Chapter 6 #2
“You don’t know me well enough to picture me as anything just yet.” Raleigh whispered as she pinned him with her eyes. “So, you were saying?”
“Right. As I said before, I’m currently on desk duty.
” When would that not grate to say? “I used to work in the Emergency Services Unit at NYPD, mostly SWAT stuff.” He paused to look around the room.
So many of the people here were friends from his old unit.
“Andrew works in SWAT. He used to be computer cop or tech wiz for the unit, but I heard he just got a promotion to Sergeant.”
“You might have mentioned that sooner. I’m already on thin ice with Lydia.”
“You’re right. Sorry.”
Raleigh let out an exaggerated sigh. “So, your ex-fiancée is marrying your former teammate six months after you broke up and you’re accidentally attending their wedding. Oh, my God, Dylan. That’s a romance novel gone bad.”
Just then their drinks arrived. He took a long pull on his beer. After he swallowed, he said, “Yeah, it sucks. The thing is, it would have sucked just as much once I found out about the marriage anyway. At least by being here, everyone can see I’m over her.”
He was, wasn’t he? Over her?
He’d been so screwed up after what happened, he just didn’t want to have to deal with anything else.
Jenn was high maintenance and had gotten worse when shit went down and she wasn’t the focus of his world.
He didn’t have it in him to cope with Jenn, so he’d set her free that very night.
He looked around the room as he tried to process everything.
Cope with Jenn. Those words echoed around his brain.
Not how guys were supposed to feel about their fiancées. Jenn was talking to an older couple across the room. Friends of her parents, he guessed. He’d almost lost it in the lobby when he first saw her, but now the tug he’d usually felt just wasn’t there. Was he really over her?
His mom had dragged him all over the Northeast, never really letting him set down roots.
Then she up and died. When he’d met Jenn, he thought he might finally get some roots.
He really wanted a steady home life. When he’d broken it off with her, he’d thought he was saving her from being dragged down in his mess.
Seeing Jenn now, he couldn’t decide if it was her he missed or the idea of having someone waiting at home for him.
“Earth to Dylan! I hate to ask, but is there more to the story?” Raleigh asked, a frown marring her forehead. “I’m getting a strange vibe from these people.”
He grimaced. “Like I said, I’m on suspension from ESU. There was an incident.” He took another swallow of beer.
Raleigh’s phone dinged and she looked at her text messages. “I have to go to work. Maybe we can discuss this more back in the room later.”
“No.”
She abruptly leaned back in her chair, her eyes wide in surprise.
Damn. He hadn’t meant to be so curt, but he wasn’t ready to talk about what happened. Not with friends, and not with someone he’d just met even if she was supposed to be his girlfriend.
Raleigh looked nonplussed. If she kept that up, people really wouldn’t buy their story.
Dylan put his arm around her and brought her close. “Look, I’m sorry for being rude. I just don’t want to talk about it anymore. And all this frowning isn’t doing our cover story any good. So,” he said, keeping his voice low, “why don’t you tell me something about yourself?”
“I don’t really have time for this now.” She pulled back a bit as if to stand up, but he tugged her against him.
Crazy or not, he really was attracted to Raleigh. Her scent was giving him all kinds of ideas. Some sort of citrusy, wildflower mix. As soon as he’d seen Raleigh in that dress, he knew pretending to be her boyfriend was not going to be a problem.
“What if people ask me questions? I need to know a bit about you so I can sell the story.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“As it stands, I know you’re an ambitious public relations guru from Connecticut, I think you mentioned on the phone. I need to know more.”
“Um, okay.” She blinked and took a sip of her drink.
“Just tell me some random fact. Don’t over think it.”
“Uh… I hate going to the gym,” she blurted.
He grinned. “Not into exercise?”
“No,” she said and shook her head for emphasis.
“That’s too bad. I like to work out. Gets my mind focused. Makes my body stronger.”
She swallowed. “Um, well, if it works for you.”
He watched the pulse at the base of her throat. It was thumping hard. “Maybe I could show you some exercises that might be more interesting.” She blinked rapidly. He enjoyed teasing her. “What do you like to do to relax?”
“I like to watch TV and read in bed.”
He chuckled, and her cheeks turned pink.
“What do you like to read in bed?” he murmured. When she licked her lips, he followed her tongue with his eyes. Her lips looked full and very kissable.
“I like to r-r-read all kinds of different things,” she stammered as she fiddled with the silverware on the table.
He was having a hard time focusing on the conversation with all the visions of Raleigh in bed flashing in his head.
She must have been feeling the same because suddenly she leaned further away from him and said, “Uh, sorry… I have to do some work.”
“Pardon?” he asked.
“I have to check in with Donna, Lydia’s assistant, and Phil, our photographer. I also have to get some quotes and stuff. I want to do that before it gets too late. People will start drinking too much, and then I won’t get anything usable.”
“OK. Do you want me to keep you company?”
“No. Better if you don’t.” She immediately bit her lip. “I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you mean. No problem. I can keep an eye on you from here. I think you’ll be fine in this crowd.”
Raleigh stood up and smoothed out her dress. “What about dinner? I’m not sure if I’ll be back here in time to eat and I have no idea who else will sit at this table.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m a big boy.” He shifted in his chair, deliberately lifting his hips, which drew her gaze.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll either eat here and chat with people or, more likely, go to the bar in corner and stay there.
You don’t have to worry about me. Do you want me to get them to hold a plate for you? ”
“No, I’d rather just get the work done. There are plenty of waitstaff walking around. I’ll grab one of them and ask for something if I need to eat.” She looked around the room and frowned.
He stood up next to her. “You going to be alright?”
“Yes. I’m just a bit wired I guess.” She gave him a faint smile.
“I’ll be in the room and keeping a close eye on you. You run into any trouble or just feel like you need some help, send up the bat signal, and I’ll be there.”
Her smile grew and lit her whole face. “Thanks.” She squared her shoulders. “I’m off to face the social elite. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” he said, and she walked off into the crowd.
Dylan worked his way over to the bar. The room had filled up in the last half hour. Everyone who was anyone was here. A room full of suits. A lot of the faces were familiar, but not many of them were people he admired. It was going to be a long night.
Catching the bartender’s attention, he ordered another beer and studied the crowd.
This could have been his wedding. He would have been miserable in a crowd like this.
It had come into his mind more than once when he and Jenn were dating that she had just been slumming it with him.
Then again, maybe he’d been trying to prove something by dating her.
Either way, he was not of this world and never would be.
Andrew crossed Dylan’s field of vision. He looked cool and comfortable, shaking hands and smiling like this was his favorite thing to do.
Maybe it was. But, did Andrew fit into Jenn’s world?
He’d gotten the impression that Lydia and Bill actually liked their daughter’s husband-to-be.
Being a sergeant was better than an officer, but not by much.
Had to be something to do with the tech side of things because they’d never thought Dylan was good enough for their daughter.
Maybe everything really did work out for the best. He couldn’t decide.
He just knew his gut was tight with knots, and he wanted more than anything to just walk out that door.
The bartender put the beer on the bar in front of Dylan. Someone hit his shoulder, and he turned to see who it was.
Matt Web stood next to him. “Hey, Dylan.”
Dylan’s shoulders straightened, and he clenched his teeth.
His former best friend looked good. His dark hair was newly cut, and he was filling out his suit better than he had a few months ago.
Must have been spending more time at the gym.
Matt was the same height, but he’d always been narrower before now.
When the incident happened, Dylan had pushed Matt and the rest of the team away. He’d avoided them as much as possible since then. His boss held grudges. If it came down that Dylan had screwed up, he didn’t want to be responsible for bringing the rest of his team down with him.
“Hey, Matt, how’s it going?” Dylan shifted away from the bar slightly as he straightened up and offered Matt his hand.
Matt hesitated for a moment but then finally shook it. “Going well. How are you doing?”
Dylan’s shoulders dropped a fraction at the handshake. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. But for the second time that day, words failed him. What was he supposed to say to his former best friend?
Matt seemed to understand Dylan was struggling. “I gotta say, I’m a bit surprised to see you here.”
Dylan smiled. “You aren’t the only one.”
“What gives?” Matt asked.
“I came as a plus one with my new girlfriend. She’s handling the public relations for the wedding. Making sure it’s seen as a big important social event.”
Matt’s brows rose. “You came to your ex-fiancée’s wedding with your current girlfriend? Dude, you got bigger balls than I thought.”
Dylan outright laughed and, just like that, all the tension left his body. “It wasn’t on purpose. Raleigh didn’t mention whose wedding it was, and I didn’t ask. I just figured it was a weekend away with my girl. It was one heck of a shock I can tell you.”
Matt grinned. “I bet. Jenn must have had a meltdown when she saw you.”
“Um, yeah, it didn’t go so well, but she seems to have recovered. She was actually quite sweet to me earlier.”
“Oh, boy. That’s not good.”
“My thoughts exactly.” He took a sip of beer. It was good to talk to Matt. It wasn’t until this moment that he realized just how much he’d missed his friend.
“Look,” Dylan started, “I owe you an apology and maybe an explanation.”
Matt waved his hand. “This isn’t the time or place for that conversation. We can catch up later. I just wanted to come over and say hey.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
Matt grabbed his beer. “Let’s make a point to grab a beer sometime soon. It’s been way too long.” He offered his hand.
“Agreed.” Dylan grabbed the offered hand and Matt leaned in and gave him a one-armed shoulder hug. Then he disappeared into the crowd.
Dylan went back to leaning on the bar and watching the crowd but, honestly, it felt like a hundred-pound weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Maybe life wasn’t as bad as he thought.
He started to take a swig of beer when a waiter caught his eye. If asked, Dylan probably could say exactly why. Maybe it was the way he moved or maybe it was the look on his face but Dylan’s gut told him the waiter was up to something and whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
The waiter bent over to deliver several dinners to a table full of elderly people.
He was about average height with close cropped black hair.
His build was slim, accentuating a long torso.
He spent time at the gym, but he wasn’t a big guy by any means.
Plates all delivered, he maneuvered easily through the crowd back toward the kitchen.
Dylan sipped his beer. Should he tell the hotel that he was pretty sure one of their waiters was stealing from the guests?
No. Not his job. He was here to protect Raleigh, but he resolved to keep an eye on the guy.
Thieves didn’t usually end up becoming stalkers but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Besides, maybe the guy was stealing things from the women he was stalking.
Either way, the light-fingered waiter just went to the top of list of people that needed to be watched.