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“Honestly, I’m nervous about it.” She paused and took a long sip of wine. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have come,” she admitted, looking him squarely in the eye.
Her honesty and sincerity touched him. Dropping a feather light kiss on her mouth, he replied, “I’m glad you did.” A knock at the door interrupted him before he could say anything else. “That must be our food. Why don’t you have a seat at the table?”
After returning with their meal, Dylan spread the containers of food on the table and grabbed some plates from the cabinet. “You know, I can’t remember the last time I sat here to eat dinner. Most of the time, I just grab something at the office or on my way home.”
“That can’t be good for you.” Callie accepted the first container he offered her. “Everything looks and smells great. I haven’t had Thai food in months.”
It sure does. However, Dylan wasn’t thinking about the food. He was thinking about how she looked sitting in his penthouse. It was definitely a sight he could get used to every night.
Careful there. He was definitely treading on thin ice.
Dylan spooned some rice onto his plate. “The fundraiser isn’t until seven tomorrow. I thought we could spend the day exploring the city. We can go anywhere you want. Shopping, museums. You name it.”
Callie smiled, and his chest tightened with emotion. Instinctively, Dylan rubbed his chest as if he could get the feeling to leave. Emotions like the ones he felt for Callie were taboo to him. He didn’t allow them into his life. That was why he now had relationships only with women he knew wouldn’t evoke them. Not that some didn’t try. With the exception of Francesca, none had ever succeeded. Until now.
But Callie wasn’t even trying. She was simply being herself. Perhaps that explained why he couldn’t resist her.
Dylan poured himself more wine. “I have a surprise for you.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “What kind of surprise?” Callie didn’t wait for him to answer. “The last time I got a surprise, I foun
d out Warren Sherbrooke was my father.”
“It’s not life changing, I promise.” He took her free hand and squeezed it. “Was the surprise about your father good or bad?” He hadn’t intended to ask the question. It just slipped out. Now that he had, Dylan found that he really wanted to know.
“Now that’s a loaded question.” Callie groaned, pushing the food around on her plate. “Good and bad, I guess. I know that makes no sense. I’m glad I know the truth, and Warren has been very nice.”
“Sounds all good to me.”
“My mom and I were really close. Believe it or not, she was one of my best friends, or at least I thought she was.” He could hear the bitterness in Callie’s voice.
“I’m sure she had her reasons for not telling you.”
Shrugging, she forced a smile. “Let’s talk about something else, okay?”
Without saying another word, Dylan stood. “Stay right here. Don’t move.”
Dylan disappeared into his room to retrieve the gown his executive assistant picked up for him that afternoon. He hoped she liked it.
“I told you my surprise wasn’t life changing.” He held up the gown and waited for her response.
She didn’t say anything. Instead, she stared at the dress, and then at him.
“You said you were going to borrow something to wear.” When she still remained silent, he wondered if maybe she didn’t like it. “If it doesn’t fit or if you don’t like it, we can get something else tomorrow.”
“It’s... I love it,” Callie replied, her voice full of emotion. “But I can’t... you shouldn’t have.”
Dylan moved closer. “I wanted to.”
Chapter 12
Dylan flipped through the television channels, not really looking for anything in particular. They needed to leave in less than half an hour, so there wasn’t really time to watch anything. He just wanted to kill time while he waited for Callie to finish getting ready.
When he hit the sports channel, he put down the remote and watched the Yankees pregame report. As the announcer droned on about the night’s starting lineup, Dylan wished he and Callie were getting ready for the game instead of the fundraiser. He’d definitely be a lot more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt instead of the tux he wore.
He didn’t enjoy these society events. Most people thought he did, but the truth was, he went because it was important to the family, not to him. If he never went to another one of these black tie affairs, it’d be fine with him.
And he really didn’t want to go tonight. Dylan kept telling himself it was because he didn’t want to share Callie. Tomorrow afternoon, she would head home. Yet, if he was honest, there was something else. He sensed something was going to happen tonight. Exactly what, he didn’t know. Just that it wasn’t anything good. He couldn’t shake it either. Dylan didn’t put any stock in premonitions. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that tonight wasn’t going to end well for them.
