Dylan (Bachelors of the Ridge #1) (21 page)

“
L
eonidas
,” I said, shaking my head at the ridiculous picture he made. Since he couldn’t run at the pace he wanted, whenever he got really excited, he started wiggling in a circular motion. “Just wait, buddy. You’ll have your new leg in like two-ish months. Then you can take off whenever you want.”

I rubbed the corner of one silky ear and marveled at how big he seemed compared to when I’d found him by the dumpster. Doctor Ramirez figured he’d be close enough to his full grown size that they’d be able to take a cast of his paw and send out for his prosthetic leg to get custom-made. Six months, from the time I’d found him, to wait to be able to walk properly, to be able to run around whenever he felt like it.

It was probably sad that sitting in the grass with my dog, pondering at the patience that it probably took for him on a daily basis, humbled me.

Patience had never been my strong suit. I know, massive understatement. And this thing with Kat was tugging at every loose thread in my whole body, to the point that every time I got a single shred of acknowledgement from her, I was at risk of unraveling completely.

Things had been quiet between us since the fundraiser the night before, where she’d completely blown me the hell away in that red dress. The way she’d looked, man. That was the kind of look that a man would remember on his death bed.

Kat had only gone to the mic once, at the end of the night, to announce the total dollar amount raised; a staggering thirty-three thousand dollars. I knew from Glinda that they were praying for twenty, so I’d clapped just as loudly as everyone else there knowing how much this would mean to their clinic. I’d been doing it while I made my quiet exit, not able to stay in the same room as her any longer without losing my mind completely.

Leonidas stretched out by my legs, groaning when I scratched his belly.

“You’re pretty spoiled, boy. You know that?” His tail whipped against the grass and I laughed. “It’s like you know what I’m saying. Freaks me out, dude.”

He whipped around off his back, his three legs finding purchase on the lawn and his head tilted to the right, then the left. Then I heard it; the distinctive rattle of Kat’s car coming down the street.

I stood, picking up Leonidas as I did, fighting a bout of unmanly nerves at her unexpected appearance. It was probably a good thing, but with her, I’d learned to never assume a damn thing. So, I went into the house to wait for her.

Turns out I had to wait for about fifteen minutes, as she sat in the parked car that whole time, staring up at my house from the driver’s seat.

Nervous was probably good. Hopefully.

Then my optimism faded a tad when she stood from her car, a stoic, determined expression on her fine-boned face. I stayed in the kitchen while she walked up the driveway, waiting for a beat after she knocked on the door. My truck was in the garage, so she knew I was home. I took a deep breath and pushed from the counter when she knocked again, a little louder this time.

Motioning for Leonidas to stay by his bed next to the couch, I swung the door open, losing my heart all over again when I saw her wringing her hands.

“Hi.” I couldn’t believe how normal I sounded, when my brain was practically pulsing out of my head with nerves. Her face was smooth and her eyes shuttered, which didn’t help the mild anxiety pulsing through me. I swallowed roughly, making sure I was okay before I spoke again. “Do you want to come in?”

Kat looked beyond me and took a deep breath, then nodded. I stepped aside and she didn’t move right away. It could
not
be good if she was having this hard of a time walking in the damn door.

But for now, I would be content just breathing the same air as her. My lungs expanded and I caught a whiff of sweet vanilla. Then she tripped on the door jamb and I caught her forearm, helping right her.

She gave me a crooked grin, her big brown eyes full of embarrassment, and in an instant my nerves were gone. Just like that.

Leonidas scurried across the floor to greet Kat, and I moved around them into the family room, hoping she’d join me. Sitting on the couch, I watched her laugh at the way Leonidas was licking her neck and my heart eventually slowed and settled.

Kat must have felt my eyes on her, because she flushed pink and stood up, swiping her hands on her jean skirt.

“Do you need anything to drink?” Not awkward at all, my stiff attempt at trying to ferret out why she’d stopped by.

She shook her head, pausing by a chair, but not sitting. Briefly, I wondered if I should stand, but then she perched on the arm, wringing her hands again while she looked at me.

“It’s just you and me here, okay?”

“I know. That’s what makes this so hard.”

I clenched my jaw, not exactly sure how I should take that. “What’s wrong, Sprite?”

Her eyes fell shut at my gently spoken question and I braced myself for whatever she was preparing to say. “What if … what if I can never get over my issues?”

My eyebrows lifted, not expecting that to be it, but my heart sped up nonetheless. “What do you mean?”

Shifting to the side, she sat fully in the chair, angling so that she was facing me and our knees almost brushed. “Oh you know, rampant insecurity and a debilitating fear of commitment, the idea that I can’t function within a normal family or relationship structure. What if they never go away?”

I swallowed, keeping my eyes trained firmly on hers. Neither of us blinked. “Well, then I guess I’ll figure out just how patient I can be.” Her breathing picked up, the color rising in her face again. That blush on her high cheekbones might be the death of me, and I almost hated myself for not recognizing immediately how perfectly beautiful she was. “Because even if those issues never go away, I’m not going away either, Kat. If they are always in your head, then I guess,” I swallowed, making sure I could say it and really mean it, “I’ll get really good at being the best friend you’ve ever had in your life.”

“You’re the
only
best friend I’ve ever had, Dylan.” I nodded, not sure if that should comfort me or not. Then she took a deep breath and sat up straighter. “But … but what if I never fully get over my issues, umm, and I don’t want you to be my best friend because that would be too hard?”

I fisted my hands where they rested on my thighs from the desire to reach out to her. Her eyes dropped down to them and she smiled a little. When I let out a slow breath, she looked back up at my face and I smiled back at her. “Then maybe you could let me love you.”

It would do no good to tell her that that would happen anyway, whether she wanted me to or not. That I would be doing that for the rest of my life, even if she never spoke to me again.

“Okay.”

I smiled, her wide-eyed response making it easy for me to shift off the couch and onto to my knees in front of her chair. The sweet smile she gave me when I settled myself in between her legs and wrapped my arms around her waist filled me with so much overwhelming warmth. Kat ran a hand through my hair and I dropped back to my heels, resting my forehead in her lap. Just the simple touch of her fingers on my scalp made me damn near want to weep.

Then I lifted my head, drawing my thumb in small circles on the smooth skin underneath her shirt. “You are saying okay to the second option, right? Because that kinda determines how I respond next.”

She laughed, following the line of my eyebrow and down the top of my nose with her finger. “Yeah. I think I’m saying okay to the second option, because I’m pretty certain that I’m love with you, too.”

I angled up, using gentle pressure on her back to push her forward. Right before our lips met, I paused and searched her eyes, looking for any lingering doubts. But there wasn’t a single one in her deep brown irises. Kat moved the last inch, slipping her cool tongue in between my opened lips until she found mine.

In a fluid movement, she sank onto the floor with me, on her knees between my legs and wrapping her slim, strong arms around my neck. I wound around her, deepening our kiss by tilting my head to the side. The sigh that she let out into my mouth made me smile against her lips.

Then I pulled back, narrowing my eyes at her. “Wait. You
think
?”

Instead of smiling or laughing in response, Kat gave me an earnest nod. “I mean, I wanted to die when you were gone and I felt so yucky and gross when I wasn’t giving in to you, and the thought of not having you in my life as
mine
made me want to throat-punch someone. If that’s not love, then I do
not
know what is.”

I laughed deeply, feeling a lightness through to my soul that I’d never experienced before. Loving her was one thing. But knowing she loved me back?

I felt like I could fly.

“Oh, Kat.” I leaned in and kissed her again. “I was always yours. From the day I met you, I think.”

“You’re probably right. I guess it’s a good thing you’re so stubborn, huh? Keeping the relationship flame alive for both of us this whole time.”

I wrapped my arms around her again, resting my chin on the top of her head. She placed a soft kiss on the side of my throat, humming as she did it. “Trust me, Sprite. Stubbornness is my very best trait. Don’t let anyone tell you any differently.”

But she pulled back and gave me a serious look. “No. Your best trait is that you love me. Isn’t that awfully self-centered of me to think so?”

“Yes, it sure is. But I won’t tell anyone.” She laughed when I kissed her forehead. Bracing a hand on the coffee table, I stood and helped her to her feet. “So now what?”

Kat snorted, following me into the kitchen. “You’re supposed to tell me, old man.”

Halting in my tracks so quickly that she smacked into my back with an oomph, I pursed my lips and raised an eyebrow, even though she couldn’t see me. “Old man?”

One small, warm hand snaked under my shirt and clutched at the skin on my back. “Mmmhmm.” Then she smoothed the hand around front and settled on my abs, her fingers tickling along my muscles. I tilted my chin up and tried to remember how to breathe. “But like, a hot old man.”

I turned around so quickly that she squealed, especially when I dropped my shoulder and hoisted her up over my shoulder. Leonidas barked after us when I carried her down the hallway, smacking her ass when she pinched my side.

Instead of throwing her into the center of my bed like I’d originally planned, I lowered her carefully, taking my time so that her curves brushed against me in the greatest possible way. She clutched two fists into the collar of my shirt and dragged my mouth down to hers, kissing me with so much ferocity that pretty soon we were clashing tongues and clicking teeth in our need to be closer and closer. It was never enough. It would probably never feel like enough with Kat.

Then she yanked me backwards, and I toppled into the bed with her underneath me.

“Would it be horribly cliché of me to ask you if we can try that sex thing one more time?” Kat wiggled under me and my eyes rolled back in my head, which made her laugh with delight.

“One more time?” I asked, curving my hand around the firm line of her waist and yanking her against me. “No. Not one more time. You’ll lose count eventually. There won’t be a number high enough, Sprite.”

She smiled up at me, and I fell in love all over again.

T
he sounds
of laughter floated through the screen door to where I was filling a tray with one last round of drinks before Dylan was done grilling the hamburgers. His parents had landed this morning, and would be staying with us for the next week.

Marie bawled her eyes out when she hugged me this morning at the airport, telling me that she’d prayed for someone like me to end up with Dylan.

I mean, she didn’t strike me as crazy the first time I met her, but maybe I’d been wrong. Dylan must have seen the disbelief on my face when she was still gripping me to her, because he went about proving to me just how perfect I was for him while they were taking Leonidas on a walk through our neighborhood.

Twice, actually.

I’d barely pulled my underwear back on underneath my maxi dress when we heard them come back through the front door. Elliot, smart man that he was, had taken one look at my rumpled hair and winked at me before herding his wife right out into the backyard.

“Sprite, you done with those drinks yet?” Dylan yelled through the slider.

“Settle your ass down,” I yelled right back.

Garrett came out of the bathroom, shaking his head at me. “Language, young lady.” When he snagged a potato chip from my plate, I smacked his hand with a spatula. Then he grinned at me. “Did you see the new trick I taught Leonidas?”

I shook my head, and Garrett pointed at the dog, who was now fully acclimated to his prosthetic and ran circles, literally, around everyone he met. Garrett made a shooting noise, aiming his finger like a gun at Leonidas. Leonidas flopped on the ground, all fifty pounds of him, his four legs in the air. Garrett whistled and Leonidas flipped back around to standing and waited for a treat.

“What a good boy,” I cooed. “Momma’s so proud of you.”

“Thanks,” Garrett said easily.

I rolled my eyes.

“So are we celebrating anything in particular at this shindig? Dylan going to get on bended knee or something?”

My hands froze while I was pouring water into Marie’s glass, and I gave Garrett a look that was most likely full of horror. He burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny,” I hissed, setting the water pitcher down and chucking an ice cube at his head. Garrett was over
all the time
. I think he was bored living by himself. And since I’d moved in with Dylan about a month earlier when the lease on my apartment was up, that meant I saw a whole lot of Garrett too. But it was okay with me, because he totally felt like the big brother that I always wanted growing up and now I got annoyed by on a daily basis.

“Holy shit, sprite.” Garrett wiped at fake tears under his eyes. “Your face. I wish I’d taken a picture so I could show it to Dylan whenever he pissed me off. I could be like, ‘Do you see this, man? This is the look on your woman’s face when she thinks about marrying you.’”

I leaned over to flick at his ear, then pointed at the tray. “Carry this for me. And you better watch it. You’re going to have a woman make that exact same face about you some day.”

“Not for a long time, Chiquita.”

We made our way outside, him still protesting that he’d ever purposely enter into a serious, committed relationship and me actively ignoring him.

Dylan wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders when I slid in next to him by the picnic table. He always smelled so good. How did he do that?

I mean, I equated his smell to sexy times, because that’s basically what happened every time I pressed my nose into his skin, but it was so clean and soapy and masculine.

“You having fun?” he whispered into my ear right before pressing a kiss to my temple.

I nodded up at him with a smile. “Yup. I even gave your dad a hug without having a panic attack. But when he asked me to call him Dad, I did almost throw up.”

He grinned. “So you’re doing awesome then?”

“Pretty much.”

About two months after Dylan and I started dating, I found a counselor that specialized in foster care kids, and had been seeing her every week for the last four months. Some days I walked out sobbing, and other days, I just wanted to burrow in Dylan’s arms and never come out. But at the end of every session, I knew that I was not only loved, but I was worthy of that love. I’d been loved by my parents first, and now by my friends and my man, and his wonderful family that I was slowly getting to know.

I blinked rapidly, feeling overwhelmed by the smiling faces and happy feeling that permeated the air.

“You okay?” He squeezed my shoulder.

Turning so I could wrap my arms around his waist, I held him tightly and pulled in a deep breath. “I’m perfect. I never want this to end.”

With one finger, Dylan tilted my chin up so that I was looking into the brilliant blue of his eyes. “It never will. Someday— not today— but someday, I’ll put a ring on your finger and marry you anywhere in the world that you want. You’ll be mine forever, and I’ll be yours.”

Instead of the flood of panic I’d felt at Garrett teasing me about Dylan proposing in front of everyone today, it was a smooth billow of peace covering my whole body when Dylan said it to me like that. He swiped at a tear that rolled down my cheek, and his eyes held so much affection and love and warmth that I could hardly believe that I got to keep him.

“You already are,” I said, closing my eyes and holding him even tighter. Just like I would do for the rest of my life.