Thirteen

It wasn’t one of his proudest moments, but when the front desk clerk called to tell him that Zoe had just entered the hotel, Dylan got to his feet hurriedly. He’d pondered just going down to the shop and working on his laptop until she arrived, but that would have meant way too much time with Dana. He wasn’t sure Zoe would forgive him if he taped the other woman’s mouth shut and locked her in the storage closet. So he’d asked John to let him know when she arrived. It was either that or watch the security feed for her car. Both pathetic, but that was the type of shit you were reduced to when you’d fucked up and the woman in question wasn’t returning your calls or texts.

He was inches away from the door when it opened and he found himself staring at his brother Asher. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked in surprise. Ash ran the Charleston, South Carolina, location, so it wasn’t as if he was in the neighborhood without a reason. He was closer to him than his other siblings, but today wasn’t one he would have picked for an unannounced visit.

“Well, good to see you too,” Ash said, grinning. “Lisa told me you had a stick up your ass today and I can see she’s right as always.”

“Just got a lot going on as usual. You should have told me you were coming.”

“Now, where’s the fun in that?” Ash smirked. “As it happens, I was visiting Charlotte, at her request of course, in Miami. She’s staying at the hotel there for a few weeks.”

Dylan leaned back against his desk, crossing his ankles. “You mean our mother?”

Ash took a seat in front of him before saying, “You know she prefers that we don’t call her that, and let’s face it, she’s never exactly lived up to the title. Our pain-in-the-ass would be more accurate.”

“Why in the world would you go all the way to Miami to see her? She certainly hasn’t mentioned anything to me about being in Florida.” Of course, considering his mother usually e-mailed him maybe once a month at best, it wasn’t as if he stayed up-to-date on her activities.

Ash raised a brow as if to say, Really, you need to ask? “The same old song and dance, brother. She wanted money and I guess it was my turn again. I swear I think she keeps a chart of all our names and marks them off as she goes down it. Then she starts over. Anything for that fucking worthless husband of hers. He’s starting yet another business and needs some capital to get off the ground.”

“Shit,” Dylan muttered. “What’s this one about? It’s barely been a year since he was raving about being the next big gourmet food delivery service. I knew that was crap because it would have involved far too much work and execution for him.”

“I think we should just buy him a fucking Taco Bell and call it a day,” Ash deadpanned. “Those places never close and he could do what he does best, sit on his ass while someone else does the work.”

Dylan had to admit, his brother’s sarcastic idea did actually have some merit. In fact, it was downright brilliant. “You’ve got to suggest that. Hell, don’t bother, just buy one and give them the deed. Then those two worthless kids of his can eat for free. If you could pull that off, we’d save enough money to open another Oceanix by year’s end.”

“You do know that was a joke, right?” Ash laughed as he nudged him out of the way and propped his feet on Dylan’s mahogany desk. “Charlotte Jackson Dewalt would never lower herself to walk into a restaurant chain, much less own one.”

Shaking his head in disgust, Dylan added, “She doesn’t have a problem with asking her sons for money, though, does she? I swear, at some point we’re going to have to cut her off. She already gets an allowance from Dad’s estate, which is more than the average person could blow through in a year. But that goes through her fingers like water. Plus, she stays for free at any of our resorts, so it’s not as if vacationing is breaking the bank for her.”

“Trust me, I know,” Ash agreed. “The only reason I bothered to go in person this time was because I felt like giving the asshole a hard time. But the joke was on me because I’m almost certain that our stepsister Claudia was hitting on me.”

Dylan’s mouth dropped open as he stared at his brother. “Man, please say you’re kidding.”

“Not even a bit.” Ash winced. “If anything, I’m downplaying it.”

“She’s always been friendly,” Dylan added. “Maybe you just took it the wrong way.”

“And how exactly do you explain her putting her hand in my lap under the dinner table and getting within an inch of my dick before I managed to stop her?”

“Possibly she didn’t know how close she was to the family jewels,” Dylan argued weakly. He didn’t really keep up with it, but he figured Claudia must be in her early twenties now. She was the picture of a California girl, with long blond hair, a year-round tan, and a tall, slim build.

“They were in the penthouse, and since the resort was booked, I ended up staying with them. Big mistake. She crawled in my bed the second night I was there and assured me that Mommy and Daddy couldn’t hear anything. Oh, and I know where some of our money has gone. She’s definitely got a new rack.”

“Christ.” Dylan grimaced. “That’s so messed up. You didn’t, right?”

Ash moved his foot to kick him on the shin. “Give me some credit here. I may not have many standards, but I have to stop short at family, even if they’re not actually blood. I packed my shit and hit the road the next day. Since I’m a few days ahead of schedule, I thought I’d drop by here and see how things are on your end.”

“Same ole,” Dylan mumbled, not wanting to lay his sorta-relationship problems on his brother. Ash was the last one of his brothers who would understand something like that. In that regard, he and Dylan had always been similar. Though whereas Dylan avoided long-term commitments because he didn’t really have time for them, Ash mainly did it because he couldn’t imagine tying himself down to one woman—after Fiona. She’d done a real number on him, and Dylan wasn’t sure that he’d ever recover from her betrayal.

“What about Zoe? Any progress in that area?” Ash asked idly, then his eyes widened as he took in Dylan’s expression. Dammit, stop looking guilty. He’s never going to leave now.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he drawled as he sat up in his chair. “You actually went through with it. You slept with her.”

“You know we don’t need to share everything,” Dylan grumbled. “I don’t think she would want everyone around knowing that.”

“It wasn’t good, huh? Damn, that’s too bad. But maybe good in a way too. At least you can go back to being friends and not be tempted to cross that line again. It’s always disappointing to me when a woman appears to have so much potential, but couldn’t get me off with a fucking roadmap and detailed instructions. And don’t get me started on the bad head. How hard is it to suck a man’s dick? It’s not as if we’re that picky. Just get down there and tap that inner Hoover. But no. Last week I slept with this gorgeous chick and she was a drooler. She went down on me and I had spit dripping down my legs afterward. Seriously, it was like Niagara Falls as she went at it. I had to force myself to come as quick as possible or risk an accidental drowning.”

He couldn’t help it. Dylan threw his head back and laughed. “That’s disgusting, bro. Where in the world did you find such a winner?”

“Friend of a friend.” He shrugged. “In hindsight, not a great idea. Now she keeps sending messages through him. That’s the screwed-up part. People who are bad in bed never actually know it, which makes things even more awkward. I feel like I should send her a pity e-mail and detail exactly what the problem was. Maybe suggest she get a bib and a kiddie pool for her next victim.”

“There’s something seriously wrong with you,” Dylan mocked. “How do you even come up with this shit?”

“Nothing to make up when it actually happened. Now, back to your predicament. I assume things are a tad strained between you and Zoe now. I hope you didn’t promise her a new house, puppies, and unlimited Netflix. You did make it known up front that it was just sex, right?”

This was getting out of control fast. He didn’t really want to talk to his brother about his sex life, but he couldn’t have Ash assuming she was so horrible in bed that Dylan was looking for a way out. “Zoe and I are giving things a try between us. As a couple, I guess you could say. And she wasn’t bad. Actually, it was the best I’ve ever had.”

Ash blinked a few times as if processing his words. “Well, why didn’t you lead with that? I even told you a painful story from my past so you’d feel better.”

Rolling his eyes, Dylan said, “Because I happen to care about her and I don’t want her embarrassed that everyone in the state knows we’ve had sex.”

Ash gave him a blank look. Yeah, it was always hard for men to think like a woman. He’d certainly never bothered much before. But with Zoe he wanted to be better than the frat boy version of himself that he should have outgrown years ago. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but when you find your dick again, let me know. Anyway, how are things going with the whole relationship thing? You don’t exactly look like you’re walking on water.”

Dylan had to draw the line somewhere. He didn’t want to talk about last night again, especially with Ash. His brother would see nothing at all wrong with what had transpired. So he simply said, “Things are fine. It’s been busy this morning and I was just going down to see her for a minute. Do you want me to call and have a room prepared for you first?”

Ash got to his feet and slung an arm around his shoulders. “Nope, I’ll take care of that. Let’s go down and see your sweet thang.”

Shit. He had no idea how he was going to talk to Zoe with his brother along to watch their every move. The only positive he could see was that she might go easier on him in front of Ash. “Let’s go,” he sighed, knowing that Asher wouldn’t miss this now. He had no idea why the man was his favorite brother, because sometimes he was simply a pain in the ass.

•   •   •

“Holy wet panties, Batgirl,” hissed Dana as she froze. Zoe looked up to see what had her friend so riveted and felt her own heart skip a beat as Dylan slowly approached where they were standing. “Who is that stud with your man?” Dana whispered as she elbowed her in the side.

“Ouch,” Zoe murmured. Truthfully, she’d only had eyes for Dylan, so she glanced at the other man for the first time. She hadn’t seen him in quite a while, but Asher Jackson wasn’t someone you’d ever forget. He had the same dark hair and coloring as Dylan, but his body was even more muscular. He reminded her of a sleek jaguar. There was a sense of barely suppressed power and animalistic beauty that immediately hit you in the face when you looked at him. He also had a great sense of humor, which she hadn’t expected the first time they’d met. She knew that he teased Dylan about their friendship, so she wondered what he’d had to say about the change in their relationship—if Dylan had told him. “That’s Asher, Dylan’s brother,” she whispered to Dana right before the two men stopped in front of them.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Dylan surprised her with the endearment, especially in front of Asher. Apparently the other man did indeed know. She was further shocked when, without hesitation, he pulled her to his side and dropped a kiss onto her lips. Okay. Not a shy bone in his body, even after last night. Interesting. Maybe he had no intention of addressing what had happened, but she certainly didn’t plan to let it go.

“Morning,” she murmured and then turned to the other man. “Hi, Asher, it’s good to see you again. I didn’t know you were in town.”

“Hey, gorgeous,” Asher replied, grinning. “You look absolutely delicious this morning.” Zoe knew she was blushing. How could you get a compliment like that from a man like Asher and not turn into a schoolgirl?

Dylan was glaring at his brother when Zoe said, “Er . . . thanks.” Then Dana cleared her throat loudly, obviously wanting an introduction. “Oh, Asher, I’d like you to meet my friend Dana.”

Asher stepped to the side so that he could see Dana, and Zoe was surprised to see something flicker in his eyes. Maybe she was imagining it, but there was a heavy current running between the two that was impossible to miss. When Dana extended her hand, Ash hesitated for a long moment before enfolding it between his own. “Pleasure,” he said simply, then pulled away immediately. Turning abruptly to Dylan, he added, “Listen I’m going to go get set up in a room. I’m beat after the trip up. I’ll touch base with you later on this evening. We’ll all catch dinner or something.” He glanced briefly at Zoe saying, “Later, gorgeous,” before striding quickly from the shop.

That was weird, Zoe thought, then knew she wasn’t the only one who felt that way when Dylan stood staring after his brother. Still looking perplexed over Ash’s abrupt exit, he took her hand and asked, “Can we talk for a minute?” He glared at Dana, who remained where she was, also staring after the man who’d literally run from the room.

“Sure. Have a seat in the back and I’ll bring us a snack.” She walked behind the counter and fixed them both a cup of regular coffee with cream and sugar and put them on a tray along with some blueberry scones that her mother had dropped off earlier that morning. Zoe had missed breakfast so her stomach growled in anticipation as she made her way to where Dylan was sitting in the back corner. “Anything wrong with Ash?” she asked in concern. “He seemed fine until he shook hands with Dana, then it was as if he freaked out over something. They’d never even met so I don’t think it was actually anything to do with her.”

“I don’t know what that was all about,” he admitted. “He was looking forward to torturing us both so I’m not sure what could have caused him to give that up. I think we should just be grateful, though.”

“So you told him about us, I assume,” she guessed.

“I did,” he confirmed. “I hope you don’t mind. Ash is pretty astute so it’s difficult to keep anything from him. You’re okay with that, right?”

Settling in next to him, she smiled. “Sure, it’s not like we’ve made a secret of it. My mother has probably told everyone including the postman and her hair dresser by now anyway.” She hoped that he hadn’t gone into detail about everything that had occurred between them, but she was happy that he was being open about the change in their relationship. That seemed like a good sign to her.

He took a sip of his coffee before clearing his throat. “I owe you a major apology for last night. I really don’t even know where to start. I had no intention of staying when I left to get Josh. Then I found out I’d actually missed his birthday for the first time in years. I realize it sounds silly for grown men, but it’s sorta always been a thing with my group of friends that we celebrate together. I know there’s no excuse for it, but I simply got caught up in what was going on around me and I lost sight of what was actually important.”

Putting a hand on his arm, Zoe said softly, “Josh came by earlier and told me his version of what happened. He felt like the whole thing was his fault. I assume you told him about everything this morning.”

Dylan looked downright shocked. “Um, yeah. He called me and I was pretty short with him, even though it was all on me.” He took her hand in his, bringing her fingers to his lips and kissing them. “Baby, you have no clue how shitty I felt about the whole thing this morning. I’m ashamed to admit this and I probably shouldn’t because you may dump my ass, but I took a cab home and pretty much passed out. I’m so used to not having anyone waiting for me at home that it didn’t even occur to me that you were gone until I woke up this morning. I can’t believe I did that, Zoe.”

She had to admit, that part stung a lot. She did have to give him credit for actually admitting to it, because she likely would have never known the difference. “I was angry at the time, but more than that, my feelings were hurt.” Releasing a deep breath, she added, “but I’ve been your friend for a long time and I know that what we’re doing is a different ballgame for you. It is for me as well. The only difference is that I don’t have much of an active social life and you do. Which is fine. I’d never expect you to give that up for me. If you’d called and explained that you were staying, I would have been more than okay with it. But instead, hours passed and I didn’t hear from you. I was afraid you’d been in an accident. Then when I did get you on the phone, I wasn’t even sure you knew it was me.”

Dylan closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. She could see the sincerity there as he said, “I promise that won’t happen again.”

When he opened his mouth to say more, she put a finger over his lips and shook her head. “That’s all I need to hear. I don’t want to make this into a huge deal. We’ve just started seeing each other as more than friends, and I have no interest in being the woman who brings nothing but drama to your life. Our relationship has always worked because we feel comfortable being ourselves with each other. I don’t want to lose or change that. If you’d stood me up as friends, I’d have given you a little hell and moved on. Same thing here. It’s only a big thing if we make it into one, which I’m not. Does that work for you?”

“God, I want you,” Dylan growled as he dropped a hand beneath the table and ran it up her thigh. “You’re incredible and I’m so hard right now my dick is digging into my zipper. Can we please go to your office again?”

“No way!” Zoe laughed. Yes, yes! “I’d never hear the end of it if my mother decided to drop by again.”

“Thanks for that, babe. Mentioning your mother took care of my hard-on.”

“Awe,” she cooed, “I bet I can get that back for you tonight. Do you think you’ll be able to get away from the office at a decent time? I’ll cook dinner and you can have me for dessert.”

“I’ll make it happen,” he promised and she knew that he would regardless of what he had to cancel to do it. That was one thing about Dylan—he’d never failed to make it up to her when something interfered with their plans. They got to their feet and shared a brief kiss before he left. As she got back to work, she couldn’t help thinking that she was officially one of those women who felt like all was right in their world when things were going well with the man they loved. Sappy, certainly. But after years of trying to get her man to notice her, she felt like she had a lot of lost time to make up for and she intended to experience everything that she’d missed and then some.