“The ambulance has arrived. The paramedics are assessing him before they take him to the hospital. He was lucky your friend was here to save him.”
Dylan knew luck had nothing to do with it. After everything that had happened to him, he knew there were some things no one could explain. There was a reason he’d come to the pool, a reason Logan had convinced him to stay, a reason he’d been standing in clear view of Frankie, a reason he’d dived into the water to help a kid that meant the world to him.
“Leave us alone.” Annie’s soft voice cut through the last shred of dignity he had.
Dylan’s eyes filled with tears. He let go of the heat packs, lowered his head and tried to hold back the flood of emotion threatening to bury him.
Annie stood in front of him and pulled him into her chest. “It’s going to be okay, Dylan.”
Some part of his brain realized she was wearing a sweatshirt. He wrapped his arms around her body and held her close. Tears fell down his face. When everything got too much, when he couldn’t see beyond the next few minutes, he held Annie closer.
He didn’t know how long he held her for, but gradually his tears stopped. Annie kissed the top of his head and stepped away. She passed him a handful of tissues and he blew his nose.
“How do you feel?”
“Drained. I’ll be okay. Thank you.”
Annie smiled. “I’ve got to look after my boss. If anything happens to you, the next owner of the warehouse might increase my rent.”
Dylan’s lips twitched. “I’m disappointed. I thought you were perfect.”
“Perfect? Wow, you must be the only person in the world who thinks that.”
“Thought.” Dylan watched a slow grin spread across Annie’s face.
“Perfect is perfect. You can’t take it back, even if it wasn’t true.”
Dylan looked at where he was sitting. They were in the party room, surrounded by everyone’s presents and left-over food. Bags of clothes had been stacked in the corner while everyone went swimming. At least he knew where Jeremy and Annie had found all of the towels they’d wrapped around him.
Annie passed him a glass of orange juice. “I know it’s full of sugar, but you need sweetening up.”
Dylan took the glass and emptied it in a few gulps. “It wasn’t so bad.”
“Best medicine you’ll ever find. Do you mind if I open the doors now?”
Dylan shook his head. Annie turned away from him, her wet sweatshirt the only clue to what had happened. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve meeting Annie, but he did know one thing. He had some serious thinking to do.
And if he didn’t act fast, he had a feeling he wouldn’t get the chance again.
Chapter Twelve
Annie held her bowling ball close to her chest, drew her arm backward and stepped forward. Her ball spun down the lane, sweeping to the left and demolishing all ten pins. She turned around and grinned at her coach. “I believe that’s called a strike.”
“You’re too clever for your own good,” Brad grumbled. “Next time I want you to hook the ball in the opposite direction.”
Annie saluted Brad, then picked up her ball when it popped out of the machine beside her. “You’re not going to win, you know.” She knew her chance of winning the game was slim, but she’d take any psychological advantage her enthusiasm could find.
“You really think you can win?”
“I know I’ve got a chance. A good chance.”
Brad raised his eyebrows. “Not quite so confident now, Annie?”
Annie decided he was going for his own psychological advantage. “Don’t you have any shame? You’re trying to psych out your own teammate.” She grinned at him. “It won’t work. I’m impervious to your subtle tactics.”
“How about this then…” Brad picked up his bowling ball and walked toward her. “If you win this frame I’ll pay your entry fee for our next tournament. If I win, you go out for dinner with me tomorrow night.”
Annie blinked. Had Brad just asked her on a date? He had, but not in a straightforward, definitely ‘no’ kind of way.
“I take it your silence means you won’t take the bet?”
Each time Brad asked her out she felt bad saying no. He was a good guy. He had an interesting job, loved animals, spent each Sunday afternoon with his mom and dad, and liked kids. He was the most perfect man she knew. But he wasn’t perfect for her.
“How about we change the prize? Whoever loses has to buy the winner a hot chocolate from the café here.”
Brad shook his head. “When are you going to admit that you like me?”
Annie’s heart sank. They’d had a similar conversation a while ago and had agreed to be friends. So far, it had worked fine. Until tonight. Dinner with a friend crossed the line into date material. She got ready to tell Brad there was no way she’d have dinner with him. She looked into his eyes, saw the mischievous gleam, and knew he was teasing her.
Brad laughed. “You’d better sit down and watch perfection in motion.”
Annie rolled her eyes and moved away. Brad wasn’t short of self-confidence, either. With the kind of smooth action that only came from hours of practice, his ball flew down the lane, obliterating every single pin.
“Lucky break,” Annie said.
Brad grinned. “You’ve been spending too much time with your friends in The Bridesmaids Club. You need to practice more if you want to beat me.”
Annie stood up. “The game’s not over, yet.” Brad bowed to her superior knowledge and sat down. She focused on the pins, visualized what she needed to do, what the end result would look like. Her arm rotated backward, she took three steps forward…
“I’m dating someone.”
Annie’s bowling ball dropped out of her hand. It wobbled in the lane, spun to the right and landed in the gutter. She stuck her hands on her hips and turned to face Brad. “Why didn’t you tell me about your girlfriend before I was halfway through my shot?”
“Timing is everything,” he smirked.
“Remember that when you’re on a date.”
“You’re so witty.” He laughed at the frown on Annie’s face.
She should feel relieved, even happy for Brad. But right at the moment she was annoyed that she’d probably given him an easy victory.
“I’m going to be a gentleman and offer you another shot.”
All of the nice things Annie had been thinking about Brad a few minutes ago, disappeared. “I don’t need a sympathy turn.”
Brad picked up her bowling ball and handed it to her. “There’s no sympathy involved. I want to beat you fair and square. If I don’t even things up, you’ll think of something worse to do to me.”
“Do you mind if I watch?”
Annie turned around. Her night had just gone from bad to worse. She hadn’t seen Dylan since Sunday afternoon. He looked good, too good for a night at the local bowling alley. He must have come straight from work. His charcoal suit and deep blue tie stood out amongst the jeans and sweatshirts everyone else was wearing. But he didn’t look uncomfortable. If anything, he looked as though he was planning on staying, even if Annie didn’t want him too.
Brad stepped forward and shook Dylan’s hand. “Nice to see you, again. I’m trying to convince Annie to take another shot.”
“I don’t do sympathy shots,” she said.
Dylan looked between her and Brad. She hoped he didn’t think there was anything going on between them. Because there wouldn’t be anything going on between her and Brad. Ever.
She frowned at the grin on Brad’s face. “My coach has got a girlfriend. He didn’t tell me until I was about to send my ball down the lane.”
“I thought it was exceptional timing. You forgot to add the piece about me betting a dinner date with you that I’d win the game.”
Annie gripped her bowling ball tighter. She didn’t know what had gotten into Brad, but his mouth was running away with him. Maybe love was making him crazy. Whatever it was, he had to stop. Now. �
�I didn’t take your bet. And besides, you weren’t serious.”
Brad wasn’t listening. “Are you going to bowl or stand there arguing with me all night?”
Annie didn’t want to be doing anything with Brad all night. Or Dylan either. Both men sat down at their booth and watched her. Brad had a smug smile on his face, Dylan looked…intense. If she wasn’t careful, she’d send another ball into the gutter.
With more luck than good management, she sent her sympathy bowl spinning along the lane. It knocked out the first pin, took out all of the pins on the left-hand side, but left the ones on the right standing to attention. Damn.
“Your concentration wouldn’t be a little off would it, Annie?”
She looked at her coach. He was sitting beside Dylan with a satisfied smile on his face. He thought he’d won the game, but Annie had other ideas.
“My concentration is never off.” She gripped her ball tight, then relaxed her fingers. She balanced the weight in her hand, rotated her wrist slightly, adjusted her grip. This time she focused all of her attention on the remaining pins.
She didn’t hear the other pins in the alley fall to the ground, or the whoops of laughter coming from the people beside her. She was totally focused on what she needed to do. She took a deep breath, brought her arm back, then stepped forward. Her ball shot down the lane, clipped one pin, then sent the rest flying. The shot was bittersweet. Brad still had a chance of winning the game.
Dylan didn’t say a word when she returned to the booth. He hardly said a word for the rest of the game. Annie kept pounding down the pins and Brad kept goading her until she was ready to scream. She’d never played so badly, never wanted a game to end quite so quickly.
Brad tutted as her last ball careened down the lane. “You really need to trade your bridesmaids’ dresses for bowling shoes. All of the silk and satin has gone to your head.”
Annie knew what she’d like to do with one of those dresses. At least her imagination could make her smile. Her score had been pitiful, the worst she’d had in a long time.
Dylan pushed his empty coffee cup away and stared at Brad. “That’s the end of the game. If you want more practice, I’d be willing to play against you.”
Annie nearly warned Brad not to underestimate Dylan. But Brad had already accepted his offer. While Dylan swapped his expensive leather shoes for four dollar bowling shoes, Annie ordered the biggest hot chocolate the café sold. While she was waiting for it to be made, she walked across to Dylan and asked him if he wanted anything.
“How about the same bet you had with Brad?”
Annie frowned. “The one where I had dinner with him if he won the game? But I didn’t agree to it.”
“Will you agree to it now?”
Annie was confused. “With Brad?”
Dylan shook his head. His face softened and a smile tilted his lips into something dangerous. “With me.”
Annie thought it was in her best interest to remind Dylan that he didn’t want to spend time with her, just in case he’d forgotten. “You don’t like me.”
“I never said that. I like you…too much. Is beating Brad worth spending time with me?”
Annie’s misbehaving body would spend time with Dylan even if he lost to Brad. “If you beat him I’ll include dessert.”
“High stakes.” Dylan’s voice was velvety smooth. Too smooth.
Annie squinted at him. She tried to look beyond his cool exterior to see what he was really thinking. “Why are you here?”
“To see you.”
“But why?”
Dylan reached out and brushed the tip of his finger along her bottom lip. “You’re asking the wrong questions.”
Annie’s lip throbbed where Dylan had touched her. She licked her lips and Dylan’s eyes turned to liquid fire.
He glanced over her shoulder and frowned. “Your hot chocolate is ready. Wish me luck.”
Annie knew Dylan wouldn’t be the one needing luck, but she was happy to indulge his fantasies. For now. She leaned forward and kissed him, slowly and thoroughly. “Good luck.”
It turned out Dylan should have left the bowling alley after Annie lost.
His final score was worse than hers.
***
“Pizza?”
Annie laughed at Dylan. They were standing outside Antonio’s Pizza Place. The smell of garlic, pepperoni and onions was enough to make Annie’s tummy start rumbling. “What’s wrong with Pizza? Even though you didn’t beat Brad, I owe you dinner. Pizza is dinner.”
“Pizza is takeout.”
“Have you ever ordered a pizza from Antonio’s?” Dylan looked at her with the same unreadable expression he’d used when he insisted he drive them somewhere for dinner. “Did you, or did you not, tell me I could choose whatever I wanted for dinner?”
Dylan’s eyes narrowed. “I did.”
“And being Wednesday night in downtown Bozeman, you know your choices are limited, right?”
“Pizza isn’t dinner.”
“Do you trust me?”
Dylan frowned. “Is that a trick question?”
Annie tried to look stern, but a smile pulled her mouth into a grin, and before she knew it she was laughing. Again. “No tricks involved. I promise that you’ll never go back to any old pizza after tasting one of Antonio’s. You can even get gluten free, low carb, low salt, low fat, vegetarian and vegan varieties. What more could you want?”
“And they still call it pizza?”
“At Antonio’s they do.”
Dylan looked at the red brick building and sniffed. “It smells okay.”
“So that’s a definite ‘yes’ for pizza?”
“Lead the way.” Dylan waved his hand in front of him, resigned to whatever fate she had in store for him.
Annie didn’t waste any time. She walked into Antonio’s and headed toward a big man wearing a white shirt and red waistcoat.
“Annie…” Antonio rushed around the counter and enveloped her in a big, warm hug. “It has been too long. What have you been doing with yourself that you couldn’t come and see me?”
Annie hugged Antonio. She’d first stumbled through his door not long after she’d arrived in Bozeman. After that first visit, Antonio and his wife had welcomed her into their extended family. They’d laughed over the silliest of things, cried with her when life got too hard, and helped heal a part of her soul that she thought would never feel whole again.
“I’ve been organizing my new business. I want you to meet someone…” Annie stepped out of Antonio’s arms and smiled at Dylan. “Antonio, this is my boss, Dylan Bayliss.”
Dylan glanced at her. She didn’t know what she’d said to put an amused gleam in his eyes, so she ignored him.
“Buona sera, Dylan. Welcome to my pizzeria.” Dylan shook the hand that Antonia held out to him. “It’s good to see Annie again. I hope you aren’t working now?”
Dylan shook his head. “Annie’s leasing a commercial kitchen from me. I’m more her friend than her boss.”
Annie frowned when Antonio looked more interested than he needed to be. “Don’t even go there. Do you have a table for us?”
Antonio grinned. “For you, anything. Follow me.”
Annie sat in the seat that Antonio held out for her. “How’s Maria?”
“Maria is Maria,” Antonio said. “She keeps telling me I work too hard, that we need a vacation in Italy. She’ll be disappointed that she wasn’t here to say hello.”
“I’ll be back. Would you and Maria like to visit my new business once I’m up and running?”
Antonio passed them a menu and smiled. “It would be our pleasure. If you need anything, Annie, you call me. We can help.”
“Thank you. What do you suggest for dinner tonight?”
“Pizza Margherita or Vegetariana. Maria has cooked beautiful organic vegetables for both dishes.”
Annie looked at Dylan. “What would you like?”
“What about one of each?”
“Sounds
good to me.”
After Dylan had ordered a bottle of wine to go with their pizza, Antonio left them to enjoy the evening.
“Antonio likes you,” Annie said with a smile.
Dylan raised his eyebrows.
“He does,” Annie insisted. “He didn’t ask any probing questions about what you do, or where you’re from. If he starts asking about your parents, you know you’re in trouble.”
“And you know this from past experience?”
“Not me. This is the first time I’ve brought someone here. But Sally always brings her boyfriends here. Antonio gives them the once over to see if they’re any good.”
Dylan choked on his glass of water. “Once over?”
Annie passed him a napkin. “You know, figuring out if they have good intentions, or if they’re after something else.”
Dylan undid the top button of his shirt and loosened his tie. “What’s wrong with ‘something else’?”
Annie considered Dylan’s question. “Nothing, I suppose. As long as you both want the same thing. I think that’s the tricky part. It’s not easy working out what you want. Trying to factor in someone else’s needs is impossible if you don’t talk about it.”
“So let’s talk.”
Annie frowned. “What about?”
Antonio brought their bottle of red wine across to the table and poured each of them a glass. “Your pizza will be ready in about ten minutes.”
Annie smiled at Antonio. “Thank you.”
Dylan watched her rearrange her knife and fork. She flicked open her napkin and put it on her lap, then took a sip of wine. It was good, too good. She pushed the glass away in case she had too much to drink before their pizza arrived.
“Annie?”
She looked up at Dylan. “Yes?”
“Why don’t you want to talk about us?”
She took a deep breath. It was all very well Dylan wanting to talk about their relationship now, but when she’d tried talking to him, he didn’t want to listen. “I thought we’d said everything we needed to say. You want to figure some things out and you can’t be my friend while you do.”
Dylan didn’t look impressed. She thought her summarized edition of their going nowhere relationship was exactly what he wanted. He was being fickle. One minute he didn’t want to see her, then the next minute he was appearing out of nowhere and spending time with her. “What I don’t understand is why you came to the bowling alley tonight? It’s not your usual hang-out. There’s nothing wrong with the warehouse, is there?”
Loving You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 2) Page 24