Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
DID YOU EVER KNOW THAT I’M YOUR HERO?
DYLAN
She’s eating a Biscoff cookie and sipping orange juice, and I’m trying not to be conspicuous with my staring.
“You don’t…remember anything before you fell, do you? Or right after?” I ask.
I need to know how much forgiveness I need to ask her for. Did she feel my hands on her?
The feel of her soft skin, my hand on her bare ass.
Focus, man, focus.
My attention keeps being drawn to her mouth…I guess I am able to focus on something. It’s just the wrong thing…and does nothing to help my situation. In fact, her mouth makes the ache so much worse.
“I just remember feeling strange, so I got up to splash some water on my face, and the next thing I remember was hearing you ask if I was okay and realizing I was on the lap of a stranger.”
“I’m no stranger. I’m Dylan, remember?”
She grins. “Right. We’re not strangers at all.”
“I’d say we could even be considered friends since I saved your life and all.”
Her eyes widen, and her lips twitch, and she’s so fucking beautiful.
“Oh, now you’re saying you saved my life? Seems like you might not have had a choice…I just landed on you.”
“A nice cushion for your landing,” I add.
“You are not lacking in confidence, are you?”
I lift a shoulder. “Just telling it like I see it…since I’m the one who was conscious.” My grin grows when I see how she tries not to laugh and fails.
“So what is taking you to Minnesota? Or is that your final destination?” I ask.
“I live in Minnesota,” she says.
Well, things are looking up. I may not be back yet, but soon I will be.
“Yeah? Where do you live?”
She gives me the side-eye. “You’re not going to become a rescue stalker, are you?”
I put my hand on my chest like I’m hurt. “Uh, rescue hero, thank you very much.”
She laughs, and warmth spreads throughout my chest.
“I live in Minneapolis,” she says.
“Great city.” I nod. “I grew up in St. Paul, and my family are all in Minnesota. I’m making the move back myself, hopefully in the next six months…sooner if possible.”
“You live in California?”
I can’t help but smile. “Yeah, Malibu. I do love it there. I’ll miss the water…the waves.”
“California is beautiful. You surf, I take it?”
“I do. How about you?”
She shakes her head. “You saw me go down. Me and a surfboard would not be a good idea.”
“I was sorry to see you going down like that, but happy to see you going down on me.” I wince and clear my throat. “That might’ve come out wrong. Not that it isn’t true, but…I will just…”
Her mouth drops. If her eyes weren’t sparkling back at me, I’d cut back on the flirting, but she seems to be enjoying this as much as I am.
“It’s the best thing that’s happened in my lap for quite some time.” I smile, trying to save myself.
She covers her mouth and giggles, a flush spreading across her cheeks.
That only serves to inspire me. I lean in a little closer. “You’re welcome to land here anytime. If you ever feel like you’re going down again, just let me know.”
“You are too much.”
“Or just right.” I smirk. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. That’s never happened before. It’s been a…stressful couple of days. I’m sure that the lack of sleep and food is all it was.”
“Do you think you should see a doctor when we land? I’d be happy to go with you.”
She smiles. “No, I really do feel fine now.”
“Can I take you to dinner then? I’d like to make sure you’re properly fed. My duties as a rescue hero, you know.”
“You’re really taking these hero duties seriously, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.”
We stare at each other for a few seconds, and my eyes flit over her face, everywhere they land finding something spectacular.
I could drown in her eyes. She has the cutest nose, and what my mom would’ve called a model’s cheekbones, and I think I’ve mentioned her mouth.
God, it’s sinful how beautiful her lips are.
How beautiful I’m positive every inch of her is.
For the rest of the flight, we talk nonstop. At first I think it’s because I want to make sure she’s okay, but it ends up being because she’s smart and funny and so damn engaging. We mostly talk about California and the beaches and the traffic and how much faster-paced it feels than Minnesota.
As we get closer to landing, dread builds because I really don’t want this to end.
“Please have dinner with me,” I say, my voice hoarse.
“I’m not…” She waves her hand over her body. “These aren’t my clothes. I’m not normally dressed like a beach bum in the middle of winter. And honestly, besides being weather-inappropriate, this outfit probably gives you a very different impression of what I’m really like. I’m much more…subdued.”
“Dahlia?”
Her eyebrows lift, and she looks at me earnestly.
I lean closer. “You couldn’t look subdued if you tried.”
Her cheeks flush, and again, she looks like she wants to laugh, but she doesn’t. She presses her lips together, and I watch in fascination as they plump back up again.
When there’s been a long silence because we’re staring at each other, I realize I should probably speak.
“It wouldn’t matter what you’re wearing—you are stunning. But yeah, you might be cold,” I say. “Go home and get warmer clothes and meet me?”
She bites her lower lip and takes so long to answer that I think for sure she’s going to say no, so it surprises me when she takes a deep breath and quietly whispers, “Okay.”
I want to fist-pump in the air but try to keep my cool. I smile and nod slowly.
“Perfect. I’d love to pick you up, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“You don’t, but yeah…how about we meet somewhere. This is a little out of my comfort zone.”
“Done.” I nod. “Will it give you enough time if we meet at six?”
“Yes.”
“Have you been to Demi?”
“No, I don’t think so.” She shrugs. “I don’t get out much.”
“It’s in the North Loop. Does that work?”
“Let’s go. I like to try places I’ve never been.”
I call my brother Tully and tell him I’d like to spend the night in the city before going to Windy Harbor.
I’ll just get an Uber to our family’s house, so he doesn’t have to do anything special for me.
He’s fine with it…said he’s exhausted, so tomorrow would actually be better for him too, after he’s had some sleep.
I don’t know why I don’t tell him about Dahlia.
I’m sort of dying to, but it feels too big to tell him over the phone.
I’m not ready to get teased mercilessly about the massive crush I have on a girl I just met.
This is the sort of thing that my older brothers would be all about.
Especially Tully. You might say that the two of us have enjoyed our single lives.
I’m not one of those guys who isn’t capable of commitment, and neither is my brother.
All the Whitman men are still single. My brother Noah lost his girlfriend way too soon and hasn’t gotten into the dating scene since Margo passed away.
He’s too busy to date, working full-time and taking care of my nephew, Grayson.
I haven’t seen Camden go out with anyone in a long time.
I know who I think would be perfect for him, if he could ever get his head out of his ass, and that’s Juju.
The two of them are at each other’s heads all the time, and it’s good TV.
Gotta have the popcorn whenever they’re around.
But they don’t realize they’re perfect for each other.
And Tully…there was one girl he was crazy about…
Lola. I’ve never fully understood why he let her go.
He claims his hockey career took priority, but he’s just not the kind of guy to choose his career over someone he loves.
He doesn’t like to talk about Lola, so I don’t push it.
As for me, seeing the kind of love my parents had for each other has made me picky.
I can go out with someone and know pretty quick if we’re meshing.
Some have tricked me, and I’ve learned the hard way that they weren’t who I thought they were, or maybe the spark just wasn’t there, even if it looked good on paper.
Goldie says I’ve let a lot of great women go and that I’m being too particular, but I want what my parents had: a forever kind of love.
Anything else feels like a waste of time and a good way to hurt someone or to get hurt…
which is why I’ve kept it casual for a long time now.
Everyone I go out with isn’t looking for a relationship, and they know I’m not either. So far, it’s worked out well.
But Dahlia…I don’t know how to even compute this development, because without question, from what I can tell so far, Dahlia checks all the boxes.
Of course, it’s too soon to know. But damn, I’m crushing hard.
My phone buzzes, and I grin when I see my dad’s text.
Dad
It’s been an annoying day. Ava’s been here, and I get so riled when I hear how Bruce is treating her.
I need some humor, or I’m going to find reasons to seek vengeance on that dude.
That’s not my speed, it’s his. Proof of life, please.
We recently found out that my mom had a child before she got with my dad…
with Bruce Granger, a guy who hates our family.
The Granger family has long held a grudge against the Whitmans.
It goes back to my grandpa and Bruce’s dad, and it’s a long, convoluted tale—aren’t family rivalries always?
My dad has never been as vindictive as Bruce, but I know he doesn’t like the guy.
What my siblings and I never knew is that Dad was aware that Mom had had a baby and placed her for adoption.
When Ava Piper, Bruce Granger’s daughter, showed up in Windy Harbor wreaking havoc with a weird fixation about our family, we didn’t realize that she was, in fact, our sister.
Way more drama than the Whitmans are used to.
Ava’s softened since then. Once she saw Bruce’s true colors, she realized she hadn’t been told the whole truth when she’d found her birth dad.
I think once you lose people you love, the way we have with Mom and Noah’s girlfriend, Margo, you just don’t have room for the other kind of drama.
The extent of ours is that Grandma Donna keeps us stocked with all the knitted things we could possibly want and then many things that we don’t want, while Grandma Nancy plies us with Lutheran Jell-O that we all barely stomach.
Goldie
UGH. He is such a tool. I’ll reach out to Ava.
Tully
Sorry, Dad. Deep breaths.
I look around, wondering how I’m going to take a picture without them knowing I’m at the St. Paul house.
Noah
Reason 10,099 why it’s a good thing Ava found out the rest of her family isn’t as bad as she was told.
Camden
Love you, Dad.
I stand in front of a white wall and make sure nothing else shows as I snap a picture and send it.
I love that the worst you say when you’re fuming is that it’s been an annoying day and that you’re riled up. You’re the best, Dad.