The Firefly Cafe (Billionaire Brothers, #1)(24)

Fear and temptation shuddered through her, all her limbs weighed down with the paralysis of wanting to simultaneously fling herself into his arms and push him away. In fact, she’d stopped paying attention to her tray, which abruptly tilted far enough for the last remaining plate to slide off it and shatter on the café floor.

China cracked and grits splattered everywhere. For a breathless instant, Penny flinched in horror, the old familiar nightmare rushing over her.

But no loud, angry voice shouted from the kitchen. Trent wasn’t here; he couldn’t ever hurt her again. And when she started to stammer an apology to Grady Wilkes, whose jeans leg was now speckled with sticky globs of white, he didn’t look at her coldly and impassively like the faceless café patrons in her dream. He leaned in and said kindly, “You’re fine, no harm done. Look, your friend there has it almost all cleaned up already.”

Penny whirled to see Dylan on one knee beside the mess, carefully collecting the sharp pieces of broken plate.

He looked up at her, the strength in every line of his body at odds with the humble pose. And when he said, “Don’t push me away,” there was no plea in his tone—it was all firm, gentle understanding.

“You have every reason to be cautious,” Dylan said quietly. “But there’s a fine line between protecting yourself and Matt, and hiding from life.”

Lord, he was right. No second chances—she wasn’t only denying Dylan if she stuck to her policy. She’d be denying herself, and her son, the possibility of a future with this handsome, flawed, deeply loving man.

“Maybe I’m not the man you should take that next step with.” Dylan’s shoulders slumped. “You make me want to work hard to be better, for you and Matt. But I’m not there yet. At least I know better than to try and woo you with fancy cars or luxury homes, dinners out at gourmet restaurants and jewels for every finger … and crap, is that terrifying. Because without that, what’s left? What do I have to offer?”

Penny’s heart cracked down the middle at the honest desperation and confusion in Dylan’s ragged voice. The fact that he truly didn’t know if she’d be able to love the man underneath the money battered down the last of the walls around her heart.

“You dummy,” she said, getting a good grip on the collar of his leather jacket and hauling him to his feet. He dropped the pieces of plate he’d gathered. “Don’t you get it? What’s left is all that matters.”

She stepped forward, slipping on a smear of spilled grits and swooning into the arms Dylan opened automatically to catch her. Wrapping her own arms around his shaking back, she held on for dear life. “If you offer me your heart and nothing else, I’ll take it. And consider myself the richest woman alive.”

The entire Firefly Café erupted in applause and cheers, with a few cheerful wolf whistles thrown in for good measure. It was like fireworks going off all around them as Dylan dropped his forehead to rest against hers.

“Penny,” he whispered brokenly. “You and Matt welcomed me into your family when you thought I was a penniless handyman. Is there a place there for a reformed Bad Boy Billionaire?”

Worry speared through her. “Oh, Matt. I told him you lied to us, that you were leaving—we need to call him…”

“No, we don’t.” Dylan pulled her closer, locking them together. “Matt knows exactly where I am. He’s the one who convinced me to stay and fight for you.”

“He knows about us?” Penny groaned, hiding her smile against Dylan’s shoulder. “That’s a little embarrassing.”

“Why? The kid’s smart, he gets people. He sees things other people don’t,” Dylan said, pride touching his voice with warmth. He nudged a hand under her chin and tipped her face up to his. “For instance, Matt could see how much I love you. And in spite of what I’d done, he saw that if I left without telling you, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”

“Remind me to thank him.” Penny stood on her tiptoes to brush her lips over Dylan’s.

A second round of applause and catcalls, boots stomping on the floor and silverware clanging on the tables reminded Penny suddenly that they were still standing in the middle of the café.

Grinning wide enough to split her cheeks, she pulled away and called in the direction of the kitchen, “I think I’ll take that break now!”

“Go on, get out of here,” Lonz yelled back, laughing.

Dylan and Penny tumbled out of the café and onto the sun-warmed deck, unwilling to let go of each other. The ocean breeze and the sound of the waves, the screeching gulls and the far-off blast of the ferry’s horn were a symphony of all the things Penny loved about island life.

And when Dylan tugged her to his chest and covered her mouth with his, she added a new love to the list.

When they came up for air, she gasped and shuddered with the excess of happiness flowing through her blood. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I love you, too, Dylan. No matter what your name is or what your family is like—I love the essential Dylan, the man who fixed my kitchen sink and told me about his childhood and taught my son about self-defense. I love you.”

Sinking down to sit on the stone wall at the edge of the deck, Dylan clenched his big hands at her hips and drew her close to stand between his denim-clad thighs. Resting his forehead against her collarbone, he said, “I don’t deserve you.”