Reign A Romance Anthology - Nina Levine Page 0,308

life, and from the small amount of information Dylan gave me about her dad, it’s clear where it stems from. I could never walk away from any kid of mine. Whether its mother and I were together or not, that’s my flesh and blood, half of me, so I’d never walk away.

Silence falls over the table. The only sound is the scrape of forks on ceramic plates.

“Anyway, enough of that for tonight,” Ariel breaks the silence. “How did you start your career riding, Cole?”

I clear my throat before answering, “I kind of fell into it. I’ve been riding bikes for as long as I can remember. My dad bought me one the moment I could ride a pushbike, and from there, I did club riding, and it just kept growing to where I am today. I have some great sponsors, and I enjoy the sport.”

Dylan’s mom stabs a fork toward her. “You are not to get on the back of a bike. Absolutely not. I don’t want to hear about it if you do.”

Laughter filters around the table slowly, erasing the sadness that coated it a moment ago.

“Trust me, Mom, I have no intention of getting on the back of one.”

We’ll see about that.

“You can trust her with me.” I wink in Dylan’s direction.

“No,” her mother states firmly. “Oh, before I forget, Dylan, there’s a letter for you on the entry table. It looks like a school reunion invitation.” A loud clattering of cutlery hitting the plate causes more silence. When I turn toward Dylan, the color has drained from her face, and she’s wide-eyed.

“You can just throw it in the trash,” Dylan finally says and picks up her fork again.

“You have to go,” Ariel squeals. “Go rub Cole’s and your careers in their faces.” She waggles her eyebrows.

“Uh…no,” Dylan says, but I cut in. “Why don’t you want to go?”

Dylan shrugs and moves some food around her plate. “Didn’t enjoy school or the people who went there. So why would I go?” I catch her chewing her bottom lip.

The sassy, sexy woman from before has disappeared, and in her place is this vulnerable and unsure replacement.

What happened to her?

9

Dylan

The thought of coming face to face with the people from high school and the ones I went through to college with makes me feel physically ill. Going back to that place has been so far from my mind that this invitation has caught me unaware. I never intend to attend a stupid reunion. I wish Mom didn’t live in the same place we did as kids. It makes it easier for those people to reach out with these invitations.

High school was bad enough. College was even harder.

I worked hard. I was in love. I thought I was going to marry that man, but I was so wrong about him.

From the moment I ended things with Luke, my career became everything to me. At least it couldn’t hurt me or expect things from me that I didn’t want to give up.

Cole’s hand takes its place back on my thigh, and he gives it a reassuring squeeze. I stare at my half-finished plate, not wanting to look at him and see pity there. I don’t want it. That stuff is in my past, and that’s where it’s going to stay.

“You should go and flaunt how successful you are now. Add in the fact that Cole is your famous boyfriend…well, that could earn you some extra brownie points,” Mom says.

I almost want to laugh in their faces and tell them that I’ve fooled them. Cole will be long gone after tonight. Then, I’ll be the one left cleaning up the mess of never-ending questions as to why it didn’t work out. Again! I guess I should have thought this through. Too late now, though. Just another relationship like the other one. Of course, they believed it was all my fault, and for some reason, I have never corrected them.

Rising from my seat, I take my plate to the sink, no longer able to take the conversation or stomach the food. My stomach’s tied up in the most sophisticated knot which won’t come undone easily. The thought of that invite out there, looming over me like a dark cloud, makes me want to squirm.

I scrape my scraps off the plate into the trash and turn, almost running into Cole. “Don’t,” I say when I look at him. I don’t want to discuss it, and he doesn’t have a right to know either, so I