Side Trip(56)

Joy laughed. “At least you’re honest.” She shifted in her seat to face him. “If you aren’t going to share the lyrics, at least hum when you play.”

He did, and Joy felt herself tumbling for more than his voice and the magic his fingers wove along the steel strings.

A short time later, Dylan put away the guitar, then released the seatback. He draped a blanket over his legs and torso and stared up at the sky. Joy did the same with her seat and blanket. The night was warm and humid, and the air smelled of fertilizer and Bug Off. Dylan inhaled deeply.

“We stink,” he said.

She laughed. “Yeah, we do. It’s nice out here, though. Thanks for arranging it.”

“I had to pull some strings, slip the reservation manager a few bills.”

She laughed some more, and Dylan grinned. “You’re welcome.”

They both looked back up at the sky. The moon had sunk lower and the stars glowed brighter. They lay closer together than a couple in a king-size bed. Were he Mark, Joy would reach under the blanket for his hand. She’d trace the lines on his palm, then lace her fingers with his. It made her think of earlier in the day when Dylan had drawn her against his body while they treaded water and how natural his arms had felt around her. The urge to hold Dylan’s hand now and do so much more with him lured her to the edge of her seat. Would being intimate with him feel natural, too? Not wrong because she’s engaged, but somehow right because the path she walked wasn’t hers?

She looked over at him only to find him watching her. His brows pulled together.

“What?” she quietly asked.

“I’m having inappropriate thoughts about you, Joy.”

Her cheeks flamed. “Me too, about you,” she admitted.

Dylan pushed aside his blanket and reached over. His hand hovered above her face, cupped perfectly as though to cradle her cheek. Joy held her breath, waiting, her skin tingling in anticipation. Touch me. But he didn’t. He withdrew his hand, his expression regretful, his mouth a half smile. A frustrated groan rumbled in his chest. “You’re engaged.”

“And you’re not looking for a relationship.” Not that she wanted one, but she wouldn’t let him be a one-nighter for her either. She knew in her heart that Dylan would be that single mind-blowing encounter that stuck with her forever. Anyone who followed, including her fiancé, would fall short.

What a terrible thing to think, she thought guiltily. But she couldn’t deny the truth of it.

Dylan gave her a sad smile, making her wonder who had put the fear of a committed relationship in him.

“Tell me about the girl you once loved,” she asked. “Please, I’d like to know.”

“Sonia?” He went quiet for a short stretch. “We met in high school. Dated for three years after.”

“What happened?”

“I cheated on her.”

“Oh.”

“Makes you think less of me?”

She shook her head. “Makes me think what I said earlier is true.”

“What’s that?”

“She wasn’t the right one for you.”

“People still cheat when they love someone.”

Joy looked down. “Maybe,” she murmured, aware she was doing exactly that with Mark. Lying, cheating, avoiding. Her fiancée scorecard was looking quite dismal.

He nudged her knee. “What about Mark?”

“What about him?”

“You say you love him, love at first sight, and all that, but does he know about Judy’s list?”

Joy dropped her chin to her chest. She shook her head, too tired to lie and tired of lying. She also didn’t want to lie to Dylan. It felt wrong.

“He doesn’t know why you’re driving across country then?”

“No.” But Dylan didn’t either. He knew about the list, but not why she was determined to finish it. She picked at her fingernails, hoping he wouldn’t ask.

“Jack cheated on Billie all the time,” he said gently. “He’d pay his bandmates to cover up his affairs. If my mom had known about half of them, she would have split years sooner. Their marriage was built on secrets and lies and it imploded.” He reached across her lap and lifted her left hand, startling her. His thumb pad lightly stroked the square-cut diamond. It felt strange having another man touch the ring Mark had put on her finger, almost as strange as it felt wearing the ring in the first place.

“Remember what you said about Sonia?” he asked.

“She wasn’t the right one for you.” Her heart raced. She knew where he was going with this because she’d thought it already. “You don’t think Mark is the right one for me.”

“What kind of marriage can you have when you can’t share the things that are important to you?”

The kind built on secrets and lies, she thought glumly.

“Do you think you’ll go through with it?” he asked.

“Marrying him?” She slipped her hand from Dylan’s. She wasn’t sure. “This trip hasn’t been anything like I expected,” she said.

What she had expected was an uneventful drive across country, checking off the Route 66 Bucket List items along the way. She’d arrive in New York with a little peace on her mind, having completed one of Judy’s lists. She and Mark would live happily ever after as she worked her way through her sister’s other lists. Questioning her engagement to Mark and whether he was the right man for her hadn’t been part of the plan.