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Dylan averted his eyes, and she kissed his hand. She noticed goosebumps break out and then felt bashful about having shared something so intimate with someone.
She let his hand go and then wrapped her coat around herself tighter. Dylan remained still, and they stood there for a few awkward seconds on the sidewalk.
“Can we please get something to eat?” Rose asked. “I’m very hungry.”
Rose hoped that the change of scenery would kick-start their date, but all it did was drag out the silence that had formed between them.
The restaurant was quaint and subtly posh, and most of the servers and bartenders seemed to know Dylan by name and reputation. When she tried to inquire about it, he gave her short, one-worded answers and stared down into his food like a punished toddler.
Now and then, he would gaze out the window at the record shop. When she caught him, he’d dart his eyes away. There was something about the shop that triggered him, but she believed that it might be fruitless prodding him about it.
She hoped as they ate dinner in silence that he was formulating in his mind how he could tell her. Rose knew she couldn’t wait too long to hear about it, though, because it had been strange and a little jarring to see his mood change so fast. But she, too, was harboring her secret, which made her feel a little guilty.
Rose told him that she was full and didn’t want dessert, yet she could have gone for something sweet. She simply didn’t want to drag the night out further if he was determined to keep his thoughts to himself.
She could feel her empathy for him deepening as well as her annoyance. If he liked her so much, which he seemed to, why couldn’t he confide in her?
When Dylan insisted on paying for the bill, Rose took the bull by the horns. She stood from the table, motioning with her head at him.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s sit at the bar for a minute.”
She didn’t look back as she sauntered to the barkeep, where they both ordered a Jack and Coke. She knew that he was going to sit there, wallowing in whatever was wrong. But that didn’t work for her.
“Look,” she began, feeling slightly nervous. “There’s something wrong, Dylan. You were so excited about going to that record store. Then you dashed out. What happened?”
Dylan was sitting on a bar stool next to her, the ice in his drink melting rapidly. He sighed, which almost evolved into a grunt.
“It’s a long story,” he replied.
Rose drummed her fingers against the bar. “I’ve got all night, darling,” she said. “We have slept together, Dylan, and you are important to me. Aren’t I important to you?”
He finally lifted his head from gazing at the floor, meeting her eyes. His were rounded saucers.
“You are very important to me,” Dylan asserted.
Rose leaned forward, then lifted his chin with a single finger. She held his gaze, showing him that she meant every word that came out of her mouth with her entire soul.
“If you want to get to know someone, you have to share things,” she murmured. “Even painful things. That’s what forges bonds. That’s what makes a team. Don’t you want to be on my team?”
Dylan nodded frantically. Rose felt a lump grow in her throat when she noticed tears swelling in his sparkling irises.
“I want that more than anything,” Dylan said. “I wantyoumore than anything.”
Rose’s heart was hammering gently in her chest. His voice was creamy and luxurious and somehow still made her twitch between her legs, even when he was annoying her.
She tapped his chin lightly, flashing him a devilish smirk.
“Then show me,” she replied. Dylan nodded, then proceeded to down his drink in a single swoop. Rose frowned, then let out a puff of laughter. “I didn’t mean to get tipsy about it,” she quipped.
Dylan turned his body and then grabbed her by the thighs. She gasped as he pulled the entire stool in his direction, scraping it across the floor. Her legs went between his, and he held onto her as he spoke.
Lord, there was nothing sexier in the world than being wanted.
“Rose, you do mean so much to me,” he said quietly. “I want to tell you everything. I do. Just not here.”
Rose felt her face getting warm as she sat on pins and needles, thinking about his question, her belly swirling with excitement.
“Can you come back to my place?” he asked politely.
