Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
GLOWY
DAHLIA
The past two days in Dylan’s home have been idyllic.
Waves set a soothing rhythm outside, and sun filters through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a golden hue over Chloe and Dylan.
They’re on the rug, where Chloe is clutching a bottle of neon pink nail polish.
I didn’t think it was a good idea for her to have an open bottle of polish, but when I painted her nails earlier, she wanted Dylan to match, and he insisted she get her wish.
He sits cross-legged in front of her, his broad shoulders hunched forward as he holds out his fingers for her to paint his nails.
He’s wearing board shorts and a faded T-shirt…in December. That will never cease to amaze me. My mom texted that we got six inches of snow this morning, and we’re here with the patio door open, enjoying the beautiful weather.
There’s an easy smile on Dylan’s face that makes it impossible to look away.
And my little girl is in her element. My mom and I dote on her, but Chloe’s never experienced what I’m starting to believe is the Dylan effect.
It’s quite amazing to watch. He listens and observes and has this gift of drawing people out, even two-and-a-half-year-old little girls…
and their typically closed-up, reserved moms.
He shifts his long legs.
“Ope.” Chloe giggles, using the paper towel I gave her to try to wipe up the pink smear. It just makes it worse. “I mess up.”
Dylan wiggles his fingers, making her squeal.
For the past forty-eight hours, Dylan has let Chloe turn him into her personal plaything.
We’ve gone on walks down the beach, read countless books, eaten ice cream at all the nearby places, stuck our feet in the ocean, and then all stood in the outdoor shower, rinsing off before climbing into the hot tub.
..once Dylan had lowered the temperature for Chloe.
“What do you think of taking those plastic shovels and buckets out today and seeing what we can build?” Dylan asks, glancing at me first. “We could put that little hat over her ears.”
Last night we went into a shop down the street because he thought maybe they’d have the perfect hat for Chloe. He was frustrated that he wasn’t carrying one in his shop and immediately found a vendor he liked and placed an order. His thoughtfulness just keeps blowing my mind.
“That sounds great,” I say. “What do you think, Chloe? Should we go build a sandcastle on the beach?”
“Yes!” She jumps up, and I hurry over to grab the nail polish before it spills.
We get ready and walk out to the stretch of beach behind his house, armed with plastic buckets and shovels.
“What are we building?” he asks, once we’ve spread out a huge blanket and laid out all the toys.
“A cassa and Abu!” Chloe says.
“Cassa,” Dylan repeats.
“Castle,” I whisper.
“Ah. On it.” He kneels in the sand without hesitation, his muscles flexing as he follows her every command.
“Okay, princess, how high should the castle be? Chloe-high?”
“Chloe-high!” she says, jumping up and down.
I gather shells to put on top of the castle and for the walkway that leads to the little monkey on the side. Dylan puts a strip of napkin on a stick and plants it next to the castle.
“Behold, Castle Chloe! Defended by the mightiest knight in all of Malibu.”
She claps her hands, while I tease, “I never knew knights had pink nails.”
He smirks and flexes his fingers, showing off his nails, which look like a hot mess. “Neither did I, honestly, but it’s a pretty good look on me.”
“Yeah, it is.” I smile back.
My heart can hardly take all this warmth. It scares me too, because someone like Dylan is what I’ve always wanted. It’s too soon to even know if this is how he always is. But even seeing it for a few days, knowing that someone like him could exist…
A man who could show up for my daughter too—is that even possible? Someone who plays, who makes her feel like the center of the universe. Growing up, my father was a shadow. He’d come around, and I’d blink and he was gone. Distant, critical, his emotions locked away like a vault.
Sandcastles in the sand with pink nails? Never.
Rules and expectations, leaving me craving affection? Always.
And then I went and chose Christian, who turned out to be cut from the same cloth—charming at first, but ultimately emotionally stunted.
He hasn’t even called to check on her since I picked her up.
I can’t believe I gave my daughter another dose of those genes, that legacy of absence.
I want to think my love is enough, but she also has Christian’s DNA.
I can only hope that she won’t grow up feeling the lack of affection, and that I can teach her to be kind and loving and loyal.
Dylan, with his easy patience and genuine delight, makes me hope for things that I haven’t let myself hope for before.
Her fever has been gone for almost forty-eight hours, and her energy is returning. Earlier, we took a long walk, and Dylan carried her on his shoulders when she got tired. Each day we’ve had picnics on the beach, with Chloe pointing out every seagull that flies past.
We haven’t exactly had the all-nighter sexfest again like our first night together, but after Chloe’s fallen asleep, we’ve gone into the other bedroom or the bathroom and explored each other’s bodies.
It’s out-of-this-world incredible yet leaves me wanting more, all at once.
I’m not sure I could ever get enough of him.
And that terrifies me.
I’m in a blissful bubble that’s about to pop very soon.
Dylan seems to sense my mood and glances over. “You okay?”
“Chloe and I should head back to Minnesota tomorrow. She’s feeling so much better, and you have your family to get back to as well…”
“But we’re having so much fun,” he says, grinning. He reaches out and takes my hand. “Promise I can see you while we’re in Minnesota?”
“How would that work exactly?”
“I can drive back and forth between Windy Harbor and Minneapolis. Or we could stay in Duluth, or a couple towns over from Windy Harbor…”
“I don’t know. It sounds risky. California seems a lot safer for us to keep this under wraps…”
He reaches out and smooths the crease between my brows. “I think we can do it. I believe in whatever this is between us.”
It’s the smirk that he adds to the end of his sentence that shatters all my resolve.
I laugh. “You’re an eternal optimist, aren’t you?”
“Something like that. I will be when it comes to seeing you because…this has been too good. Neither one of us should miss out on this…spark.”
“Spark, huh?” I grin. “You do create a spark in me, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah? I want to explore how much of a spark later.”
I flush and can’t look at him without laughing.
We’re dragging the next morning on the drive to the airport.
We didn’t get much sleep last night, and the sex we had was intense, almost as if we were trying to memorize every inch of each other.
I know I’m in over my head. But I tell myself not to think about that.
This thing with Dylan is fun, and while it’s risky to have Chloe get attached, it can’t hurt her to see that there are good men out there who aren’t complete narcissists.
At least that’s what I’m telling myself to avoid the guilt that settles in when I do think about it. Like Dylan said, this has been too good. I don’t want to stop.
The goodbye is rushed and leaves me feeling slightly unsettled. Tully is picking Dylan up, and I’m so anxious that he’ll see us that I’m very abrupt with Dylan.
“Thanks for everything.” I hug him quickly. “Bye.”
I can tell it catches him off guard, but as with everything, he doesn’t make a big deal about it, and I’m glad he doesn’t. I feel like I might do something ridiculous like cry if he does.
“Hey!” he calls.
I turn around, and he grins that heart-stopping grin.
“We’re just beginning. Don’t forget that while we’re apart.” He leans forward and hugs me again and then kisses my cheek.
Before I know it, Chloe and I are heading to my mom’s, and I’m regretting not saying more of a goodbye.
My mom opens the door wide. “Hello!”
“Your Christmas lights look so pretty at night,” I say.
“Don’t they look gorgeous this year?” She beams.
When we walk inside, she scoops Chloe up and holds her close.
“How are you feeling, my darling? Are you hungry?” she asks.
“Good.” Chloe nods. “Yes, I hungry.”
“Your Aunt Ginny has prepared dinner for us. I hope that’s okay,” Mom says, glancing over at me. Her eyes are narrowing as she hugs me. “You look different.”
My mom is oddly perceptive when I least expect it.
“Dinner sounds good,” I say.
“And…why do you look so glowy?” She grins. “You were so upset at you-know-who when you left, and you look calmer than I’ve seen you in a long time.” She gasps. “Don’t tell me you’re back with you-know-who.”
That’s our lame attempt at not saying Christian’s name when we’re with Chloe. We need to come up with a better name.
“What? No!” I glare at her. “Why would you think that?”
“Sorry!” She laughs. “No, I didn’t think you would be, but I don’t know…there’s something different.”
“Your eyesight is playing tricks on you,” I tease.
“Hmm. Well, you’re probably right about that. I had to get readers yesterday.” She sighs.
My mom is beautiful. She’s a bit of a diva, but a sweet one.
And she’s fifty-two, but she looks about thirty-five.
I hear her griping about getting older, but honestly, she has nothing to complain about.
She’s in better shape than I am, mostly from going to Pilates five days a week, and she gets hit on as much as I do, if not more, when we go anywhere together.
She ushers us into the dining room, where Aunt Ginny has set the table with fine china.
“The girls are here, Ginny,” she calls. “And the table looks lovely.”
“Wonderful. I’ll have the food out in just a few minutes, if you want to get comfortable,” Aunt Ginny says as she walks into the dining room, holding a huge platter of food.
She loves to cook and is so good at it.
“Hello, girls.” She holds her arms out, and I walk into them, hugging her hard.
Aunt Ginny is my mom’s older sister. When my parents divorced, Aunt Ginny moved in with us.
My grandparents passed away a few years ago, so sometimes it feels like it’s just us girls against the world.
Both my mom and Aunt Ginny have tried to convince me to live with them, and I’m sure it would be nice if I did—to have the extra help with Chloe and financially—but it’s really been important to me to do this with Chloe on my own.
My mom and aunt spoil her rotten, and I love that…
once in a while. Having that on a daily basis would be exhausting.
“Your dad called earlier.” Mom rolls her eyes as she sits at the head of the table.
“I tried to talk him down. He was carrying on about you going out of town again. I told him he was lucky to have someone who saved him millions of dollars and that he doesn’t really need you in the office every day anyway. ”
“Did he calm down?”
She lifts her shoulder. “You know your father. He doesn’t really calm down. But yeah, I guess he chilled a little.”
“The man is gonna have a heart attack with all the stress he carries around.” Aunt Ginny shakes her head. “Oh, honey, your phone is lighting up like crazy.” She points at it, and I look down to see a few texts from Dylan.
Miss you already.
Tell Chloe my nails are a hit.
When can I see you again?
I smile at my phone, and my mom laughs under her breath.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve fallen for someone,” she says.
“You just asked if I was back with you-know-who.” I laugh.
Her eyes narrow. “No, now that we’re in the light, I can see you better. You never looked this happy with you-know-who.”
My cheeks flush, and I try to change the subject again.
Keeping my feelings for Dylan a secret is already harder than I expected.