Chapter 19
Zane
I took a sip of my drink and watched as Dillon crossed the room towards me. She looked amazing in the dress Savannah had chosen for her bridesmaids. It fit her like a second skin and I couldn’t wait to peel her out of it later. Plus as a bonus, Dillon was able to wear a pair of her beloved heels. She was so tiny without them, but that just made her more of a powerhouse in my eyes.
During the ceremony I’d had a hard time keeping my eyes off of her. I’d almost missed handing the rings over to Justin because I was so busy staring at Dillon. That would have gone over real well. Kade would’ve given me so much shit for that. As gorgeous as she looked, something had happened in the past four hours since I’d last saw her though. She had a look in her eyes that I didn’t like and I sure as hell couldn’t wait find out what had her so bothered. Her shoulders were tight and her eyes wearily darted around the room constantly.
I watched as my mother put a hand on Dillon’s arm to stop her. My heart jumped in my chest as I watched them together. Yesterday my mother had pulled me to the side to tell me how much she loved Dillon. I had a hard time swallowing around the lump in my throat as I watched them talking. They smiled at each other and my mom pulled her into a big hug. Savannah walked up beside me and bumped me with her hip.
“That’s a pretty good sight, don’t you think?” she asked smiling.
“It is.” I took a sip of my drink.
“Your girl saved the day. I don’t know what I would have done without her, probably cancelled the wedding.”
“You wouldn’t have done that.”
She smiled. “Probably not, but I’m really happy she stepped in.”
I was quiet for a few moments. “Have you ever wanted to believe the best in someone when they don’t necessarily deserve it?”
Savannah cocked her head. “What are you talking about? Not Dillon?”
“Maybe, I don’t know. I heard some of the nurses talking and I think she’s playing me. They said she—”
“Office gossip.” She shook her head. “I don’t believe it. Zane I’ve watched you two together for the past two months. She has real feelings for you. There’s no way you can fake the way her face lights up when someone says your name.”
I took another sip of my drink. “I hope you’re right.”
She pulled me into a hug. “If you’re so worried, you should ask her about it. Dillon isn’t the type to lie,” she whispered before turning back to the girl in question.
I nodded and tried to smile as Dillon joined us, finally breaking away from my mother. Danielle liked to mother people, and since Dillon’s mom had been gone for so long she was probably enjoying it too. Growing up as the only girl in the family had to be hard.
“Your mom is amazing,” Dillon said, smiling softly.
“She is,” Savannah said, nodding her head in agreement. “I’m happy to have her as a mother-in-law. I’m going to go find my husband. He’s probably over there speaking lawyer talk to his buddies.”
I grinned at my sister-in-law. “Go. Save him from himself.”
She grinned back. “I definitely will.”
Dillon and I watched her walk off to find my brother. It was amazing that after everything they’d gone through, they had finally made it to this point. Savannah was now officially family. I turned towards Dillon.
“Do you want to dance?”
She cocked her head at me. “Definitely.”
I sat my glass down on the table behind us and led her onto the makeshift dance floor. My mom had outdone herself with making the solarium a part of the reception. We were able to see the snow falling outside, glinting beautifully as the moonlight caught it on the way down. Dillon fit in my arms perfectly as we swayed to the slow song. The evening was turning out to be one of the best memories I would have for a long time to come.
“Is everything okay, Dillon?”
She looked up at me. “What do you mean?”
“You seem…tense. I can tell something is off with you.”
She was quiet for a minute. “It’s nothing.”
I arched a brow at her, but continued to dance. “Obviously it’s something.”
She leaned in closer. “Can we please not discuss it right this second?”
That must mean she did want to talk about it though. Maybe we would be able to talk about everything that was bothering us. Both of us. I nodded and pulled her tighter against me.
I didn’t want to argue tonight. This trip had turned out to be important, more than I wanted to admit. I never thought I would fall for someone after what Michelle had done to me, but each moment I spent with Dillon only solidified the fact that I wanted a future with her.
The only real downside that I could see was that I didn’t know if Dillon was faking what she felt for me to get a story. I prayed that wasn’t the case. Maybe she felt something, who knew, but I’d already put myself out there for her once. I wouldn’t make the same mistake again until I found out the truth.
We danced for a few more slow songs, Dillon resting her head on my shoulder softly. I ran my hands up and down the soft skin of her exposed arms. She looked up at me with an indecipherable look on her face—determination or maybe stubbornness. I couldn’t tell.
“Are you ready to go up to our room?” she asked.
I nodded and took her hand in mine. Justin and Savannah had already cut the cake. We’d watched the happy couple have their first dance, and my toast had already been given, so there wasn’t anything stopping us from disappearing for the night. As we crossed through my family and friends I noticed Dillon staring at David. The look on her face was definitely a cross between determination and rage and I wanted to know why.
Her hand drifted to her neck and I noticed a blue spot starting to form next to her finger. My entire body stiffened.
“What happened?” I asked, my calm voice not giving away the murderous thoughts I was thinking at the moment. If he laid a finger on her I was going to fucking kill him.
Dillon’s eyes shot up to mine and she shook her head. “Not now, not here.”
“I need you to tell me right now,” I said stubbornly. “Because if I have to kick David’s ass I need witnesses.”
She turned until she was facing me, her hand resting on my cheek. “Don’t ruin your brother’s wedding. I’ll tell you everything once we’re alone. Then you can decide what you want to do tomorrow.”
I hadn’t even thought about the wedding reception going on around us, at that moment I was more concerned about Dillon and how David might have hurt her. Dillon was the kind of woman that made men blind to everything going on around them.
“Okay. I’ll trust you.” About this, I amended in my head. “But I want the whole story as soon as we close our bedroom door.”
She nodded and took my hand in hers, leading the way to our room. We were quiet as we walked, neither of us wanting to start something we couldn’t finish before locking the door behind us. Why did the first woman I had feelings for since college have to be someone who could blow my family to pieces. My mother didn’t need this stress. Hell, I didn’t need this stress, but if Dillon wouldn’t tell me what had happened downstairs, I knew it had to be bad.
We slipped inside our room and closed the door behind us, the silence looming between us. Dillon wouldn’t meet my eyes and I knew that whatever it was, it was bad. This loud, brash, charming woman in front of me wouldn’t let someone like David get the best of her.
As I studied her, one single tear fell down her face. I crossed the room in two steps and wrapped her in my arms, trying to give her whatever comfort I could.
“Baby, what happened? Why do you have a bruise coming up on your neck and why wouldn’t you tell me downstairs.”
She took a deep breath. “David cornered me in the hall before the wedding.”
“What do you mean by cornered?” I swear to God, if he laid a finger on her I would kill him. My fingers trailed over the light bruising starting on her neck. “Dillon?” I prompted.
She sighed. “I’m close. Whatever track I’m on, it’s got him scared. He threatened me.”
I swore under my breath. That bastard needed to be shut down. “I’ll fucking—”
“No, you can’t. Jake warned me that I was going to get in over my head one day, but I ignored him. I took on this assignment, but last week I told Will it was a dead end. There’s no way to write the article now without condemning you to losing your license. David has you so tied up in this and I can’t find anything that will clear your name.”
Her words were coming faster now, the panic in them clear as day. I needed to reel in my temper so I could calm her down. The last thing she needed was me going off the deep end while she was scared and pissed off.
“Dillon—”
“You can’t lose your medical license, Zane. The guy you operated on last week—he has three kids, he and his wife were high school sweethearts. They’ve been together for over fifteen years. No other surgeon was qualified to do the resection that you did. I’ve looked. Two months ago, the woman on your table is a senator that’s voted—”
“I know all this, question is how do you? This is all confidential information and I could get in a lot of trouble if the board thinks I told you any of this.”
She blushed. “A reporter never reveals her secrets, but I’ll make sure none of it ever comes out.”
I laughed and shook my head. “You’re something else.”
We walked to the edge of the bed and sat down. “The thing is, if I write the article or even give the information I do have over to Jake, you’ll be incriminated. David would implicate that you were involved or solely responsible for everything. I can’t let that happen.”
I pulled her into my side and kissed her forehead. “We’ll figure it out—together. We’re not going down without a fight, baby.”
Her fingers trailed up my jacket, slowly threading through my hair. I leaned down to kiss her again. She tasted of champagne and the strawberries she ate earlier.
We were both toying with the idea of being together in a relationship, but neither of us knew how to actually make it work. Our careers were important to us and right now they might be what kept us apart. I didn’t want to let that happen though.
I picked Dillon up in my arms and gently laid her down on the bed. She trembled beneath me as my weight pinned her to the bed softly. I ran fingers up her side gently caressed the soft skin. She sighed softly and I cupped her face in my hands before bending to kiss her.
She opened to me immediately. This wasn’t the rushed steamy sex we were both used to. I was taking my time, kissing my way down the line of her dress and languidly running my tongue against her flushed skin. Her fingers ran over the stubble on my jaw and brushed over my lips softly. The touch sent a line of fire straight down to my cock.
I planned to do this slowly, savor every single moan and sigh that came from Dillon’s mouth. She was going to enjoy every second that my mouth was on her skin and then we were going to talk.
The clothing was stripped away slowly and we both continued to fuel the fire with soft kisses and moans. Dillon whimpered my name as she came, her head dropping back and exposing her throat for me to gently suck on. I followed suit quickly, muffling the words that it was too soon to say in her hair. This woman had me tied up in knots and I needed to find out the truth before I got hurt.
I drifted off to sleep as Dillon ran her fingers up and down my back, calming away all the worries I had about David and what he’d done to her.
Tomorrow.
We would talk tomorrow.
* * *
We went down to breakfast early the next morning. It seemed novel to be walking down the hallway with our fingers threaded together. Last night had been perfect—minus the fact that David had threatened to kill Dillon. I never knew that I could actually let another woman in after what Michelle had done to me. But with Dillon, I wanted to try. We still had things we needed to discuss, but there was no way that after what we’d shared last night she’d agreed to string me along.
This new sensitive side of me was really messing with my head. I felt like I needed to smoke a cigar, drink scotch and talk sports. Dillon would probably do all of those things with me. Hopefully I could talk her into doing that while we searched David’s office later that afternoon.
“Morning,” Kade said as we walked into the dining room.
“Good morning,” Dillon chirped before going to grab some food off the sideboard.
Kade raised an eyebrow and I shrugged. I had to fight to keep the grin off of my face as I watched her gathering two plates.
“I take it you guys had a good night,” he said dryly.
I sat down at the table across from him and smirked. “The best. You should try getting laid sometime Kaden, it puts you in a much better mood.”
He glared over his eggs at me. Dillon looked back and I winked at her.
“What’s the plan for the day?” he asked. “I doubt that we’ll be able to get Justin and Savannah out of their room.”
“We should probably get out of here before the family starts wandering down and we get bombarded. I don’t want to answer a million questions about how long Dillon and I have been together and how many kids we’re having.”
She snorted a laugh and dug into her food. It only took Dillon and I a few minutes to eat the huge plates in front of us. Apparently we’d worked up an appetite the night before. I was more proud of the fact than I should be, but fuck it because it made me feel better about the whole sensitive man thing.
At least I didn’t cry.
“I still want to take a shower before we go anywhere,” Dillon said between bites. “But I don’t care what we do today.”
I finished up the last bite of my toast with blackberry jam and looked over at Dillon. She grinned and wiped at my mouth with her thumb. My gaze dropped to her lips as she sucked it into her mouth. I had to get away before I threw her down on the table and fucked her blind.
“We can meet you down in the library when you’re done.” I leaned in and kissed her. “I have a few patients that I want to call and check in on.”
She nodded and took her last bite. “It won’t take me long.”
We all filed out of the room at the same time. I watched the sway of Dillon’s hips until she was out of sight as she made her way back upstairs. Kade followed me down the hall and into the library, shutting the door behind him. He settled into one of the big leather couches and watched me as I opened the laptop and logged into the ESEC system.
I made a few phone calls, speaking with one of my favorite nurses at the hospital. It took me a few minutes to get updates and make sure all my patients were doing well. With any luck there wouldn’t be anything that couldn’t wait until I was back in the office in a few days. When I hung up I looked at my friend. Kade studied me while I worked, an odd expression on his face.
“Is there something on your mind Dr. Smith?” His frown was disconcerting and frankly throwing me off my game. “Seriously, what’s up with you?”
“How well do you actually know Dillon?”
“What?” My brows furrowed together in confusion.
“How long have you known her?”
“A few months, but you know this. Why?”
He shook his head. “I just have this weird feeling. I overheard some of the nurses talking the other day,” he trailed off.
I waived him off. “I heard the same thing you did. I’m going to ask her about it later.”
“Zane, I just don’t want this to be another Michelle situation, except worse because you’re falling for this girl.”
“It’s not. And I’m not.” I stood up from the desk and went to fix myself a drink. It was a little early, but if Kade was getting deep I was going to need it. “She’s nothing like Michelle.”
“You say that now.” Kade sighed and leaned back on the couch. “I think you really need to—”
“I’m not a child. I know that Dillon is determined to get a story any way possible. That’s how she works. It’s all a game, Kade, but at least the sex is good. She’s a piece of ass, someone to bring to Justin’s wedding. It was fun, but it was never going to be serious.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “What do you mean it’s a game?”
“I’m just as invested in getting what I want out of this thing as she is. If she clears my name,” I trailed off and shrugged. “She’s an inconvenience I’m willing to put up with. I’m no more committed to this thing than she is. This so called relationship will be over as soon as the article is.”
I heard a noise, but when I glanced around the room there wasn’t anyone in there with us. The door was still closed, and no one had come into the room. That was probably a good thing; Savannah would kill me if she knew the bullshit spewing out of my mouth.
I couldn’t tell if I was trying to convince myself or Kade.
“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?” Kade said, shaking his head, a sardonic smile on his face. “You have real feelings for this woman and you’re running scared.”
“I don’t have feelings for her.”
Deny. Deny. Deny.
He balled up his fists. “Don’t lie to me fucker. I’ve been your best friend for the past twenty years. It obvious that you want something more between you and Dillon, but the rumors give you an excuse to push her away and pretend that whatever is between you two is pretend. Man up, Zane.” I watched his hand clench tighter around his glass, his frustration obvious. “If I had someone as great as Dillon, I wouldn’t be in here with me, lying about how I feel because I’m scared. If—no, when—you push her away, you’re going to regret it.”
“Kade, I’m not—”
He slammed his fist down on the desk. “Damn it Zane, shut the fuck up and listen to me for a second. I would kill to have the chemistry that you have with Dillon, and you’re just fucking throwing it away.” I backed up a few steps, bumping into the drink cart, as he charged towards me. “You don’t deserve her. She’s witty, and funny, and sexy as hell.”
“You think I don’t fucking know that?” I growled. “Do you really think that I don’t know what I’m doing trying to push her away? I’m so fucked up after what Michelle pulled I don’t want to even try to have a functional relationship. Dillon deserves better than me.”
By the end I sounded defeated. Fuck, I was defeated. There was no way I was actually ready to grow up and attempt monogamy and marriage when I couldn’t even admit to my best friend that I had a thing for this girl. I was kidding myself even thinking it was a possibility. Making love with Dillon last night had scared me. Because I could see what a future with her would look like. Not to mention, she’d been honest from the beginning that it wasn’t what she wanted. If I was lucky I’d be able to wear her down, but how long would that take?
So here I was backed into a corner, fighting with my best friend about fucking up a relationship that wasn’t going to happen. My shoulders slumped.
“She’s the one that doesn’t want it,” I rasped.
Kade looked like he wanted to continue his tirade, but at my words, he stopped. “What?”
I ran a shaky hand down my face. “Dillon doesn’t want a relationship. I’m just trying to convince myself that it’s okay.”
He sat down on the couch and stared up at me.
“Well…fuck.”