It seemed I’d failed at being a good friend, too, messing up the life of the one person who was there for me when it truly mattered, not that I’d tried to reach out to Jackson with my problems. I’d rather leave him and Pete happy without my drama interrupting their lives. It was bad enough that Pete showed up yesterday because he was worried.
Oh my God Pete!Now I had to ask the dreaded question.
“What happened yesterday?”
Dylan slowly ate one waffle, taking his sweet time as he likely tried to figure out the best way to let me know that I’d ruined his life.
“You fainted at work,” he eventually said.
I suppressed a groan. “I’d gathered that much, but what happened after I fainted?”
“Rino called me. You need to eat your waffle while it’s still hot.” He handed me some chocolate sauce with a fond smile.
I decided to stop my questioning until after we’d eaten. Smiling back, I said teasingly, “This is much better than the soup.”
Dylan’s laugh lit up the whole room. He looked otherworldly when he laughed like that. And I just sat there, gawking at him. Why did the sound of his laughter suddenly make me happier than ever before? Dylan was a happy person generally. He laughed often, but never before had I felt like I was granted the best gift in the world just from hearing the sound and seeing his joyful expression.
I was fucked, because I couldn’t deny it any longer. I was falling in love with Dylan. A man. The realization didn’t stun me as I’d expected it to. It did the opposite. I felt my nerves settle as I accepted this. I was falling hard, and fast, but I wouldn’t push Dylan away. I would only hold him closer. Make him care for me enough to never leave. I would fix whatever I had ruined for Dylan.
“I’ll help you find a new job,” I blurted, already on fixing mode.
Dylan’s laughter died off but he still smiled warmly at me. “You don’t have to. Rino hired me.”
“As what?”
Dread started to build. Had I somehow fucked things up and now Dylan could see ghosts too?
He seemed to think it over. “As your partner.”
I blinked, not expecting that. “My partner?”
He nodded. “Yep. I’ll be there to help you out with training and your cases.”
I wouldn’t even try to act saddened by the fact I would be with Dylan 24/7, but I still felt bad for forcing him into it. I knew losing his job was the reason he’d accepted. No one would just accept a job as a medium without having been forced to.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, feeling my brightening mood dampen as I stopped being selfish for once. How could I sit here and enjoy the fact he was doomed to be with me, when he deserved so much more?
Dylan seemed surprised by my words, his head tilted in my direction with a cute frown. “Why are you sorry?”
“For doing whatever I did to force you into my work,” I replied, not meeting his gaze.
“Hey now,” Dylan chided, holding my chin up so I couldn’t avoid his gaze any longer. “I chose to leave my work, knowing I would get fired. I chose you over my job and I would do that always. I chose to accept Rino’s job offer.Imade those choices; not you, Mike. And I won’t ever regret it.”
“You mean that?” I whispered, searching his eyes.
“I mean every word, Mike.”
Time stood still as we slowly eased closer, my eyes flicking to his tempting lips. There was a small drop of chocolate sauce just at the bottom of his lip. I wanted to lick it away. To taste how sweet his lips would be mixed with the chocolate. I wanted—
Three loud knocks from the front door startled the shit out of both of us. We literally jumped in place.
“Are we expecting company?” I rasped, feeling bereft and slightly breathless.
“No,” Dylan snarled, his gaze toward the hallway. “But they’re on my shit list now.”
I laughed, loving that he didn’t even hide his disappointment of us being interrupted.
We both stood and went for the door; our anger now turned into curiosity. Could it be Mom? Or Pete, perhaps?
