He glanced back at her. She was beautiful in a natural sort of way. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a neat, but loose bun. Her face was flawless without the need for makeup. She probably had a lot of doctors chasing after her.
He turned away, frowned, and told himself who she’d been with or would be with in the future had nothing to do with him. What surprised him was how much he disliked the idea of her with someone else.
He glanced back at her again. He wanted to say something to cheer her up, but she was about as easy to get along with as a prickly bush. Behind her, he spotted something, “Hey, look, a puffin.”
The car slowed so they could all get a better look. Aly said, “I’ve never seen one in person.” She smiled at him and his heart did a funny little flip. “Thank you.”
That was all it took for his cock to decide she might have potential. He turned forward quickly and told himself not to be an idiot. They were on their way to being friends and even that was a Herculean task.
Fucking her?
That would be a mistake.
Aly was still mentally lecturing herself as their caravan of Land Rovers pulled up the driveway of a sprawling lodge. Perched on the side of a hill, it was the sole building in sight, a wooden structure, slightly weathered, but with an extensive deck that surrounded a mostly glass front. The view on all sides was breathtaking and rustic, but with staff who poured out of the building as soon as the vehicles parked.
Dylan was out of the car as fast as the driver was, opening the door for her. She thanked him and swore to herself she’d do better around him. I am too intelligent to reduce myself to bickering with him every time we engage. He calls me judgey. Aly cringed as she replayed some of what she’d said to him in her head. I am around him. I don’t want to be. God, I’m becoming everything I don’t like about my father.
Aly loved her father. He was a brilliant doctor, but there had been times in her life when it had been difficult to like him. Regardless of what she’d achieved, he had yet to tell her he was proud of her. Funny how, no matter how old she got, she never stopped hoping he would.
And Dylan? I really need to get my head straight about what we are to each other. He just made his feelings about me clear. I need to chill out.
At her side as if they were already the friends he claimed he wanted them to be, Dylan said, “I haven’t stayed here, but I’ve heard good things about the place. No better way to see the northern lights, although this is technically not the best time of year to try to. We’ll have daylight till almost midnight, then sunrise around three a.m. So if you want to sleep late, make sure you’ve closed your curtains.”
“The place looks amazing and thanks for the tip,” Aly said.
Clay and Lexi waved for them to join them. Connor bounded up with Angelina in tow. “Check out that enormous hot tub. We are definitely hanging out in that later. Change my name to Raisin Sutton because I’ll be one by tonight.”
Smiling, Angelina said, “That’s quite a visual, hon.”
He looped an arm around her. “I can’t wait to make you Mrs. Raisin Sutton.”
They kissed and murmured something to each other. Aly was happy for her friend, but standing there and watching them wasn’t easy. She put a few feet between them under the pretense of checking out the view.
Dylan followed her. “I have tomorrow free. Is there anything you’re excited to see while you’re here? I can arrange any tour you’d like.”
She looked from him to the rest of the group and back. It no longer felt like he was coming on to her. So, what was this? She searched his face. “You don’t have to entertain me, Dylan. I’m happy just being here. I’ve always been pretty independent.”
He pocketed his hands in his jacket and rocked back on his heels. “Independent is good, but it’s also nice to share new experiences with someone. I made a list of things the locals suggest people see while here. There’s a waterfall not too far away that’s over three hundred feet high. They say it’s worth the trip. There’s a beach with orange and maybe pink sand. I don’t know, but that’s what I hear. It’s supposed to be beautiful. And there are hot springs—natural ones, some that only the locals know about. Hiking, kayaking, whale watching, four-wheeling. I took a helicopter tour when I first got here and it was really cool.”
He was trying so hard she felt bad about every less-than-kind thing she’d ever said to him. While looking out over the water, she inhaled deeply then said, “I’m sorry about the stuff I said in the car. I don’t know what gets into me sometimes.”
He took a moment before answering. “Change isn’t easy—for any of us. I imagine you were comfortable with your friends in one setting, then you were whisked into a whole new world with them. Everything’s different whether or not you want it to be.”
She glanced at him, then away. It was unsettling how accurately he was describing her feelings. Hopefully he didn’t read all of her thoughts that easily. Angelina called out that the group was going inside. Aly waved for them to go without her. “I’ve never seen Angelina so happy.”
“The same is true for Connor.”
“That kind of connection is rare.”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
“Have you ever been in love?” She groaned and kicked herself for not holding that question in.
He shook his head. “Never. But I know it’s possible. My parents had that.”
The wind blew, sending a chill through Aly. Most of what she knew about Dylan she’d learned via Angelina when she talked about Connor. “You lost your mother when you were young.”
“Yes.”
She hugged her arms around herself and looked back out over the water. “We finally have something in common. My mother passed away from a postpartum complication. It shouldn’t have happened. It was completely preventable.”
“My mother was ill for a very long time, but I remember her before she was sick and those are the memories I hold on to.”
He said it simply but with such sincerity that Aly found herself blinking back tears. “I have no memories of my mother.”
“But you still miss her.”
His words gutted her. She’d never let herself truly admit the yearning she still had for even one memory. “I do.”
He sighed. “Me too.” After a pause, he said, “So you became a doctor because of your mother.”
She nodded. It might have been fatigue from the trip that had her feeling emotional, but in that moment she and Dylan shared a connection unlike one she’d formed with a man before. Joanna and Angelina were good friends who knew the best and the worst of Aly, but men were never allowed that close. She’d attempted to let them in before, but they either couldn’t or didn’t want to take the time to understand the passions that drove her. “I’d like to think it’s what she would have wanted me to do.”
“I bet it is.” He glanced back at the lodge then met her gaze. “My mother asked me to always watch out for Connor and Viviana. I’ve done my best to do that.” He waved a hand in a vague reference to everything. “None of this matters as much as my family.”
Her heart began to thud wildly in her chest. He looked as comfortable in his life as a successful Hollywood star as he had noodling the day Connor had asked Angelina to marry him. He could be arrogant and brash, but there were moments like this when he seemed so humble and down to earth. Which side of him was the real one? Why were both so damn appealing?