Unexpected Chances (4 page)

She met his gaze with heavy-lidded eyes, her mouth reddened from his kiss. “You’ve perfected your technique,” she murmured.

He grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment, babe, and you should know, your technique’s gotten pretty good, too. Still, I don’t think technique has anything to do with it.”

“No? Then what explains two people who don’t learn from their mistakes?”

“Speak for yourself. I’ve learned a lot from the past. And I think it’s
us
that’s so potent.”

She raised an eyebrow. “This from the man who said we were nothing more than a high-school crush?”

He accepted the blow. “An immature boy said that, not the man I am now.”

She swallowed hard. “Who is that man, and what does he want from me?” she asked.

“Time will tell.” He didn’t mean to be cryptic, but he could hardly say,
I’ve come back for you
, and expect her to believe his words when his promise had failed her before. “Just give me some time.”

Her fingers touched her moist, red lips. “Sex wasn’t enough before.”

“We’re older and wiser now.”

She grinned. “We can always hope.” She let herself into the apartment and shut the door behind her.

He expelled a breath and tried to pull himself together. He’d been her first, Dylan remembered, and though she’d been an eager learner, she’d rarely initiated sex. This teasing side of her was new, and he liked it a whole lot.

He couldn’t wait to explore more.

THREE

H
olly knew she’d either lost her mind or she was experiencing an early midlife crisis. There was no other explanation for kissing Dylan and then agreeing to spend more time with him. Then again, what choice did she have? The clean break they’d taken—make that the clean break he’d forced on her—hadn’t accomplished anything. Their chemistry and connection was still as strong as ever. She had no choice but to play this through to whatever conclusion awaited her, or she couldn’t move on with her life. She’d be in the same limbo hell she’d been in for the last ten years.

So by the time he rang her doorbell the following morning, she was dressed in her favorite jeans and baseball cap and she was ready to shop in Boston with Dylan by her side.

She opened the door, and he greeted her with a cup of Starbucks in each hand. “You come bearing gifts?” she asked, laughing.

“Straight up for me and a froufrou drink for you. I can’t think of a better way to take the T to Copley,” he said, speaking of Boston’s version of public transportation.

“I must’ve heard you wrong. America’s heartthrob is going to take the train? Do you want to get mobbed?” She shook her head, realizing she really hadn’t thought about his ego or what his lifestyle must be like now. “Never mind. To be so successful, you must like the spotlight.”

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “
Like
isn’t the right word. It comes with the territory of being successful. You get used to it, but you don’t ever enjoy not having a personal life or having to work for a solitary moment.”

She studied his serious face. “You don’t enjoy the fame?” she asked, surprised.

“I did in the beginning. But it got old fast, and I realized that no matter how many people surrounded me, I was always alone. And lonely.”

The wistful sound in his voice caught her off guard and she narrowed her gaze. “Should I pull out the violin?”

He laughed at that. “I’m not looking for your pity. I’m just answering your question and telling it like it is. I want you to know me. Who I was and who I’ve become. Yes, I love my career, but I’ve given up a lot for it.” Again, he sobered as he spoke.

She met his serious stare and suddenly wondered if his return could have more to do with his emotional state than a brief visit to see his mother. He seemed so reflective. But she couldn’t imagine that Dylan had suddenly decided that he missed home and Holly. Not after a silent ten years. Which brought up the question, just where did she fit into the equation of his life?

“We all make choices,” she said of his decision to pursue a Hollywood career.

“And sometimes we live to regret them.” He squeezed her hand, and she felt as if her heart were being clenched tight as well.

“Are you saying you’re sorry you went to L.A.?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry for how I went about it.”

She swallowed hard and nodded, not certain she was ready for any further discussion on their past, yet she wasn’t ready to end the talk just yet. “And now?”

He grinned. “Now we go about taking things one step at a time. We’re going shopping, and we’re going to take the train like regular people. Nobody’s going to expect to see me on the T, so they’ll think maybe I share a resemblance with the famous Dylan North, but they’ll be so sure they’re wrong they’ll leave us alone.” He wagged his eyebrows like a kid. “That’s what I want. How about you?”

“That’s what I want, too.” That’s what scared her so much, she thought as she picked up her ski jacket and her bag. “So who are you shopping for today?”

“I’m a big brother,” he explained. And during their trip to the city, he told her about Darrell, the kid he mentored, and the program he’d been funding with a percentage of his earnings for the last two years.

In Sports Authority, he purchased a pair of Reebok basketball sneakers, a Spalding official NBA basketball, and some gym clothes for Darrell. Then he ordered basketballs in bulk for a youth program and arranged to have everything shipped to a community center in South Central L.A. Watching the care he took in choosing the gifts, Holly learned that the man wasn’t just rich and famous, but he gave back to the community in which he lived, and it became even harder to rein in her heart.

Over lunch, he changed the subject. He wanted to hear about her years in college and medical school, which she managed to condense into a short story since she wanted to hear more about him.

He told her about his trip and all his firsts in L.A. She learned about his initial glimpse of the Hollywood sign, his search for an agent and his first job waiting tables, a job from which he was fired for spilling iced tea down Dolly Parton’s dress. Laughing, he insisted on paying the check.

While she shopped for family and friends, he revisited his excitement over his first acting job, when he learned which actors would take him under their wing and which were too afraid of losing their own success to help someone else. For the first time she was able to put her hurt aside and see what he’d been searching for as an actor.

She understood they still needed to talk about how he’d handled his decision to leave her, but, for now, she was content to enjoy his company in an adult way they’d never experienced before. They parted for half an hour, during which she bought his gift. By the time they’d gotten back home, he’d managed to avoid crowds and had signed only two autographs the entire day. Each time someone recognized him, they made a quick escape and found an entirely new place to shop. He was as adept at acting pleased to meet his fans as he was at ducking them at first opportunity.

Holly couldn’t remember a more fun or sexually charged day. His cologne turned her on and kept her aroused with each breath she took, and he never stopped touching her. Either he held her hand as they walked, his palm tucked against hers, or he cupped the small of her back, steering her this way and that. Whatever they did, he made certain they were connected the entire afternoon, and, as a result, her body tingled with awareness.

At the train station in Acton, they slid into the car and Dylan turned towards her, one hand over her headrest. “So what next?”

Holly’s heart pounded hard in her chest. She’d wrestled with this all afternoon, wondering if she could really have Dylan in her apartment and still be the same when he returned to L.A. Probably not, but it didn’t matter. Given the chance to be with him, how could she turn him away?

Her gaze met his. “I still have to finish decorating my tree. I could make you dinner in exchange for your help,” she offered.

If he turned down this not-so-subtle invitation as he had turned her down last night, she was finished playing his getting-to-know-each-other-again game.

He reached a hand out and caressed her cheek. “I’d love that,” he said, the smile on his face evident in his voice.

Tremors of excitement shot through her, and as he turned the engine over, her stomach rolled with anticipation at the night to come.

*     *     *

Whoever said you couldn’t come home again didn’t know Holly Evans, Dylan thought. Her apartment was cozy and made him feel welcome and at ease. While she put something together for dinner, Dylan kept himself busy stringing the lights on her tree. He couldn’t believe the Holly he knew, who loved Christmas, hadn’t decorated her apartment before now, but her hectic schedule was his gain. He put his own touches on her tree, and in doing so, he hoped he was making a definite mark in her life.

He heard her footsteps as she walked in to join him. His gaze was immediately drawn to the way the tight denim jeans molded to her hips and thighs. Still slender, she’d filled out in a womanly way that made him hard just looking at her. It wasn’t desire alone that beckoned to him, but also the sense of fulfillment and belonging he found only with her.

Today had shown him that his memories were but shadows of reality. Together they could share so much, if he could convince her to open her heart to him again.

“Hi, there,” he said.

“Hi. Dinner should be ready in about forty-five minutes. I hope you like frozen lasagna because when I offered to cook, I forgot I hadn’t been shopping in a while. We’re lucky I was able to find something to defrost so we could eat at all.” She knelt down and sat on the hardwood floor.

“I’d have been happy to take you out, but I’m happier to have more time alone.” He patted the empty space beside him, but she kept her distance.

She smiled, but after a day of laughter and relaxed fun, he recognized forced cheer when he saw it. “What’s wrong?”

She glanced down, rubbing her palms against her jeans. “I just had some time to think, and I can’t help but have questions. A lot of them, actually.”

“Like?” he asked, prepared to deal with whatever was on her mind.

She lifted her gaze to meet his. “Like why you left so suddenly and why you came back into my life the same way.”

He nodded slowly, glancing up at the empty tree top, wondering where to begin. Hoping he wouldn’t push her further away.

Though she sat cross-legged on the floor next to him, their easy camaraderie was gone, and she went out of her way to make sure her bent knee didn’t touch his. She was waiting for an explanation, and he wondered if anything he said would make sense—or make a difference to her now.

“You know how badly I wanted to act.”

She nodded. “You said Broadway. We had plans. Dreams. At least I thought we did, but after you took off, I convinced myself they’d been
my
dreams and you’d humored me through high school before moving on.” At times, she even thought that he’d used her, Holly thought.

She bit down on her lower lip, not wanting Dylan to see the extent to which he’d hurt her. Certainly she didn’t want him to know his betrayal had probably ruined any chance she had at trusting any other guy. Now that she was beginning to understand how deeply he still affected her, in a way, she resented him even more.

He gazed at the needles on the tree as if they could offer clarity until finally he spoke. “The closer we got to graduation, the more trying for Broadway and acting in New York seemed like a sacrifice,” he admitted. “Like I’d be accepting second choice without even trying for the big-time.”

“So why didn’t you just tell me? Or was I that much of a burden?” she asked, admitting her fears out loud for the first time. “Were you afraid I’d hold you back?”

He jerked backward and stared. “Are you serious? It was just the opposite. I didn’t want to hold
you
back. Your family had dreams and goals for you.
You
had those same dreams.”

Then, at the same time, they both said, “Yale, like your father and his father before him,” laughing despite the serious conversation.

“You see? I knew if I told you I wanted to go to L.A., you’d probably have insisted on going with me. Yes, there was Stanford or other schools, but none of them were Yale, and none would uphold your family tradition.”

“Wasn’t that my choice to make? Unless it was an excuse and you really didn’t want me—”

He grasped her hand hard. “I didn’t want you to end up resenting me. And in case you need a reminder or proof of how much I did and still do care, here it is.” Taking her by surprise, he leaned over and met her lips in a searing, demanding kiss.

A kiss she both wanted and needed, and this time she didn’t hesitate. She parted her lips and allowed him inside. His tongue swirled in her mouth, teasing, tasting and demanding she understand. And though she still held the pain in her heart, a part of her accepted the explanation. His kiss and gentle touch went a long way towards helping her heal.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed backward. He toppled to the floor, pulling her on top of him until they lay sprawled beneath her Christmas tree, her legs tangled with his. Their bodies fit tightly yet perfectly together, the hard ridge of his erection thrusting upward against her, making her very aware of his desire, which found a feminine answer inside her.