Tall, Dark and Tempting (Tall, Dark and Sexy 3)

She was trying hard to move on with her life, and it was a difficult, day-to-day process without having her best friend around to call and talk to, or watch Hallmark movies with. It just wasn’t the same without Dylan’s funny, cheesy commentary during the shows that always made her laugh. But now, when she watched the movies by herself, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever get her own happily ever after. One thing was certain—she wasn’t going to settle for anything less than the kind of unconditional love those heroines in the movie ended up with.

The same morning she’d ended things with Dylan, she’d called Coffee Bean Guy (the nickname actually amused her now) and did the same with him, because she’d known that if she could sleep with Dylan while dating Grant, then he wasn’t the guy for her, no matter how great of a catch he was. She hadn’t wanted to lead Grant on, or hurt him, because he was a nice guy. Just not for her. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, she was taking a break from men and dating.

She walked through the classroom and placed a worksheet on each child’s desk for them to start on when they sat down Monday morning. The sound of someone opening the closed door made Serena glance up. She gave Chelsea a smile as she strolled inside.

“Hey there,” Serena said, glancing at the clock on the wall and seeing it was after four in the afternoon. “Thought you’d be gone for the day by now.”

“I was in the teachers’ lounge talking with Callie,” she said of the school’s full-time nurse, and a mutual friend. “We were wondering if you were busy on Saturday.”

“No, I do not want to go on another blind date,” Serena replied immediately, unable to forget the last time Chelsea had set her up, and how things had ended with Ashton at Leo and Peyton’s wedding. Besides, she was far from ready to move on from Dylan, even knowing there was no future with him.

Chelsea laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m totally respecting your current vow of celibacy.”

That was Chelsea’s way of interpreting the break Serena was taking from dating any new guys, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She just didn’t understand how some women could casually have sex with a random guy and move on, as Chelsea had with Eric. Serena just wasn’t built that way. Maybe if she was, things would have ended differently between her and Dylan, or not at all and they’d both be enjoying a whole lot of hot, phenomenal sex.

She shook that thought from her head, because it was a moot point. Serena was not, and never would be, some guy’s booty call. “Okay, what’s happening on Saturday?” she asked curiously.

“It’s an all-girl lunch down at Seaport Village with cocktails,” Chelsea said with a grin. “No men allowed. I swear.” She made a little cross over her heart with her index finger.

Serena bit her bottom lip as she remembered the email invite she’d received a few days ago from Aiden’s wife, Daisy, announcing an engagement celebration for Dylan’s mom, Grace, and her beau, Charles, that upcoming Saturday afternoon. Serena was genuinely happy for the two of them, but she hadn’t responded yet because she knew it would mean facing Dylan and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that just yet.

But Grace had always been like a mom to her, more than her own mother had ever been, and she knew that she needed to stop by and congratulate the couple, despite not seeing or talking to Dylan for the past week. She also enjoyed Daisy and Peyton’s company, and cuddles from baby Isabella would just be a bonus. The thought made her smile.

She glanced back at Chelsea as she finished passing out the worksheets. “That sounds like fun, but I actually have something I need to do that day. Maybe next time?”

Chelsea’s gaze softened perceptively. “Sure, as long as you swear you’re doing okay after the whole Dylan thing?”

Serena appreciated her friend’s concern, and was grateful that she’d had a friend to confide in. “I’m good.” Which was true. She was hanging in there, and maybe one day soon she’d upgrade that status to great. Or not.

“Okay. But if you change your mind, just let me know and you can join us,” Chelsea said, then added with a wink, “We can man bash if that would make you feel any better.”

Serena laughed. “No thanks, but you and Callie have a good time.”

“We will,” she replied as she sauntered out the door.

11

Dylan felt like an addict who’d gone too long without a hit, with Serena as his drug of choice, and the withdrawals were kicking his ass and making every day without her a living hell. With every person who came through his mother’s front door for the casual engagement celebration being held in her and Charles’ honor, Dylan felt more and more anxious and on edge, knowing that at some point, it was going to be Serena who walked in.

The past week had been one of the most painful he’d ever endured, and the reason centered all around a beautiful blue-eyed blonde who’d turned his life upside down and inside out by walking out of his life. Even if he did agree that she was better off without him and his fucking mixed signals.

Needing a drink, he left the living room, where Charles and Grace were talking to a few of their friends who’d stopped by, and walked into the kitchen, where most of the family was hanging out. Not in the mood for idle chitchat and not caring for the intent way Leo had been eyeing him since he’d arrived, Dylan grabbed a bottled beer from the refrigerator, popped the top, then leaned against the counter. As he drank the cold brew, he watched his brothers interact with their significant others, feeling, for the first time, like the odd man out.

Both Leo and Aiden had found amazing women, who

they’d married and were building their lives with. They had someone to come home to every night, someone to share their day with, and to wake up to every morning. Dylan always swore he didn’t want or need any of those things, that he was just fine being on his own . . . except he was coming to realize that he’d never been completely alone. No, he’d always had Serena around to share all those things with. She’d always been there for him, through thick and thin . . . and now she wasn’t.

As he watched his brothers interact with their wives, it was clear that those women were now their bests friends. The one person who was their everything. They shared inside jokes, finished each other’s sentences, and indulged in affectionate glances and knowing smiles. Dylan had only had that kind of bond with one woman in his entire life—Serena. And he only wanted those intimate moments with her, and the thought of never having that with Serena ever again sliced through him like a knife.

And then he heard her voice drifting in from the living room and everything inside him crashed in a jumble of emotions. Anxiety. Anticipation. Hope. And so many fucking doubts he still hadn’t figured a way to sort them all out.

A few moments later, she entered the kitchen, greeting everyone standing around the wooden island with hellos and a cheerful, radiant smile that made her eyes sparkle, especially when she cooed at Isabella. When she finally spotted him standing off to the side by himself, for the briefest, sweetest moment, he caught that genuinely candid happiness she’d always reserved just for him before she tensed and her expression fell into a polite, contained mask of civility.

She gave him an obligatory nod. “Dylan.”

“Serena,” he acknowledged, hating the gruff tone of his voice, the ache settling in his chest, and the mile-wide distance stretching between them when they were really only a few feet apart.

And that’s all he got, just a cordial acknowledgement before she turned back to Daisy to take Baby Isabella into her arms to talk and play with her while chatting with the other two women.