Page 109 of Falling For My Ex's Brother

I didn’t find Dylan in the hallway. I stood in the lobby looking out of the glass front to see if he was in the parking lot. Only cars, no people walking around that I could see.

I stepped into the admin office doorway as Cheryl came out of her office with paperwork in her hands.

“Hello, Lana,” she said with a smile.

“Hi Cheryl,” I said. “I was planning to stop by and tell you that I can make a payment next week on Grandpa’s balance. I know it must have starting building back up since we talked.”

“It would have,” she said cheerfully, “but the bill’s just been paid.”

“Again?” I said with a gasp. “You have to tell me who’s doing that so I can thank them.”

I realized then that she hadn’t saidthe bill’s been paid. She said the bill’sjust beenpaid.

“Sorry, Lana. They still want to remain anonymous.”

“Whenwas it paid?” I asked.

“Just minutes ago. What a happy coincidence!” Her grin broadened.

Was it Dylan? He’d just been here.

“Please tell me who. I’ll never out you as the one who let me know.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “I can’t. I—” Her eyes went wide as she looked over my shoulder. “I—excuse me, Lana.”

She narrowed her eyes and glanced over my shoulder again, like she was trying to signal me, so I turned.

Dylan had just come out of the men’s bathroom. He stopped when he saw me, his eyes as wide as Cheryl’s.

“Lana,” he said softly.

I burst into tears. How had I ever deserved someone as wonderful as Dylan? And how had I let it all go to hell?

“Lana,” he said, rushing forward to pull me into his arms.

50

DYLAN

“Shh, baby, it’s okay.”I held Lana tightly as she cried on my shoulder.

When she was calmer, I moved us so that we stood outside the lobby in a little enclave with a bench and an awning where residents of Crystal Fountain sometimes sat.

I held her hands while we sat and she sniffed deeply, shaking her head.

“You’ve been paying his bills all this time?” she asked, wiping a tear from her face.

I kissed her hand. “Grandpa would’ve wanted to, so I did it for him since he couldn’t.”

Lana licked her lips and took a long, slow breath. “I can’t pay you back right away, but I will eventually. I appreciate—”

“Stop, just stop,” I said. “You’re not paying anything back. This is why I didn’t just offer you the money. I figured you wouldn’t accept it.”

“You’re right. I won’t.” She straightened her neck. “I appreciate what you’ve done, so much, but I always pay my bills. I’ll figure it out.”

“Damn it, Lana.” I cupped her cheek. “It’s technically from money that grandpa left me when he died, so it’s like he’s paying for it. Please don’t think another thing about it.”

I could see that argument was getting through to her. My grandpa would have paid James’ bills if he’d still been alive when they started piling up. She had to know that too.

---