Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
MONOCHROMATIC
DAHLIA
I rush home and shower quickly, shaving everything. Not because anything is going to happen. Absolutely not. But because I want to feel my best.
As I carefully apply my makeup, I frown in the mirror.
You keep telling yourself that, Dahlia, so you’ll stick to it.
Dylan has already gotten through the jillion barriers I’ve set for myself ever since Christian, so it’s fair that I feel the need to remind myself to hold on to a few. But dinner won’t hurt. The guy saved my life, after all.
I point at myself in the mirror when I catch myself smiling too big.
“Knock it off,” I say out loud.
I wear my cashmere sweater and pants with heels—all in gray—and tug at the delicate silver chain I always wear, studying my reflection one more time.
There’s a much different aesthetic going on than what Dylan saw earlier.
Maybe this will be a good test to see if he’s disappointed in how I normally look.
A surfer living in Southern California would fit better with someone who looks like Anastasia.
I smooth my hair down and take a look at the back view. It’s not that I don’t look good. But the adages “Less is more” and “Leave something to the imagination” are more what I live by.
I’m barely on time, so I’m glad they offer valet parking since it’s cold out and I don’t want to walk a long way.
When I step inside the restaurant, Dylan is leaning against the wall.
His face breaks into a smile when he sees me, and I’m taken aback all over again by how attractive he is.
He’s changed into black pants and a dark gray button-down shirt, and we look like we coordinated our outfits.
His hair is dipping over his eyebrows, and I want to sink my fingers in it.
“Wow,” he says.
His eyes start at my hair and track all the way down my body like he can’t help but appreciate the view.
“You look beautiful,” he says emphatically.
Well, he certainly passed my little outfit test in a hurry.
“Thank you. You look really…great.” The nerves kick in, and I think he knows it, because he gives me a reassuring smile and holds out his arm for me to loop my hand through.
Touching him is an experience. His arms are muscular, and the heat I feel emanating off him makes me want to curl up next to him and stay for a while.
Stop that, I fuss at myself.
“We’re back here,” he says.
When we reach the table, he pulls out my chair and then sits across from me.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“I feel fine. I can’t believe you’re always going to think of me as that girl who passed out on your lap on an airplane.” I shake my head as we both laugh.
“No, you know what I’ll think? You falling in my lap is the perfect definition of fate,” he says, his eyes all lit up.
I swallow hard, staring at him. Good Lord, this man is going to turn my world upside down, isn’t he? How can I possibly be in trouble after just a few hours with him?
It just gets better. He’s easy to talk to, funny, and so stinking charming.
I can’t remember when I’ve laughed so much.
He’s nice to our waiter…that’s big in my book.
I’m always on pins and needles going out to eat with my dad because I’m the kind of person who will eat the steak that’s brought out, even if it’s not how I ordered it, and he is adamantly opposed to eating anything subpar.
He’s demanding and expects things to be perfect, and if they aren’t, everyone hears about it.
I’ve heard about Dylan’s siblings and his parents. His mom passed away when he was nineteen, and it’s obvious that he adored her. We’ve talked about my parents being divorced and me being an only child, how I’m close to my mom and my dad too, although my relationship with my dad is hard to explain.
“We’re just really different, but he loves me.”
“It would definitely be a him problem if he didn’t,” he says.
I press my chilly hand to my face, hoping it’ll cool me down. He’s got my emotions going all over the place.
“I’m having such a good time,” he says as we share a piece of cheesecake.
“I am too.”
“I don’t want this night to end.”
“Neither do I.”
The crazy part is that I mean it. All of it. I want this man.
“But I don’t do more than a kiss on the first date,” I tell him.
I want so much to go back on that rule I’ve set for myself. It’s especially tempting since Chloe is away.
“I understand,” he says, nodding. He leans in, grinning. “Can I kiss you tonight?”
My heart has been thudding in my chest all night. “Yes,” I say quietly.
“I can’t wait,” he says. “Your mouth has been calling mine since I first saw you.” He grins when my cheeks flush. “Can I see you in the morning? And tomorrow night? Then it’d be our third date.”
I laugh. “How did I know you were going to say something like that?”
He laughs and reaches out and takes my hand, threading our fingers together. “I’m not going to rush you. I do want to take you home with me tonight, but I want to see you tomorrow more. So whatever it takes to make that happen, that’s what I want to do.”
“You’re pretty hard to resist,” I tell him.
He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Yeah?”
I nod.
“What if I made you breakfast in the morning? Would you be comfortable with that?” he asks.
“You can cook?” I can’t hide the shock in my voice.
“Not as well as my brother, but yes. Would you prefer my house or yours?”
I look down at our hands. “You know…there’s something I should’ve told you right away. It might change your mind about wanting to get to know me more.”
He rubs his thumb along my palm and I shiver.
“I…have a daughter.”
“Really.” He sounds surprised, and I wait to see his reaction. “That’s awesome. How old is she?”
“Two and a half.”
He holds up his other hand and makes a motion like Come on. “Picture time.”
I grin and pick up my phone, then open my photos, which are almost exclusively of Chloe.
When I hold the phone up to him with one of my favorite pictures of her, I watch him carefully, and he’s completely genuine when he says, “Dahlia! She is something. So beautiful. You did good. You did really good.”
My face flushes with pride. “Thank you. She’s something, all right. She’s brilliant, and I know all parents say that, but she really is.” I laugh, and so does he.
“I believe you,” he says. “And her father? What’s the story there?”
I make a face. “I saw all the red flags, but I ignored them. He was charismatic, and I was flattered. He’s older than me,” I add. “We dated for a few months, and he talked a good game, but not just to me…”
“No,” he says.
“By the time I knew about the others, I was relieved for an easy out. I was pregnant and knew I couldn’t stay with him and keep my sanity.
He’s been really inconsistent with Chloe, but he’s trying to do better now.
That’s why I was in California. He’s living there now and wanted to spend time with her.
Usually I stay close, but I had to be back for a meeting tomorrow afternoon. ”
“Which is where I come in,” he says, smirking.
“Exactly.” I smile back.
“If I do nothing else to win you over tonight, hear me when I say that any man who cheated on you has got to be the most idiotic man alive.”
I choke back a laugh.
“Seriously,” he says. “I want to meet him just to thank him for his stupidity. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here tonight, and I wouldn’t be holding your hand, counting down the seconds until I can kiss you.”
I think I whimper, and his eyes dilate.
“Check, please,” he says, even though the waiter is nowhere to be seen.
When we step outside, the wind is gusting around us, and he wraps his arms around me in a hug, blocking the chill.
“This weather is wrecking my blow-you-away-with-my-kiss plans. I don’t want to compete with the cold to make you shiver.”
I laugh. “You or the cold…I don’t think it’s a competition.”
He pulls back and smiles down at me, and our lips meet in the middle. It’s the softest, sweetest kiss and is the most perfect thing I’ve ever felt. When his tongue touches mine, I melt into him and forget all about the cold. It’s over way too soon, leaving me wanting so much more.
He puts his hands on my face and looks at me intently. “I have a feeling my life changed forever today.”
I feel my heart in my throat. I can’t say anything because I’m so overwhelmed. I feel the same way too. Like everything prior to today was before Dylan.
Which is exactly why I need to go home. This is madness.
“Breakfast tomorrow? I’ll text you my address.”
I nod, still dizzy from our kiss.
The valet pulls around with my car, and Dylan is the one who makes sure I get in safely.
“Good night, beautiful. Sweet dreams” is the last thing I hear before he shuts my door and I float home.