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“It’s June. Why is the temperature cool here?” Charm asked when he opened the vehicle’s door for her.
“The altitude. The ranch is located in the mountains. It’s not unusual to wear a jacket sometimes as late as mid-July.”
“Sounds like Alaska,” she said.
Out of the corner of his eye Dylan watched Charm take in all she saw. “Everything here is so green, Dylan.”
He chuckled. “We try to keep it that way. There are a lot of cattle to feed.”
“That’s right, this is a cattle ranch. One of my Westmoreland cousins has a sheep ranch and a few others raise horses.”
He nodded. “Ranching of any kind is a full-time job. My grandparents were lucky to have Ren. Now so am I,” he said.
“When was the last time you were here?”
“During the holidays. Although my grandparents aren’t here, spending time on the Red Flame was a tradition my parents and I didn’t want to end. It was nice because I’d needed the break. Last year I was on the concert tour from hell. With over sixty cities and five countries, that can take its toll both mentally and physically. That’s why we decided to take the entire summer off.”
“Well, I hope you get a lot of rest while you’re here, Dylan.”
He honestly didn’t see how that was possible with her here. She was hell of another kind, both mentally and physically as well. Every time he looked at her, especially her mouth, he recalled kissing it and how much he wanted to do so again.
Something else he wanted to do was to make love to her. Not for old times’ sake but because being around Charm had renewed something within him he hadn’t felt in a long time. Namely, an intense desire for a woman. Granted he’d desired women, but not to this magnitude.
The one and only time they’d made love had been about more than their bodies finally connecting. It had been a union that could never be undone. Not even by a text message proclaiming a breakup. He was finally realizing the significance of it now.
She was still his.
That explained a number of things. Like why, after being threatened with having his fingers broken if he was to contact her again, he’d contacted her anyway. And why he’d invited her to dinner when he’d seen her at the pool a few days ago.
But more importantly, why he’d invited her to his ranch.
What did all that mean? What did he even want it to mean? All he knew was that for the last ten years he had existed but not really lived. On the outside he’d been the fun-loving, happy-go-lucky Dylan Emanuel basking in his success as a musician. However, he’d known something was missing from his life. Mainly, someone. Charm. The big question was could he move beyond the hurt and pain she had caused him? Another was, did she regret breaking up with him the way she had?
He knew discussing that time in New York was something they had to do before they could move forward, whether they wanted to or not.
“Dylan?”
He glanced over at Charm. “Yes?”
“You’re quiet. You were also quiet on the plane. Do you regret inviting me here?”
Now that she’d asked...
“No, Charm, I don’t regret inviting you here. In fact, the reason I’ve been quiet was because I was thinking about something involving you. In fact, I think I’ve pretty much made up my mind about it.”
She shifted in her seat to face him. “And what’s that?”
“I believe there is a reason our paths crossed after all this time. I’ve decided it doesn’t matter why things ended between us, we’ve been given another chance and I intend to take it.”
He intended to take it...
Of all the nerve, Charm thought. Did he think she had no say so in the matter? After all, he was the one who’d ended things, not her. Granted that text hadn’t said he wanted to break up with her but what had he expected when he never called? Had he thought she would go through an entire summer without hearing from him?
Even if he’d assumed that, then what about when he’d returned to the States at the end of the summer? Even if she’d wanted to reach out to him, he had blocked her number. What if she’d gotten pregnant that first time they’d made love? She would not have had any way to contact him.
His callous disregard for the pain he’d caused her, and his assumption that they could just move on like nothing had happened, made her want to get even with him more than ever. No matter what he thought, Dylan didn’t deserve a second chance with her.
However, she wouldn’t tell him that. She would let him assume he was back in her good graces and all was well. And then when he thought he had her right where he wanted her—probably back in his bed, no doubt—she would tell him just what she thought of him.
