Midnight Angel (9 page)

“I knew that or else I would have given you
an ultimatum much sooner. I take it you two are back together?”

“I don’t know what we are.” She grimaced,
unsure how to explain. “He went back to L.A.,” she said, deciding
that since he was asking, she’d talk to John. Old habits, she
mused. They
had
been close, and she’d always confided in
him.

“I caught the morning’s news,” he said, the
implication clear.

Besides, Holly knew they watched the same
channel. “Interesting stuff, huh?” She ducked her head in
embarrassment.

“Is it true?” John touched her shoulder,
forcing her to look up, then pinned her with his steady gaze.

“No.” She shook her head. “No, it’s
not.”

“You trust Dylan enough to say that with
such certainty?”

She nodded, no hesitation in her heart.

“Then why are you in such a bad mood?” John
leaned back against the couch, relaxing as they talked like old
friends.

Which they were, she thought, feeling more
settled than she had in a while. And he was right. She was in an
awful mood.

“It sounds like you two finally have
everything going for you, no?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. He lives in L.A. Not
only is it across the country, but his lifestyle, the people in it,
they’re Hollywood. I’m small town. What kind of chance do we have?”
she asked, expressing all of her doubts and fears.

Not all
, a tiny voice in her head
chided her.

“Listen to me,” John said. “You have exactly
the kind of chance that you
want
. If you’re looking for
excuses to bail on Dylan, I know you can be the master of
avoidance. But if you want a future, you’re going to have to trust
him.”

“I do!” She narrowed her gaze. “Didn’t I
just finish telling you I was certain the gossip about Melanie
isn’t true?”

“And that’s a start. It’s just not
everything. When’s he due back?”

She shrugged. “He didn’t say. He just
promised he’d return.”

“Then I guess it’s up to you whether you
believe him or you’re going to let one mistake the guy made ten
years ago ruin any future you two
could
have.” In that one
sentence, John nailed Holly’s last remaining fear.

That Dylan would up and leave her again the
way he had before. The last time, he didn’t know what he was
running to. He had only the idea of fame and fortune beckoning to
him. Now, ten years later, he knew what kind of lifestyle awaited
him in Hollywood. He was America’s favorite movie star.

For how long would he be content with his
hometown girl?

She blinked, her eyes burning. “When did you
get to be so wise?” she asked John.

“About the time I realized we were over.”
His lips pulled into a thin tight line.

She had to bite the inside of her cheek to
keep from apologizing again. “What about you?” She asked. “Are you
going to be okay?”

He nodded with certainty. “I definitely saw
this coming. I’ve been thinking about moving to Boston,” he said,
surprising her.

“Really?”

“Yep. There’s more of a social life there,
and since I do want to settle down with the right person, I need
more exposure.”

“I think the women in the city had better
watch out,” she said, laughing.

He winked at her, assuring her that he
really was going to be just fine.

Would she? Her heart caught in her chest
because she realized she
would
miss him as her friend. “I
admire you for making the decision and going after what you want in
life.”

He brushed a kiss on her cheek. “I’d like to
be able to say the same thing about you. Think about what I just
said, Holly.”

She forced a smile. “I will.”

In the coming days, with Dylan gone, she’d
have plenty of time to focus on her life and make a decision about
whether she was ready to put her heart on the line again. Or
whether she could live with herself if she chose not to even
try.

* * *

Three days passed in which Holly kept busy.
She saw patients and readied the office for her new partner. She’d
been using the extra room for personal storage, and she needed to
clear her things out before the first of the year, when Dr.
Tollgate started working. After tackling the boxes and moving them
into her own office, she began dusting the bookshelves and desk.
She found that keeping busy also helped her think. Office cleaning
was akin to clearing her mind and facing what she needed and wanted
out of life. What she wanted from Dylan.

He had called her two or three times a day
since he’d been gone, testament to his desire to prove he’d
changed. That he wasn’t leaving her behind—if not without a
thought, then without another word for ten years. She didn’t know
what more he had in mind for them, but she understood that she had
to come to terms with her own feelings before he returned.

She shook her head. Her feelings weren’t the
issue. She loved Dylan. The problem lay with her insecurity. John
had called her on it, and she knew he was right.

The door chimes startled her. Wondering if
there was an emergency, she headed for the outer room to see who
was there. She opened the door, looked around but saw no one. She
was about to go back inside when she glanced down. A large manila
envelope sat at her door. Inside was a map, a set of directions to
what appeared to be someplace about half an hour outside of town
and a note. In Dylan’s handwriting.

Heart pounding, she stepped back into the
office so she could read the letter to herself aloud. “I promised
I’d be back, and here I am.” She licked her dry lips before
continuing. “I can’t change the past, but I hope to alter the
future. Stop running and meet me. If you dare.”

If she dared. She shook her head, laughing
and trembling at the same time. Leave it to Dylan to challenge her
in the most basic way.

It was simple really. Either she trusted or
she didn’t. Melanie’s fake announcement and her own reaction to it
had proven to Holly that she believed in him. Now it was time to
question whether she trusted
herself
.

Before now she’d never have pegged herself
as an insecure person. Yet she was forced to admit that when it
came to men and relationships, she was a complete weenie, and those
insecurities dated back to Dylan’s departure ten years ago. After
he left, she had thrown herself into her studies. Once she’d
recovered and started dating again, she’d chosen safe men, none of
whom affected her emotions and none of whom gave her that sexual
zing she felt with Dylan. They were all good, decent men but posed
no threat to her heart.

But now Dylan was back, and he was
definitely a threat, not just to the heart she’d taken such good
care of, but to everything she’d become as a person. She’d always
considered herself confident and capable; after all, she was a
doctor who’d been making decisions about her patients for years.
What about herself and choices on her own behalf?

She glanced down at the note in her shaking
hands.
Stop running and meet me. If you dare.

Did she dare? She could easily offer Dylan
North her heart and maybe even trust in his promise to handle both
it and her with care. But was she secure enough in herself to
believe she could hold on to him this time?

There it was, her biggest fear exposed.

She could run and never know the happiness
she felt certain Dylan could provide, or she could shut the door on
the past forever and believe in herself at last. Holly closed the
extra office door, and aware of the symbolism, she locked it up
tight.

Then she straightened her shoulders,
decision made. Damn straight she was secure enough to handle Dylan
now. If not, she wasn’t the person she thought she was.

And she’d worked too hard and come too far
not to believe in the woman Dr. Holly Evans had become.

* * *

Snow covered the ground and big flakes began
to fall. The longer Dylan stood on the property he’d own as soon as
the legalities had been finalized, the more time he had to convince
himself that Holly wouldn’t show.

He trusted Nicole to deliver the directions,
so he didn’t think that was the problem. No, if anything, Holly was
still unsure whether she could believe in him again. He’d done
everything in his power to convince her. The decision was hers to
make.

He rubbed his hands together and shoved them
into his jacket pocket. Closing his eyes, he envisioned the house
he wanted to build on this land. The only thing was that when he
pictured a wife to come home to, it was Holly he saw there. Their
children playing in the yard.

In his heart he knew she shared those
dreams, and he couldn’t make himself believe she’d let
them
down.

“Hi, Dylan.”

At first he thought he was imagining the
sound of her soft voice until he opened his eyes. She stood before
him bundled in a puffy down jacket, scarf and a hat with a small
brim. Her eyes were wide and curious.

He was just damn glad to see her. “Hey,
babe. Merry Christmas.”

She smiled before she shocked him big-time
by throwing herself into his arms. Dylan wasn’t stupid, and he held
on tight. “I missed you,” he whispered in her ear.

“I missed you too.” She stepped back and
studied his face. “Where are we?”

This was it, he thought. The beginning or
the end. “It’s home.” He gestured around the wide expanse of land.
“Five acres of grass and trees. Of course, it needs a house and
some other necessary things, like a dog and a few kids.”

He tried to shoot her a cocky grin but
failed. Everything he wanted out of life was on the line, and for
the first time, his charm, looks and fame couldn’t give it to
him.

Only she could.

A dog? Kids?
“Home?” Holly asked,
stunned.

She blinked and glanced around. The land
looked the same as much of the landscape she’d passed while driving
out here. A beautiful white landscape covered in snow and ice while
the sun shone overhead.

“I own it, or I will once the contract is
signed. Actually—” He paused, obviously uncomfortable.

Her heart thudded so loud she was surprised
he couldn’t hear. He’d bought land here?

“Actually what?” Her voice cracked, she was
so afraid of what came next. It was ridiculous being afraid of
happiness, but it had been so long since she’d dared to hope or
dream.

“Actually, I want us to own it. You and me.”
He grabbed on to her hands and held them in front of her. “I want
to live here and raise our kids here.”

“What about L.A.? Your life? Your
career?”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’ve thought this through, you know. This wasn’t an impulse buy. I
want you to take some time off and come with me to L.A., so you can
see my life and friends for yourself. I want you to be a part of
everything that I do.”

She swallowed hard, daring to believe.
Meeting him here had been the first step. Now she listened with an
open heart as well as an open mind. “Go on.”

“Then we come back here to live. I’ll leave
only for movie shoots and, honest to God, I’d planned on cutting
back. Doing only what appeals to me creatively because financially
I’m already set for life. I’ll be here with you as often as I can,
and you’ll come to me when you can take the time.
We
can
make this work. You just need to believe.”

Tears dripped down her cheeks, practically
turning to ice before they fell. She grasped his face in her hands
and looked into his gorgeous blue eyes.

“You have no idea what your leaving the
first time did to me. I withdrew, Dylan. I didn’t get involved with
another man who I thought could hurt me the way you did.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw as he listened
and replied. “I’m not sure I like where this is headed.”

“Shh.” She placed her finger over his lips.
“You need to hear this as much as I need to say it.”

He nodded slowly.

“But I also realize now that there isn’t
another man who could hurt me that way because there’s no one I
could ever love the way I love you.”

He sucked in a deep breath, and when he
released it, a puff of white hovered in the air. “I love you too. I
never stopped, not even after I left.”

“I know that now.”

He brushed at her tears. “We were so young,
and I was so stupid.”

She shook her head. “We needed to follow the
paths we did. It made us who we are.”

“And who are we?” he asked.

“Two people who found their way back to each
other.” She laughed. “Or rather, you found me again. Either way I’m
not stupid enough to turn you away.” She pulled him into a long,
deep kiss, savoring the warmth of his mouth and how he devoured
her, as if he could never get enough.

She knew she’d never get enough of him.

Too soon, he pulled back. “You realize
there’ll be times I’m gone for weeks, maybe months at a time?”

She nodded.

“And you need to trust that while I’m gone,
I’m still with you in here.” He patted the place above his heart.
“You have to know I’ll be back, and you need to remember there’s no
one else but you.” His deep gaze never left hers. “No matter what
you see, hear or read. Can you do that?”

She nodded again. “Dylan, I love you. It’s
always been you. And not only do I trust you with my heart, I trust
you to remind me not to be an idiot if those old insecurities ever
arise.” Because she was only human and understood she couldn’t
promise not to be.

Dylan met her gaze, and in her eyes, he saw
everything he was, everything he desired and everything he wanted
to be. “Babe, I can do that. I can do anything as long as I have
you. And that angel I gave back to you? It was because I want it to
top
our
tree. Because you’re my Midnight Angel.”