it might have also been one of the most wonderful I'd had in a long time. Only one thing would have made it better...
There was a knock on the door behind us, and I swear my heart skipped a beat or two. Mary stopped me before I’d made it two steps toward it. "Let's check security first," she said, showing me the app she'd installed on my phone. When I hit it, I saw the notification that someone was out front.
Dylan's face appeared on the screen, and he almost looked... nervous as he stared straight ahead at the door, not moving or fidgeting at all, just standing and waiting.
"Had to make sure no more assholes wanted to hurt my girl in the hopes of getting whatever Blake promised them."
Mary was talking and I heard the words, but my total focus was on the most perfect male face I'd ever seen.
My feet moved before I’d even thought about the actions. A desperate, clawing need to see him sent me forward, and I was, for once, going on instinct. When I yanked the door open, he was standing exactly as I'd seen him in the security app.
Tilting my head back, I found myself staring into his eyes, the green like twin pools, so clear and depthless. For the first time, he had no arrogance in his face. His barriers were down, and he was almost a regular guy. Okay, yeah, a regular guy who kind of looked like a god and had a billion dollars. But this was the most open I'd ever seen him, and I wanted to see more of it.
"Hey," I said softly.
His smile was a slow sweep that had other parts of my body responding. "I missed you, little bird."
Fuck. Straight for the kill. That was the exact Dylan I had always known.
Stepping back, I waved my hand around. "Would you like to come in?"
He stepped inside, and as I closed the door, I noticed there was no car outside—or any sign of how he’d gotten here. Knowing Dylan, he’d probably parachuted in from a jet.
Back in the foyer, I noticed Mary had made herself scarce, and if my suspicions of what she was to Dylan were right, it made sense that she’d run. I just wished she hadn't. They both deserved to have this conversation. Maybe it’d be easier for them to chat when Dylan and I were solid, so his attention would be undivided on Mary. She deserved that.
I'd make sure she got her chance, if she wanted it.
For now, though, I focused completely on the man I was stupidly in love with, desperately hoping he felt the same. "Thank you for the Christmas wonderland," I said, wanting to break the silence. "It's so beautiful, even if you are a bit of a creepy stalker, breaking in whenever you feel like it."
I hoped he could tell I was mostly joking about that. He laughed, those perfect, white teeth flashing in the Christmas lights. "You know, if you want to truly impress the female species, there's always a certain level of stalking skills involved."
"Why are you here, Dylan?" I asked suddenly. "I mean, you let me walk away easily enough, so... what is all of this about? The gifts... and the rest?"
He stepped toward me so quickly I had no chance to prepare myself for the onslaught of his scent and the buzz of energy that always crossed my skin when he was nearby. "I already told you," he murmured, lowering his head so that his breath crossed my cheek. "I missed you."
There was no point in denying the truth of it, and I felt like half the issues Dylan and I’d had recently all came down to crappy communication. It was time for me to be truthful. Totally truthful.
"I missed you too," I told him, and the look on his face confused me. He was shocked to the point that I knew he’d never expected me to say that.
Ever.
Like, he didn’t have a single clue how I felt about him, and I remembered how often I’d pushed him away. This beautiful man who had been abandoned by his mother—for a very good reason I was sure, but it was abandonment all the same. And to a super shitty family.
Dylan Grant might have everything, on paper, but deep inside there was a person who had never been loved. Not the way he deserved.
"I think we need to talk," I told him, "seriously talk, about... everything."