Indigo Nights: A Sexy, Contemporary Romance (24 page)

Even though we hadn’t been together long, when we were in each other’s company, I felt as if I knew every part of her. She was so unguarded; she shared everything so freely with me. Being here with her and her family reminded me how much I still needed to know.

She smiled at me, her hand rounding my ass, bringing me back to why I was there. Why it was worth being with her. I couldn’t think of anything I wouldn’t do for her. I was going to nail this thing with her brother. By the end of the evening, he’d know I was as invested in our relationship as Beth. I’d make sure of it.

Beth

It was great seeing Dylan amongst my family, but my palms were still a little sweaty. My gaze kept flitting between Jake and Dylan. As much as I wanted Jake to like Dylan, to support my decision to be with him, I also wanted Dylan to like Jake. If the two of them got along, then our group of five could expand rather than fracture.

The testosterone was clearly flowing, but Haven and Ash helped lighten the mood and Luke made a real effort to make Dylan comfortable.

I’d never hidden anything from Dylan, but introducing him to my family made me feel closer to him, as if he was seeing the whole of me, right from the beginning. And that’s what I wanted. I wanted to be as close to him as possible.

“Why don’t you boys go play pool?” Haven suggested, pulling me toward the sofa under the window at the front of the house.

“Does that mean you want to talk about penises?” Luke asked. He didn’t stop for an answer, just grabbed his beer and headed out.

Dylan looked at me. Was he worried about what we were going to say? He bent toward me and kissed me briefly on the lips. I wanted to grab him by the collar and mount him. It had been too long since I’d run my hands across his hard body and felt him between my thighs. He frowned and pulled away, following Jake and Luke.

I turned toward my friends. Ash’s hand was covering her throat and Haven was grinning.

“He’s so hot,” Haven said, collapsing back onto the sofa.

She was right about that, I thought as I sat down next to her.

“And so into you,” Ash added, sitting on the floor in front of us, holding baby Maggie out in front of her.

“You look so good together. He’s
so
hot.” Haven pulled me into a hug.

“It’s so good to see him.” I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him until I saw him at the airport.

“It’s like the air buzzes around the two of you. You can
see
the chemistry.” Ash grinned at me.

I laughed. “That’s just because I haven’t been laid in two weeks.”

“It’s more than that,” Ash said.

It felt like more than that. Physical attraction was where it had started, and I couldn’t imagine ever getting to a place I wasn’t floored by his handsome face every time I looked at him, but it was his sweetness, his honesty, and his kindness that made me miss him. “I think so.”

“Are you in love with him?” Haven asked.

A small voice inside my head had been telling me I was in love with Dylan for a while now, but I’d been ignoring it. It felt stupid to admit it. Scary. He was the first guy who I’d even
kissed
sober. It was almost as if I was declaring my love for my high school boyfriend. I didn’t want people to think I was being naïve, and I didn’t want to have gotten it wrong. Did I know him well enough to love him? Had I seen the real him or just what I wanted to see?

“We’ll take that silence as a yes,” Ash said.

“I think I am,” I replied.

“Think?” Haven raised her eyebrows at me.

“It feels soon, and maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just grateful that he’s nice to me and has a great ass. I don’t have an awful lot to compare him to.”

We all laughed, which made Maggie laugh and so we all laughed again.

Ash grabbed my hand. “I don’t think it’s that. You are the best judge of character I know.”

“You think I’m a good judge of character?” I asked. “What about Louis?”

“Everyone has bad ex-boyfriends. You lost your mother and were dealing with your alcoholism. You’re not that same person. I’ve always known you as thoughtful and wise; you really see through any bullshit that people throw at you.” Haven grabbed my hand and squeezed.

I was still getting used to the Beth that Haven knew. And I still had all the same memories of the old Beth, which kept holding me back.

Looking at the baby, I made my confession. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I think that it’s the first time I’ve ever really been in love.”

“I think that’s just fantastic,” Ash said.

Haven released my hand. “You deserve to be in love, and have someone love you back.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I laughed. “He doesn’t love me back. From his side, we’re having some great sex and that’s okay.”

“Just because you’re having great sex doesn’t mean he can’t love you.” Haven prodded me in the thigh. “There’s no way a guy meets a girl’s family if he’s not serious.”

I bit back a grin. Dylan had shown no reticence about meeting Jake. Things weren’t just sex between us, but I wasn’t sure
what
it was as far as he was concerned.

“I swear to God, sex is going to be this little girl’s first word,” Ash said, grinning at Maggie.

“Should I ask where my niece is?”

Haven shrugged. “She’s somewhere around here.” The look of horror must have shown on my face because she said, “I’m kidding. She’s napping.”

“Back to the sex,” Ash said. “He has the look in his eye I saw Jake wear the first time I met him.”

Haven frowned. “You were drunk the first time you met Jake, and besides, he was with another woman.”

“Okay, that’s true. The second time I met him, then. It’s the same look. That’s all I’m saying.”

My heart clenched. The thought that Dylan might love me was overwhelming. I needed to go find him. I wanted him to tell me if it was true or not. I should confess to him how I was feeling, how happy he made me, how I was, even now, dreading him going back to Chicago. Within weeks he’d become a huge part of my life.

“I need to take it slow,” I said, mostly to myself, in an effort to try to calm the jittery vibrations skirting across my skin.

“Not like Ash’s version of slow,” Haven said.

Ash slapped her on the knee. “Hey, it worked out with me and your brother. It just took a little time.” She turned to me. “I think you should go with what you feel, Beth. If it feels good to go fast, go fast. As long as you’re sober and having fun. Isn’t that the most important thing?”

“I’m not really used to having to remind myself to put my sobriety first. Do you know what I mean?”

The girls shook their heads.

“It’s just, when I’m with Dylan, it’s easy to forget I’m an alcoholic.” I paused, trying to think how best to say it. “I’m not saying I’ve had the urge to drink, just that
not
drinking isn’t my focus when I’m around him.”

Haven nodded. “Well, that sounds like he’s a man who might just deserve you.”

“You think that’s a good thing?” I asked. I was pretty sure that the way he shifted my focus had been one of the reasons I’d been ignoring that I was in love with Dylan. If he made me forget I was an alcoholic, would that mean I was more likely to drink?

“It’s a great thing. You keep telling me that you want sobriety to be at the center of your life and not alcoholism.”

I nodded. That was true. Being with Dylan didn’t make me want to drink. It made me forget to think about drinking in the first place.

Ash tilted her head and smiled. “I told you you were next.”

Perhaps Ash had been right. Maybe it was my time to find my Prince Charming.

A piercing screech of a smoke alarm bled through our conversation and Haven leapt to her feet. “Shit. So much for Sophia’s nap.” She grabbed a broom and poked at the alarm.

The door started to open. “Okay, stop talking penises, we’re coming in,” Luke shouted just as the alarm stopped.

The boys filed in, laughing and chatting as if they’d all been friends for years. Dylan’s gaze immediately found me. It was so good to have him here. I just hoped he felt the same.

About everything.

We finally took our seats around the table, everyone making room to ensure that Dylan and I sat next to each other. Dinner was Jake’s responsibility, which normally meant we got some kind of stew, but today we had lamb tagine.

“So you all have dinner together every week?” Dylan asked as he passed his plate to Jake, who was dishing up food.

“Most weeks. We live just around the corner, and Beth’s not far away,” Ash said.

“And you three have known each other since—”

“Forever,” Luke interrupted.

Dylan kissed me on the temple. I was surprised at how demonstrative he was. I reached across his lap and he grabbed my hand, clasping his fingers through mine.

As I looked back at the table, I locked eyes with Haven.

“When you boys were off playing pool, we told Beth how together you two look,” Haven said to Dylan.

He nodded. “I guess that’s how it feels, for me at least.”

I squeezed his hand and smiled up at him.

“So, you’re serious about her?” Jake asked.

“Jake. No,” I said.

Dylan kissed my head again. “It’s okay, Beth.” He looked toward Jake. “Yes, I’m serious about your sister. It didn’t start out that way. To be honest, it’s taken me a little by surprise, but in my experience, sometimes the best things in life are the ones you least expect.”

My stomach flipped and tumbled, but Dylan wasn’t done.

“I think you’re very special.” He brushed his thumb across my cheekbone. I knew how special I was to him. But did that mean he loved me?

Being with Dylan made me realize what I should have waited for. I wished I’d just been patient in the knowledge that he’d come to me rather than waste time on people who didn’t deserve my love.

“I think you’re special, too.” My voice was small and my words few. I worried if I said more I’d lose it and ask him if he loved me.

His smile reached his indigo eyes and I craned my neck to receive a kiss from him. As much as I wished we were alone, it was nice to share this moment with my family. Hopefully Jake would lay off a little now.

I took a breath; Dylan’s kiss affected me like a muscle relaxant. “But just because I’m special doesn’t mean the hot sex has to mellow, right?”

He chuckled. “Give me a break, darlin’, I’m meeting your family for the first time. You can’t be saying shit like that.”

“Yeah, for Christ’s sake, Beth. I don’t want to hear it,” Jake said, scowling at me.

I shrugged as Haven and Ash laughed. The hot sex was an important thing to get clear.
For now, I had to focus on how he treated me and how he made me feel rather than the words he was using.

Dylan

I put my suitcase in the cab while Beth gave the driver her address. Dinner with her family had been interesting. Good.

I’d said that I was serious about her, and I was. I wanted them to know my feelings for Beth were more than I’d ever thought they could be. Beth had said a similar thing on the way back from the airport. I could tell how serious I was, not just from how I felt about Beth, but because of what I did for her. That I was here in London, meeting her family, spoke volumes. I wanted to see her all the time and know every part of her, inside and out. I wanted her to know how I felt.

Beth’s family clearly loved her, which suited me. Although I was pleased to have met her family, I was overdue alone time with her. I wasn’t sure she was going to survive the cab journey fully clothed. The admissions we’d made to each other, although skirting around the heart of the truth, were enough to make me feel more drawn to her than usual.

I stood to the side to allow her to step into the cab and found myself transfixed by her creamy white legs inviting me to slide my hands higher and higher. The only thing stopping me was the audience at the door. I turned to wave, and they responded with a chorus of goodbyes. As soon as we pulled out, I grabbed her and slid her across my lap so she was straddling me.