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Dylan hadn’t intended to mention anything to his best friend about seeing Charm. Graham had met her that summer in New York when she’d surprised Dylan at the coffee shop. She had put on a good act and Graham, who was usually a good judge of character, had liked her.
“Yes, I saw her, but only for a minute and at a distance, from my balcony. There was a wedding yesterday on the beach and she was a bridesmaid.”
“You’re sure it was her?”
“It was her.” No need to tell Graham how she’d gotten even more beautiful. The curves displayed in that dress were those of a woman and not the teenager she used to be.
“Did she see you?”
Dylan released a deep sigh. “Yes, she saw me. I believe she was just as surprised to see me as I was to see her.”
“I bet. Well, I’m glad you finished that project you were working on before seeing her.”
Dylan knew why Graham had said that. After Charm had dumped him, although he’d performed in England just fine, he hadn’t been able to compose any new songs. It was as if his heartbreak had affected his ability to write. When he’d finally recovered from his song-writing slump, that’s when he’d composed his hit single “Never Again.” It had been his way to bring closure to the pain Charm had caused him.
“Do you think she’s still in Cancún? At the resort?” Graham asked.
“If she was here for the wedding then she’s probably left.” He recalled seeing the resort workers removing all the chairs and wedding props.
“What if she hasn’t? I told you what I thought about the entire thing.”
Yes, he had. Because Graham had been taken in by Charm’s persuasive charm upon meeting her, he thought there was more to the breakup than what Charm had written in her text message. Graham suspected she’d sent that text under duress from her father.
“Bart Outlaw had nothing to do with it, Graham. Charm and I were careful, and there’s no way her father could have found out we continued our relationship.”
“Are you absolutely certain of that, Dylan?”
Dylan rubbed his hand down his face, annoyed that Graham was going there with him. “I told you I went to her hotel after getting that text. I also told you about those goons. They knew about the text Charm had sent and reiterated what she’d said in it. They threatened me and there was no doubt in my mind they meant business.”
What he hadn’t told anyone, not even Graham, was that when Dylan returned to the States after their summer in England, instead of flying to visit his grandparents in Idaho, like he’d told everyone he planned to do, he had caught a flight to Alaska, determined to see Charm regardless of the threats those men had made.
He had flown into Anchorage and gone directly to the house she’d shared with three other women near campus. It was a Saturday morning and no one was home. One of her neighbors was kind enough to tell him that Charm and her friends were probably at the coffee shop a block away.
Dylan had found her there, sitting with her girlfriends. When he walked in, they were oohing and aahing over a ring on her finger and she was all smiles, holding it up for them to see. He’d stopped cold in his tracks when one of the women complimented Charm on what a beautiful promise ring it was.
A promise ring...Had she met someone and was promised to him already? The thought had felt like the worst kind of betrayal. Instead of interrupting her and her friends’ little gathering and demanding the truth, he had walked out of the coffee shop without Charm even knowing he had been there.
“Well, I hope for your sake Charm has left the resort like you assume.”
“Why?”
“Because she hurt you, and regardless of what you’ve said about moving on, Dyl, I’m not sure you have.”
A scowl covered Dylan’s face. “What makes you think that?”
“You loved her too much. She was your first girlfriend, and you loved her more than your music. That first week at Juilliard, she’s all you talked about. You even talked about her in your sleep.”
Dylan would not have been surprised if he had, since he’d been deliriously in love.
“And then there’s that other thing.”
Dylan raised a brow. “What other thing?”
“The fact that you haven’t been involved in a serious relationship since Charm Outlaw. That’s a long time to hang on to your first love.”
Dylan stared out the window at the beach. He had news for Graham. Charm should have been more than his first love. She should have become his wife. At least that’s what his foolish mind had convinced him. But that was a long time ago. “Whoa, wait a minute. I’ve had my share of women over the years.”
“Yes, but you’ve never taken one home to meet your folks.”
