“I like that idea,” Dylan finally said.
“But then there’s the temptation…” Alex began.
“Of booze? I’m good, man. Swear it.” He had too much invested in his sobriety at this point. Too many people were depending on him not falling apart again. It wouldn’t be easy, but Dylan wasn’t worried. “Just as long as it’s not some crazy theme party,” he tacked on.
“Optional,” Alex said.
“Good.”
Alex smiled. “Now that she doesn’t have to worry about you leavin’ town, maybe you could go in there and talk to her.”
“Yeah.” Dylan got to his feet. His hand came up to rub the scruffy beard that’d filled in his face. “But then I’ve gotta head home so I can shower.”
“Good idea,” Alex acknowledged with a smirk. “You’re startin’ to look like a grizzly. And the gray… It’s taking over.”
“Thanks for pointing that out,” Dylan said as he grinned at Riley. “Tell your daddy he’s an—”
“Watch it,” Alex interrupted. “Whatever you say, she’s gonna repeat it.”
Dylan laughed. He remembered those days.
“Have fun tonight,” Alex called out as Dylan headed toward the door. “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Dylan peered over his shoulder. “That won’t work. You’re a fu— prude. I’d be bored to tears if I did nothing.”
Alex’s booming laugh made Dylan smile. At least he felt a little better.
And if he could settle Ashleigh’s nerves a little, he’d feel a hell of a lot better.
chapter SEVEN
BAD IDEA. BAD IDEA. BAD IDEA.
It had become her mantra and Sarah couldn’t stop the constant repeat in her head.
When they had pulled up to the hotel roughly forty-five minutes ago, Sarah hadn’t been sure what she was supposed to say or think. It seemed awfully presumptuous of Bill to assume she would willingly stay at a hotel with him though they’d never been intimate up to this point. Although she was confused, Sarah had kept her initial thoughts to herself when Bill had pulled the minivan around to the front of the monstrous resort hotel, where they were greeted by the hotel’s valet.
Baffled, Sarah had even allowed Bill to take her hand and lead her inside as a million questions zipped through her head, none of which she could seem to voice. But when they’d approached the check-in desk, she hadn’t been able to hold her tongue any longer. To her absolute shock, before she could tell him that she wouldn’t feel comfortable staying in the same room with him, Bill had smiled over at her, his clear blue eyes flashing, and informed her he’d reserved two rooms, but he was holding out hope that she would end up staying with him.
Her first thought … he was considerate.
The second … there was no way in hell she was staying with him.
But disaster averted.
Now, as she walked through the lavish resort hotel on her way to meet him, she wasn’t convinced that this was going to go well. And to think, they’d only been there for an hour. The first part of that hour—as well as the forty-five-minute drive—Sarah had nervously tried to come up with a way to let Bill down easy. If she’d learned anything during that time, it was that she was not a spontaneous person and agreeing to this was the worst idea she’d ever had.
During the drive, she’d listened to Bill ramble on and on about cars, even dropping hints about hot women who came into his dealership and flirted with him. Right. Hot women and cars. Because that was a turn-on. It seemed to her that Bill was trying too hard to impress her, and the only thing he was doing was effectively pushing her further away.
Clearly cars were his life, and she’d admired his enthusiasm when she’d first met him, but the droning conversation had nearly bored her to tears. While he’d continued to share his wealth of knowledge about the different types of minivans the various carmakers designed and how his were obviously better, Sarah had known that this outing would ultimately be the end of their dating.
Plus, he was allergic to her cats.
It was glaringly obvious that they had nothing in common, certainly not chemistry. And without a spark…
Everyone knew that was the most important thing, and without that spark, there really wasn’t anything to look forward to. Which was why she was grateful that he’d agreed to separate rooms. After they’d decided to get settled in, Sarah had deposited her things in her room, neatly unpacking and placing the items where they belonged, then snuck back down to the lobby and told the woman who’d helped them that she needed to change the credit card on her room. There was no way she would allow Bill to pick up the tab. She wasn’t heartless, after all.
And now she was supposed to meet him in the hotel bar so that they could have a drink before an early dinner. The place was bigger than any hotel she’d ever been to and she felt a little out of sorts. The lobby wasn’t overly crowded, but there were a lot of people wandering around the atrium, some sitting near the stone fireplace that took up an entire wall near the front desk. After asking someone where the bar was and being pointed in the right direction, Sarah continued on.
Once she found her destination, she realized that Bill was not one of the few people sitting in the cozy area that had been sectioned off as a bar. Spinning in a circle, she scanned the various seating spots just outside, trying to find him, but to no avail. Figuring he had possibly been delayed in his room, she wandered through the glass-enclosed atrium, admiring the various decorations and lush plants that filled the space.
Ten minutes later, after taking it all in, she finally spotted Bill. He was sitting at a completely different bar in a different section of the hotel, a huge grin on his thin, pale face while he talked animatedly to a pretty brunette beside him. The woman had her hand on his arm and was smiling and laughing, as though Bill were the most interesting person on the planet.
Great.
This was not going well at all.
What had she ever seen in him? He did have nice taste in clothes even if he had yet to learn that a tailor would benefit him, and he spoke relatively eloquently, although his conversation topics were lacking. Overall, he was …
Yep there it was again, the same conclusion as last time. Bill was sweet.
Unfortunately, sweet didn’t turn her on, no matter how much she wished it did.