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CHAPTER 19
Kylie
“Better late than never, right?” I asked Dylan the following evening as I watched him try his black tea.
I’d taken him on a whirlwind tour of the Newport Beach area over the last two days.
Yesterday, we’d taken the ferry to Balboa Island, and we’d walked around like tourists. I’d introduced Dylan to chocolate-covered frozen bananas and the joy of watching the pelicans like lazy bums for an hour or two after we were done seeing the island.
I’d driven around today, showing him some of my favorite places before we visited the nature preserve for a short hike with Jake.
This evening, we’d visited a coffee shop that had tea Dylan approved of and had taken our drinks to go so I could bring him to the place where Nic, Macy, and I usually spent our Friday nights together.
I’d tossed down a few beach towels, and we flopped onto them to enjoy our drinks.
“It’s good,” he said after he swallowed. “I think I’d forgotten how much I missed a really good cup of tea.”
I took a sip of my latte and smiled at him. “I know we have the perfect beach spot at the house, but I love this place, too. I think Nic, Macy, and I have told every one of our current secrets and hashed out all of our problems right here over the last year. We always come at night because it’s not as crowded.”
There were other people around since it was summer, but most of them were couples trying to find a private spot of their own since it was getting close to sunset.
“I hope we’ve come here so you can tell me all your secrets,” Dylan said hopefully.
I snorted as I looked at him sitting across from me. “I think you pretty much know them all by now. You’re still more of a mystery to me than I am to you. You’ve seen where I live, how I live, and I’ve spilled my guts about my past.”
“Not all of it,” he protested. “Tell me why there isn’t a man who’s already snatched you up, spoiled you rotten, and made damn sure that you weren’t available to be with a man like me.”
My breath caught as I saw the serious look in his gorgeous green eyes. “Maybe that guy doesn’t exist. The one who’s so interested that he spoils me rotten and wants my spare time.”
He shook his head. “Not believable, gorgeous. You’re beautiful, successful, intelligent, and any man would be crazy not to want to monopolize all of your time. Try again.”
I let out an exasperated breath. “I’m serious,” I said, deciding to just be upfront with him. If nothing else, we were friends. “I’ve never found a decent guy who was all that into me. I’m a jerk magnet. My husband started to stray not long after we were married, and the few boyfriends I’ve had haven’t been able to keep their dicks in their pants, either. They got bored really quickly. I’m not into the club scene, and I work a lot. If I do have free time, I like to spend it with my dog somewhere outdoors. I’m perfectly happy doing a movie night or going to the theater, museums, or art galleries. I’m usually happier reading a book than watching reality television, and I do yoga and meditation every morning to keep myself grounded. There’s nothing mysterious about me. I’m very…predictable.”
“You’re also very loyal to the people you care about,” Dylan said. “What in the hell is wrong with knowing that the person you’re dating is always going to have your back? Or that they care about you so much that they aren’t looking for anyone else? Who wants to feel like they have to entertain their partner all the time? That would get utterly exhausting. Do you have any idea just how fantastic it is to be with you, even if we’re just quietly watching the sunset or hanging out with Jake? I like it because you don’t expect me to be the Dylan Lancaster people expect to see all the damn time, the billionaire who they think should be living a glamorous life every minute of his day. Do you have any idea how nice it is just to be treated like a normal person?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again, not quite sure what to say.
To me, Dylan was an extraordinary guy, but not because he was wealthy or powerful.
He was just…Dylan.
“Most of the time, I forget that you’re that wealthy and that powerful,” I finally said. “I just see you as a very intelligent man with incredible business skills who’s been strong enough to overcome a horrible tragedy that might have destroyed someone else completely. I guess I don’t understand why no one would think that there isn’t a very human side of you, too.”
“Most people never want to see that,” he grumbled. “What woman would want to look for that guy who makes a mess in the kitchen because he can’t cook. Or the one who’s happy sometimes with a good burger instead of a meal prepared by a chef. Or the one who would rather read a good book than go out to the latest hot spot at night. Or even worse, the man who nearly lost his mind because he watched his future wife and supposed child die right in front of his eyes. No one has ever wanted that man, Kylie. And I couldn’t blame them for not wanting all of that craziness, but I’m pretty fucking grateful that I found someone who just…accepted it as being part of me, part of my history, and doesn’t judge me for it.”
My heart squeezed as I saw the vulnerable look in Dylan’s eyes. “There are plenty of people who aren’t going to define you because of the crazy things that happened during those two years of your life. A woman like me is going to admire the strength it took to overcome what happened.”
“Well, that’s a problem, sweetheart, because I’ve never met a woman like you. Most of them would prefer that there’s nothing more to me than the billionaire CEO, the son of a duke, and my family name. Look at Charlotte. The only reason she wanted me was because I was the perfect cover for her inappropriate love affair. A man her parents would thoroughly approve of and welcome as a son-in-law and the father of her child. She didn’t give a damn what I was thinking or how I’d feel if I knew the truth. Before that, I’d never had a girlfriend long-term because once they really got to know me, they didn’t find me very exciting, either. So we have that in common.”
“Not believable,” I said, repeating his words.
“It’s true,” he confided. “Sometimes I’d come home from the office exhausted after a twelve-hour day, and if I wasn’t in the mood to go out on the town, they were disappointed. Dating a guy like me came with a lot of expectations, and having a quiet dinner and an early evening wasn’t one of them. Ever. So don’t try to tell me that every man in the world wants a woman who craves excitement all the time. We don’t. I don’t. If I’d ever found a woman like you, I would have stuck to her gorgeous ass like glue.”
I blinked back the tears that were forming in my eyes as I tried to imagine exactly how Dylan had felt.
Probably…much like I did most of the time.
“Then there’s something wrong with those British women you dated,” I said. “Maybe you needed to meet an American nobody with a demanding job that doesn’t expect you to be anyone but who you are. No man is superhuman, Dylan. Your Dylan Lancaster, billionaire, and powerful CEO switch, can’t always be in the on position—because you are human, too. God, I’d hate it if I always had to be a dynamic public relations crisis manager. Having downtime away from your professional image or persona is absolutely necessary.”
