Page 17 of Second Time's the Charm

“I doubt he even knew me back then. Once I arrived on the music scene, performing similar music to his, he considered me his competition. And then when he discovered we were at Juilliard around the same time he made me the stooge.” Dylan took another sip of wine. “Over the years, he and I have been up for awards under the same categories several times and—”

“Let me guess,” she interrupted by saying. “You walked away the winner.”

He nodded. “Each and every time.”

“Sore loser,” Charm said, reaching for the wine bottle to refill her glass. She knew Dylan wasn’t trying to be boastful but was stating the facts. After taking another sip of wine, she leaned forward in her seat. “So what are you going to do?”

He rubbed a frustrated hand down his face. “The first thing I plan to do is contact Seth Abraham, the head of my security team. Then I need to alert my band as to what’s going on.” He stood, easing his cell phone out of his pocket.

“You’re calling someone now? It’s late. Close to eleven.”

“Seth’s in LA and is a man who barely sleeps. Graham and the band are vacationing in Ireland. It’s before daybreak there but Graham does most of his sleeping during the day. Excuse me a moment while I make the calls, then I’ll walk you back to your villa.”

“That’s not necessary. I know the way back,” she said, standing as well.

“I’m sure you do, but like you said, it’s late. Besides, Seth is a stickler for details and he’ll probably want to talk to you.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that. Easing back down on the sofa, she said, “In that case I’ll wait.”

Charm watched Dylan pace around the room while talking to Seth. And just like Dylan assumed, the man had questions for her. She even played him the recorded message. When she handed Dylan’s phone back, their hands touched, and she felt a stirring in the pit of her stomach at the contact.

Why was seeing him pace back and forth such a turn-on? She couldn’t help noticing how well his slacks molded to a pair of taut thighs whenever he moved. Seeing his body in motion almost made her short of breath. Her throat felt dry and she took another sip of her wine. Then another.

It seemed that Seth had a lot to tell Dylan. The hard edge in Dylan’s voice was an indication of how angry he’d gotten. During the two years they had been together, she’d never seen him angry. Even that day over dinner when Bart had demanded they end their summer romance he had been polite, well-mannered and respectful. Even when he had no intention of following Bart’s command.

When Charm’s eyes became tired, she placed her empty wineglass on the table in front of her and kicked off her shoes to get comfortable. Settling back against the sofa she checked her watch. It was after midnight.

Nine

“How soon will you get here?” Dylan asked.

As far as he was concerned, Seth was the best in the business. His security firm, which was based in Los Angeles, provided protection services for a number of well-known performers and celebrities. Seth, a former CIA agent and ex-member of the president’s Secret Service, had contacts all over the world and took the job of protecting his clients seriously. Not just from physical harm, but also psychological, legal, social, and economic harms as well. Elise was going to regret the day she’d concocted such a harebrained plan with Chrome.

“I’m arriving in Cancún first thing in the morning, Dylan. In the meantime, I’m contacting a friend with the FBI. Typically, the Bureau doesn’t have authority to make arrests on foreign soil. However, with the consent of the host country there are exceptions, and I intend to make this one of them.”

Dylan knew if anyone could, it would be Seth. “I appreciate it. I would have thought Elise had learned her lesson after that last stunt she pulled.”

“I doubt she’ll learn anything without prison time. You were too soft on her. We could have thrown the book at her then since I knew the prosecutor. I’m going to make sure she doesn’t get away with anything this time. You owe the woman who overheard the conversation a debt of gratitude. I don’t want to think about what predicament you’d be in had they pulled this off. I knew you going to Cancún not protected by my men wasn’t a good idea.”

Now was the time to get Seth off the phone. If he left it up to his security manager, Dylan would have a bodyguard 24/7. “I need to go, Seth.”

He was just about to place a call to Graham when he glanced across the room and saw Charm had drifted off to sleep. Seth was right. He owed her a debt of gratitude for warning him about Elise’s plan.

When Charm shifted positions he couldn’t help noticing, yet again, just how beautiful she was. The section of her hair that had been pinned up on her head was now hanging around her shoulders in soft curls. His gaze drifted lower and took in the dress she was wearing. He had liked it the moment he’d seen her in it; it fit her body to perfection. She was obviously comfortable in a sideways position and the side slit in her dress exposed a lot of her thigh. The male in him couldn’t help but appreciate it.

Dylan forced his gaze away. He needed full use of his faculties when he talked to Graham, who would ask all kinds of questions. He moved to the balcony and opened the French doors to step out. He slid into a chair and sat in a spot that provided him a full view of Charm.

He shifted his gaze to his phone to place the call. His best friend answered on the first ring. “Yes, Dyl?”

It didn’t take Dylan long to tell Graham everything and then the questions came. “You ran into Charm and asked her to dinner?”

“Yes. Merely as an old friend.”

“That’s bullshit, Dyl, and you know it. What’s the real reason you asked her out?”

He could tell Graham that it really wasn’t his damn business. However, he knew Graham would not let it go. This was Dylan’s best friend. The one who’d been there to get him through the rough time after his breakup with Charm.

“For closure.”

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