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Personally, he didn’t think they’d be able to leave Florida until Sunday at the earliest. For his stepfather to go to the hospital, he must have been feeling downright awful. Warren hated going to the doctor, and he never let illness stop him unless he was literally too sick to get out of bed.
“He’s very disappointed—” Dylan stopped mid-sentence when the door to the study opened.
“Have you heard from Mom and. . .”
This wasn’t what he needed now. Dylan watched his half-sister, Sara, enter the room. She’d already made her opinion known about Callie’s visit, and he didn’t need a repeat performance of their earlier argument. He especially didn’t need it in front of their guest. It was already apparent that Callie felt uncomfortable. Dylan didn’t want to make the situation any more awkward. The last thing he wanted was for her to leave before Warren arrived. He’d promised his stepfather Callie would be there, and Dylan didn’t take his promises lightly.
“I talked to them early this morning when they got back to their hotel room.” Dylan paused before continuing. His manners dictated that he make formal introductions, even though he knew they weren’t necessary. The look on Callie’s face told him she knew exactly who Sara was. Still, it was the polite thing to do.
Don’t say anything stupid, Sara.
Clearing his throat, he prepared himself. “Sara, I’d like you to meet––”
“You don’t have to tell me who she is,” Sara snapped. Her voice dripped with contempt. “Or why she’s here.”
Dylan knew what his sister was implying. Unfortunately, he couldn’t control what she said. Once again, he wished she’d taken his earlier suggestion and gone back to New York where she spent much of her time.
Despite the less than polite greeting from Sara, Callie appeared to remain relatively unaffected by it. “Senator Sherbrooke invited me here. I didn’t ask to come.”
One for the new girl on the block. Dylan suppressed a smile. While he loved his half-sister, he often didn’t approve of the way she treated people these days. Unfortunately, more times than not, people just accepted her behavior because of who she was, which only reinforced her actions. Apparently, Callie didn’t plan on taking any crap from her though.
Sara stared at Callie, momentarily at a loss for words, something that didn’t happen often. “Well. . .You still waited till the election was just around the corner to contact him. You can’t deny that.”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the sisters’ first meeting wasn’t going well. So before either could escalate the situation, Dylan stood and moved toward Sara.
“She didn’t contact him, Sara, but now isn’t the time to discuss any of this.” Taking her by the arm, he led her toward the door. When she started to protest, he gripped her upper arm tighter. Narrowing his eyes, he added, “We can talk again later.”
He heard her huff and mumble something that sounded suspiciously like ‘she won’t be around for long.’
“What was that?” Dylan asked, leaning closer so Callie wouldn’t overhear him.
“I said she won’t be around for long. Once the media gets wind of this, they’re going to hound her till she climbs back into whatever hole she climbed out of.” After her final comment, Sara yanked her arm free and left without another glance in Callie’s direction.
Closing the door behind Sara, Dylan returned to his seat across from Callie. “Don’t pay too much attention to what Sara said.” He needed to smooth things over. “She’s used to being Daddy’s Little Princess and isn’t happy that she might have to share him. It’s nothing personal.”
Callie met and held his steady gaze. “Please don’t make excuses for her. Things don’t get more personal. I don’t blame her for being upset though. This whole situation is strange.” She paused and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
Every time he’d seen her, she had her long hair tied back in a ponytail, except today. Now she had it tied back in a loose bun. As he watched her move the strands of mahogany colored hair which had escaped, he found himself wondering what she looked like with her hair loose. His gut told him the sight would be breathtaking, and his hands itched to free her hair to find out if he was right.
“I’d probably be angry too, if I was her.”
Once again, he found himself admiring Callie Taylor. Most people wouldn’t be so understanding. In fact, he couldn’t imagine any of the women he knew acting like her. Instead, they would most likely be acting much more like Sara.
“If you talk to Senator Sherbrooke, please tell him I hope he’s feeling better. Since he isn’t here right now, I’m going to head out. It was an unusually long drive, and I still need to check in to my motel.” Without waiting for a reply, she stood.
Dylan immediately came to his feet, his manners too ingrained not to. “Please stay here. A room has already been prepared for you.” He moved toward her.
He didn’t want her to leave yet. If she left now, he feared she wouldn’t return when Warren arrived. That was the only reason he’d made the request. Or so he told himself.
Deep down though, he knew there was more to it. Dylan wanted her to stay because he wanted to get to know her better. He still wasn’t one hundred percent certain he trusted her intentions regarding Warren, although he now leaned strongly in that direction. Her resistance to meeting Warren when he’d first approached her appeared too real to be an act. If she was after something, why refuse to meet him? Plus, she seemed so unlike the people he dealt with on a daily basis. He found her to be a refreshing change.
Callie shook her head and a brief look of sadness passed over her features. “No, thank you. That probably isn’t a good idea. I’ll give you my cell phone number in case Senator Sherbrooke gets back tomorrow.”
Searching through her purse, she pulled out a small notepad and a pen. After jotting down her number, she handed him the slip of paper and moved toward the door. She’d only taken a few steps when Dylan reached out to touch her arm. The second his hand came in contact with her skin, an unexpected surge of desire swept through him.
“At least have dinner with me tonight.” It was the least he could do. She drove all the way down here after all. It wasn’t right for her to spend the whole night sitting in some motel room alone. Not when he could do something about that.
He was barely touching her, yet bolts of energy zigzagged up her arm and through her body. She’d never experienced a sensation quite like it before.
