AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * *
I wake earlyon Saturday morning, the day of the gala. I’m meeting Mom and the committee at the venue at seven a.m. to begin the long day of setting up for tonight.
I send Owen a text, checking to see how he is after a long night at work.
Charlize: Hey, sexy man. I’m on my way out the door. How are you today? How late did you work last night?
Owen: I got home around two.
I call him. “Tell me you’re actually asleep and I’m communicating with your clone. There’s no way you’ve had enough sleep.”
“Fuck, I missed waking up with you today.” God, he sounds exhausted.
“I missed that too. But seriously, Owen, I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know; you need sleep.” I only just manage to stop myself from telling him he works too much. I don’t want to nag him about this.
“I’ve still got some work to do today and then I’ll take tomorrow off.”
“Maybe we should postpone our golf game tomorrow so you can rest all day.”
“Golfisresting to me. We’re not canceling that. Not when I’ve had to work hard to get you to agree to it.”
He won’t budge on this. I’m learning that while Owen can be easygoing, he likes to stick to his plans. “Okay.”
“I’ve got that meeting at four this afternoon and then I’ll come and help you with any last-minute jobs.”
“Thank you. Okay, go. The sooner you get through your work, the sooner you can go home and rest.”
“Was that Owen?” Dylan asks, joining me in the kitchen as I slip my phone in my purse.
“Yes.”
“Are we still on for drinks before he woos your mother at dinner on Sunday?”
It took my mother only two weeks to break me down and agree to bring Owen to a family dinner.Two weeks. I’m off my game.
I nod. “I thought we could go to that new bar you love.”
“Yeah, if Owen’s cool with that.”
“Owen’s cool with anything.” I smile. “He just wants to get to know you.”
“I like him, Char. But more importantly, I like him for you.”
My chest does the weird fluttery thing it does when I’m nervous. “It’s all happening really fast, though, isn’t it?”
“Stop overthinking this, babe. It’s happening as fast as it should.”
“Sometimes I feel swept up in it, like I’m going to lose myself all over again after just beginning to find myself, you know?”
Dylan’s gaze is serious, strong like he’s resolved about whatever he’s about to say. “Owen is not Benjamin. I can pick a Benjamin from a fucking mile away, and Owen doesn’t even come close.”
I swallow down my nerves and my fears. “I know you’re right. I guess I just need a reminder every now and then.”
“I’ll remind you whenever you need me to.” He checks his watch. “Okay, we better go, or your mother is going to have my balls for getting you there late.”
I roll my eyes. “My mother loves you too much to ever hurt your precious balls.” It’s true. She once had ideas about marrying me off to Dylan, she loved him that much. We had to sit her down and explain that if we lived together long term, we’d stab each other to death. Dylan and I love each other, but not in anI want to live with you foreverkind of way.
He drives me into Manhattan and drops me off with a promise to be on time for the gala.
