Dare to Touch (Dare to Love 3)

She sighed. The grass was never really greener. Nobody had everything, which was something she’d come to understand.

“On the other hand, we got everything money could buy. And that was the problem. My father was trying to buy us. I think he believed if we weren’t lacking in material things, we wouldn’t care as much that he wasn’t around.”

“And did you? Care?”

“A lot,” she whispered, her voice catching. “I mean, do you know how many Christmas mornings we had present openings with Mom because we thought Dad was working, only to find out later he was with his mistress and her family?” She blinked back tears she didn’t often let fall. She’d accepted the situation a long time ago. “Did you happen to notice who was missing from my party?”

Dylan frowned. “Did he say why?”

“Sent a message with Alex. Called afterwards. But it’s always the same story.”

“And yet you don’t resent Alex or the rest of your half siblings?”

She swallowed hard. “It’s hard to explain why I don’t. Ian more than resented our father for a long time. He probably still does. But Avery and I… We were presented with the situation when our half sister Sienna was seriously ill. She would have died without bone marrow. I couldn’t help but feel for sorry for all the kids. And when Avery tested positive, I refused to leave her side at the hospital. I got to know them too. So the resentment got pushed back in favor of the reality of new siblings and a really sick girl.” She shrugged, having explained her crazy past as best she could.

Had it scarred her? Without a doubt, but he didn’t need to know just how much her father’s betrayal had wrecked her ability to trust men. Even she hadn’t realized it until Jeff’s unfaithfulness at the worst possible time had driven the point home.

She glanced down, startled to realize Dylan had begun to stroke the top of her hand with his calloused fingers, offering comfort and understanding.

He cleared his throat. “Parents can do a real number on their kids.” He shook his head, obviously referring to both of their parents. “I’m going to throw out my cup. Can I take yours?”

“Thanks.” She handed him her empty cup, grateful he’d decided to let the subject drop. It had been an unexpectedly heavy conversation, revealing parts of her psyche that were still wounded. Even if he wasn’t aware of the fact, she’d reminded herself, and she hated that those old feelings were intruding on what should be a fun time with Dylan.

She stood, ready to stretch her legs, shake off the past, and take advantage of the coming week of sun, fun, work, and yes, one extremely sexy man who seemed intent on showering her with attention. That was something she intended to enjoy.

“Flight 882 Miami to Phoenix is ready for boarding. We will begin with our first-class passengers,” the disjointed voice said over the sound system just as Dylan rejoined her.

“Ready?”

“Can’t wait.” Her anticipation and excitement returned.

He bent and picked up the handle of his carry-on just as his cell phone rang.

“I’ll grab this as we head over to the gate.”

She shrugged and started to walk beside him as he put the phone to his ear.

“Hey, Meg. Just getting ready to board. Anything important?”

His ex-girlfriend, calling him as he boarded a plane to leave town? Seriously? That quickly, her good mood evaporated. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe men and women could be just friends … or maybe she didn’t believe it, after all. Especially a man and a woman who’d once been in an intimate relationship. Didn’t Meg have any girlfriends she could call with her problems?

“Okay, look, you can either pack up his shit or wait till he decides to get his lazy ass home from Vegas and have him do it himself, but it’s time.”

Great, so he was encouraging her to break up with her boyfriend. Olivia hated where her thoughts were going at the moment, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.

When they reached the attendant in charge of boarding, he said, “I’ll talk to you from Phoenix.” Pause. “Yeah. Take care. Bye.”

Olivia gritted her teeth and handed the woman her boarding pass, had it scanned, and marched down the gateway.

“Liv, wait up!” Dylan called after her.

She slowed and he caught up to her. “Sorry about that. Meg’s having some problems with her boyfriend.”

She raised her eyebrows. “And she turns to you to solve them? That’s sweet.” She stepped onto the plane, hurt and annoyed for no good reason—and for every good reason. She couldn’t decide which.

So she settled herself into her seat, aware of Dylan’s worried stare as he took his seat beside her. But she had nothing to offer him, no response. Instead, she asked an attendant for a pillow, accepted a blanket, curled up, and went to sleep.

Chapter Five