Distraction (Club Destiny #8)(53)

No, Sarah stood perfectly straight, eyes facing forward, arms hanging loosely at her sides as she waited for the people ahead of them to place their orders and be on their way. As soon as it was their turn, Dylan once again pulled out money, refusing to let her pay. Once he pocketed the change, he reached down and took Sarah’s hand in his as they turned to wait in another line for their order to be delivered.

This time she did react, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, Dylan found himself staring down into wide blue eyes. He saw confusion there and he knew exactly how she felt. He was just as confused by his own actions as she was. He hadn’t seen or talked to her in three years. A fucking eternity. Yet he’d somehow ended up in her bed last night, woken up with her in his arms this morning. It was fast, but he didn’t feel bad about that. He wanted more. Wanted to spend every waking moment with this woman.

And he’d inserted himself in her life all over again, still not knowing exactly what he wanted from her. The one thing he did know … he felt better when she was around. He couldn’t explain why, but whatever the reason, he didn’t care. He was tired of feeling empty, tired of not giving a shit whether he lived or died, yet unwilling to take his own life because he’d never do that to his kids or his family. It was a feeling he was ready to let go of.

And he felt like Sarah might just be a way to dig himself up and out those last few inches. Back into the light again.



SARAH WAS PRETTY SURE THAT this was what waiting for the other shoe to drop felt like.

As they stood in line waiting for their coffee and scones, she couldn’t help but feel like she was in some sort of alternate universe. One where things happened that weren’t supposed to. Like Dylan Thomas spending the night with her after rescuing her from an awkward situation. Not that she’d needed rescuing. She would’ve handled Bill on her own. Eventually.

But running into Dylan had been a pleasant surprise.

However, it was all unexpected. More so the way she was reacting to him. There was no animosity, no hard feelings. She was enjoying her time with him and she definitely wanted more. Not just a day or a week. A lot more.

Not that she was expecting that, but she felt a welcome churn in her belly. Anticipation? Hope? Who knew.

The question was, what did he want? They hadn’t talked about anything, and though she’d come to her own conclusions on how she wanted this to play out, she wasn’t sure what page he was on. Sarah figured that was something she ought to know before she got in too deep. She could tell herself all day long that she would take this one step at a time, but she knew her brain wouldn’t allow her to go forward without some understanding of how this would play out.

She waited until they’d received their coffee and found a quiet section to sit in before she asked him flat out. “Should we talk about last night, Dylan?”

She was surprised to see a small smile, one that reached his beautiful brown eyes. She hadn’t seen many of those from him, even back when they were hanging out all the time. But this time, she sensed there was something he wanted from her, yet he didn’t know how to go about asking.

“Talk?” he questioned quietly, his attention focused on the coffee in front of him. “I didn’t realize there was anything to talk about.”

“There’s not,” she answered, sipping her coffee before looking at him again. “Unless you want to.”

Based on the way he shrugged his shoulders and let his gaze stray from hers, Sarah got the feeling he didn’t want to talk. For now, she could accept that. What had happened between them was a lot to take in. It would take some time to figure out where this was going. If anywhere.

Dylan glanced around. “Is this your idea of a getaway?”

Confused, Sarah looked out into the hotel, watching the few people milling about.

“Not really, no. But neither is a sex club,” she admitted with a grin.

“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”

“The Caribbean,” she blurted, then shook her head. “I don’t know why, but I’ve always wanted to go where the water is clear and the sand is white.”

“Let’s go,” he said, his eyes locked on her face.

“I’m thinking now probably isn’t the time for us to run away. How about we start slow?” She offered him a smile, but there were warning bells clanging loudly in her head. “Maybe breakfast.”

“Breakfast is good,” he told her, a shy smirk tilting his lips as he sipped his coffee.

Sarah wanted him to smile all the time. It transformed the harsh angles of his face and made him ridiculously attractive.

“What about Vegas?” he asked.

“What about it?” She was clearly lost.

“Have you ever been?”

“No.”

“Is it somewhere you’d want to go?”

Still confused, she studied his face. “One day, sure.”

“How about Colorado?”

His questions were definitely keeping her off her game, but she chuckled. It was more small talk. “I could handle Colorado.”

“New York?” he asked.

“I’ve always wanted to go,” she admitted. “Rockefeller Center, Times Square.”

“Me, too.”

“Are you looking to travel, Dylan?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes I want to get away, leave all this shit behind, yeah. But I never do. I’m not big on vacationing alone.”