Page 52 of Side Trip

He gestured in the direction of her hip. “Can I make a call?”

“Uh ... sure.” She gave him her phone.

He punched in a number. “It’s done,” he said when the person on the other end answered. Exactly what he’d said to whomever he called from the lobby phone at Hotel Albuquerque immediately after his street performance. Who was on the other end of the line?

Dylan finished the call and gave back her phone.

“Want to get out of here?” he asked.

“Yes.” It was late. She’d also had three beers in two hours and had a nice buzz going along with the rush that hadn’t come solely from Dylan’s music but from his embrace. She could still feel his hands in her hair and his humid body pressed against hers. She could still smell his Juicy Fruit breath from when he’d shouted his relief to the heavens while lifting her off her feet.

Joy fidgeted with her engagement ring, twisting the band so the square-cut diamond displayed. A two-carat reminder to keep their friendship on the level.

“Let me get my gear.” He gently touched her shoulder again, then went to collect his cut from the cover charge. Joy tagged along, and Dylan just smiled over his shoulder when he looked behind him and noticed she was there. He gave his regards to the manager, then after a quick stop at McDonald’s to feed Dylan’s reappearing appetite, they walked back to the motel, where they’d been assigned side-by-side rooms on the ground floor.

“Why’d you come tonight?” Dylan asked from his door as Joy opened hers.

“I didn’t want to spend the evening alone in an old motel room. I also wanted to hear you play.”

He slowly nodded as if contemplating her words. She wondered how he’d interpret them. Did she want to hear him play or had she wanted to see him? Both, if she was being honest.

“I’m glad you came,” he said. “I should have invited you.”

He should have, but given his stage fright, she understood why he hadn’t.

She offered him a little smile. “Next time.”

“Next time,” he concurred. “Good night, Joy.”

“Good—Oh! Wait, I’ve got something for you.” She went into her room and grabbed the item she’d purchased at the motel’s reception office. She was going to give it to him tomorrow, but tonight seemed appropriate. “For you,” she said, presenting the candy to him.

Dylan took her offering with a mixture of surprise and gratitude. “You got me more Twizzlers?” he murmured.

He’d had a bad day. “Hopefully they cheer you up.”

“I’m sorry about today,” he said.

“Tomorrow will be better. Good night, Dylan.”

“Night, Joy. Sleep well.”

Joy closed and bolted her door. She leaned back against the cool metal, closed her eyes, and exhaled loudly. She was a sucker for musicians, but it was his reaction to the Twizzlers that got to her. Pure pleasure, like a kid on Christmas morning. Thank goodness he hadn’t kissed her good night like he’d done before. It would have been too easy to invite him inside.

A dull thud from his room pulled her attention to the adjoining door. She could open that door and Mark would never know.

Joy gasped lightly. Her chest tightened uncomfortably. How could she think such a thing? Picking up a stranger without telling her fiancé was one thing but cheating on her fiancé with that stranger was something else entirely. She’d have to watch herself around Dylan. She found him way too appealing, more than anyone she had previously.

Irritated by her reaction to him, Joy pushed away from the door and got ready for bed. But curiosity about her driving companion won over. She opened her phone app and clicked over to her call log. As she suspected, Dylan had called the same number he did when they first met at Rob’s. Rick, his attorney. She’d bet her iPod stuffed with tunes that was who Dylan had called from Hotel Albuquerque.

Why did he check in with his attorney after every performance? What sort of arrangement did they have and why?

Whatever the reason, Dylan needed a day off. They both did. Not one for spontaneity, Joy launched Google Maps. She had an idea for a side trip, one that guaranteed they could chill in the sun for several hours. And if she planned it right, she’d be able to check off another item on Judy’s bucket list.

CHAPTER 16

BEFORE

Dylan

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