“Maybe.”
“No maybes about it,” she countered, keeping her voice low. “Whether it’s a crush or true love, it would’ve happened anyway. They’ll figure it out. They’re young. They’re resilient.”
Dylan was quiet again, and when he finally spoke, his voice wasn’t nearly as strained. “So, what’re you doing tomorrow?”
“Nothing,” she admitted. “That I know of.”
“You want to have lunch with Trent Ramsey?”
Sarah bolted upright, getting to her feet. “Trent Ramsey? The Trent Ramsey? Please don’t be messing with me right now.”
Dylan chuckled. “I’m very serious. He wants to meet, see what I thought about Devil’s Playground. Figured maybe you could give him your insight as well.”
Sarah’s cheeks heated instantly as she thought about her experience at the club.
“Sarah?”
“Yeah. Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Yes, I’d love to have lunch with you and…” Did she call him Trent? Or Mr. Ramsey?
“Good. I’ll pick you up at ten thirty tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Sarah?”
“Hmm?”
“I miss you.”
Her heart turned over in her chest. “I miss you, too.”
And just like that, the call was over and Sarah felt her heart growing to ten times its normal size. She hated getting her hopes up, but it seemed to be a moot point. Every time she thought about Dylan, she felt giddy. It seemed as though things were moving in the right direction. Part of her insisted on taking it one day at a time, but the other part wanted to fast-track this. More importantly, she wanted to know how things were going to play out.
Everything was falling into place. Or it seemed to be.
And on top of that, she was going to meet Trent freaking Ramsey.
Oh, crap. What in the world was she going to wear?
How did she even talk to a celebrity of that caliber? Was she supposed to play it cool? Act like she had lunch with famous people every day?
There was no way this was going to end well.
INVITING SARAH TO LUNCH SEEMED like the most natural thing in the world to do. Dylan hadn’t lied when he told her that he wanted her to share her experience with Trent. However, he could’ve easily told the man himself.
The truth was, Dylan wanted to see her. Hell, he would’ve gone to her house tonight if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was meeting Alex and Ashleigh for dinner. He figured he owed his brother-in-law a heads-up before he finalized things with Trent. The last thing he wanted Alex to think was that Dylan was abandoning him. Then again, he’d done that long ago.
“Hey.” Ashleigh greeted him with a smile when she appeared at the front door.
After a quick hug, Dylan stepped inside, shrugged out of his coat, and tossed it over the chair. “Where’s Riley?”
“She’s over at Sierra’s for a couple of hours. She’s a total terror these days. We don’t get a moment’s peace. Never mind trying to have dinner.”
Dylan chuckled. “She takes after her mom, huh?”
Ashleigh glared at him, grinning. “I was never that bad.”
“I’m sure Pops would disagree.”
“Whatever. Come in the kitchen. I’ve got to pull the pork roast out of the oven.”
“Where’s Alex?”
“He’s taking a quick shower.” Ashleigh pulled on a pair of oven mitts. “How was the trip to Vegas?”
Dylan tried to hide his surprise. He wasn’t sure how Ashleigh found out, but apparently she was up to speed on what he’d been up to. “It was good.”
“And Sarah? Things good with her, too?”
Dylan couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his mouth. “She’s great.”
After setting the pan on the stove, Ashleigh turned to look at him. He could see his sister’s brain working, but he didn’t have the slightest idea what was running through her head.
“Have you talked to her?”
“Define talk,” he urged. Of course he had talked to her, but he figured Ashleigh was referring to something specific.
“About Meghan?”
Dylan looked away instantly. No, he hadn’t. Yet.
“Both of you have suffered tremendous loss, Dylan. If you want this to work out…”
“I know,” he stated, still not looking at her. “Right now, we’re taking things slow.”
Leaning back against the counter, he crossed his arms over his chest and forced his eyes to Ashleigh’s face. He should’ve expected this from his sister. She cared about him, he got that. Didn’t mean he wanted to talk about it.
“I’m happy for you, Dylan. And for Sarah.”
He frowned, confused.
“I haven’t seen you this happy in a very long time,” she said, tossing the oven mitts onto the counter. “I’m not sure if it’s her or something else…”
“It’s her,” he acknowledged. No reason not to admit it.
Ashleigh grinned. “I thought so. She’s sweet. I like her.”
Dylan hadn’t realized that Ashleigh knew Sarah all that well. They’d been introduced once or twice at various events, but the way his sister spoke of her said she knew Sarah better than a mere acquaintance. “Do you talk to her often?”
Ashleigh’s expression went blank. He recalled her doing something similar the last time Sarah had come up in conversation.
“How well do you know her?” he inquired.
“Not well,” she answered, shaking her head. “I…”
Dylan waited.
Ashleigh sighed. “I called her a couple of times. A few years ago. Back … you know. Well, I called to ask her for some help. With you.”
“Help?”
“Yeah. She’s resourceful. Her husband suffered from bipolar disorder, and she has experience with … depression.”
He cocked an eyebrow.
“I wanted her to help me pull you out of your depression,” Ashleigh blurted. “But don’t worry, she turned me down.”
That didn’t sound like Sarah.
“I figured it had something to do with what happened between the two of you a few years ago.”
Okay, so that grabbed his attention. How the hell would Ashleigh know…?
“She never actually admitted anything to me, but I could tell by how standoffish she became that something happened. When I first asked her to help, she was willing. We talked at length and she gave me all sorts of suggestions. We had lunch a couple of times. But then one day she sort of shut down on me. After she gave me some information about grief counselors and group therapy, I stopped calling her because I could tell that…”
Ashleigh stared back at him, but she didn’t continue.
When the silence became too much, Dylan took a deep breath. “I fucked up with her,” he admitted.
“I figured as much.” Ashleigh’s smile was sympathetic. “I’m just happy she’s back in your life now. She’s good for you. She knows a lot about…”
Dylan did not like the sound of that. “I don’t need her to fix me now, Ash.”
His sister’s eyebrows lowered. “I didn’t say you did.”
“Is that what you think she’s doing?” Dylan hadn’t considered the fact that Sarah might be placating him in order to help keep him sober.