Distraction (Club Destiny #8)(9)
“I’m gonna go talk to Dylan. You wanna come over and say hi?”
She shook her head quickly, realizing her adamant rejection probably looked rather suspicious, but she couldn’t help it. For the past three years, Sarah had stayed away from these people. Thankfully, being that they lived in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area, that wasn’t difficult. As the area had a population of over seven million, randomly running into them was highly unlikely. She spent time with her family and her closest friends, talking to Jake on a daily basis but choosing not to venture into any social settings until she could sort things out in her head. Based on the way Dylan had looked at her when she’d walked out onto the patio just now, she’d succeeded in reinventing herself.
“You sure you’re okay?” Jake asked again, his blue eyes searching her face, and she could see the worry creasing his brow.
Smiling up at the young man she’d practically raised after her older sister had abandoned him when he was just a child, Sarah recognized the concern on his face. They were close, always had been. But right now, she wished he didn’t see as much as he did because she wanted—no, she needed—him to drop the subject.
“Go talk to him,” she encouraged. “We’re gonna go back inside. There’s someone I want to talk to.”
“All right,” Jake agreed with a curt nod. “We’re at a table on the far wall. They’ve got name cards out. I’ll see you in a few.”
Nodding in understanding, Sarah started for the door, her gaze once again drifting over to Dylan as her nephew walked up to him.
His dark eyes met hers and she fought to keep her breathing under control.
Shaking off the memories of a time best forgotten, Sarah stepped inside and glanced around at the many familiar faces. It had been a long time since she’d seen these people. Probably the last time had been at Nate’s high school graduation a few years ago, back when she’d been starry-eyed and stupidly infatuated with a man she could never have.
Luckily, that had lasted all of a minute.
“Who’re you looking for?” Bill asked from beside her.
“Oh, just an old friend,” she told him as though that was the most natural answer in the world. Truth was, she wasn’t looking for anyone; she had simply used that as an excuse for Jake.
“Would you like to find our seats?” Bill questioned.
Because she didn’t have anything else to suggest, Sarah nodded and resigned herself to dinner. As kind as Bill was, it was awkward to be with him. He was such a nice guy, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to feel anything for him.
“That’d be great,” she told him, tossing back the rest of her wine.
Before she turned to follow Bill, Sarah looked over and caught Dylan standing a few feet away, still watching her intently. She noticed the way Dylan’s eyes locked onto her empty glass. Then she remembered that he was a recovering alcoholic and she felt bad—
Wait.
No. She didn’t.
She did not feel bad for drinking wine. She did not feel bad for accompanying Jake to this party or for bringing Bill. She did not fucking feel bad for any of it. She was damn tired of feeling bad for everyone else.
Sarah instinctively ran her fingers over the tattoo on her forearm. She’d gotten the intricate phoenix design as a reminder that she wasn’t that same broken woman anymore. The fact that she’d been so easily sucked back to a different time only pissed her off.
Knowing these people didn’t deserve her wrath, Sarah fixed a plastic smile on her face and turned to follow Bill.
She damn sure wasn’t going to let two minutes in Dylan’s presence destroy years’ worth of effort.
chapter TWO
THE REST OF THE EVENING went exactly as Dylan anticipated it would. He managed to speak when spoken to, smile when prompted, and even endured the pity glances he’d received from some people. As much as he hated the way people watched him—as though he was a wild animal about to break his chain—he understood. A lot of these people had been around long enough to have seen his downward spiral, but it appeared that no matter how hard he tried to redeem himself, most people didn’t believe he was working himself out of the hole he’d dug.
However, that was exactly what he was doing. He’d picked himself up by his boot straps and made something better of his life. It had taken time. A long damn time, but Dylan was confident in who he was now. He’d made some serious mistakes, he had a lot to atone for, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t comfortable with who he’d become and the path he was on. And the good news was that he was the only person he had to convince of that.
His attention was drawn across the room when he spotted Sarah getting up from her chair and walking away from her table. He noticed the way her date peered up at her, the gleam in his eye lecherous. Dylan wanted to punch the smarmy bastard for even thinking about Sarah that way. Not that Dylan had any right to do so, nor could he deny that he’d had those same lascivious thoughts every time he looked at the woman.
Especially tonight. From the instant he saw her, Dylan’s mind had wandered to places it had no business being. However, the mere thought of Sarah and this guy together… Yep, it had the green-eyed monster rearing its ugly head. Whether he had the right or not, Dylan felt something darkly possessive in his soul. He wanted to insert himself between the two of them and insist that Sarah stop smiling at the asshole.