he’d purchased, and…read. Or watch TV. Or…stare at the walls.
Slowly, he let go of her hand and took a step back. “So…I should go.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
“Monday though, right? Four?”
Holiday Spice Page 35
