Page 9 of Meant To Be

“Oooohhhhhh.” I sucked my breath in through my teeth. “That bites.”

“No shit. Best part?” At my nod, he added, “I’m the one who caught him.”

I gasped.

“Before that, she was sort of an aunt to us, unofficially. I told my mom because I didn’t know what I was seeing. It was ugly.”

“How old were you?”

“I think I was nine. I didn’t walk in on them having sex or anything. She was at our house when she wasn’t supposed to be there and came out of the bathroom with my dad right behind her. She was in a towel. I didn’t know I was supposed to be hiding anything and ended up saying something to my mom about her being there and—” He circled his hand in the air. “I don’t know all the details, but it led to one hell of a fight. My mom kicked him out, and the divorce battle ensued. He and my mom’s friend tried to be together for a little bit, which is why my mom fought so hard for him not to have any visits. She didn’t want us to go over there. Of course, he and her friend ended up breaking up.” Dylan shook his head slowly. “I still love my dad. He was a good dad, but he was a shitty husband. I think part of the reason it was so ugly was because my parents really did love each other before that. After my dad did all that and it blew up with my mom’s friend, he tried to get back with my mom. It was a mess.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

Dylan let out a sharp breath. “Let’s just say it soured me on the whole love thing.”

I took in what he’d shared, my heart twisting a little. Divorce was common, but this kind of cheating was ugly. I could sense the bitterness in Dylan’s voice.

“That must’ve been hard,” I finally added, feeling like the words were wildly inadequate. For a child to be caught in the bitter transactions between parents was beyond difficult. “It must’ve been exhausting to feel stuck between them.”

Dylan’s lips twisted to the side. “That’s one way to put it.” He took a swallow of water. “What about you?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

His eyes never once shifted from mine. “You know, love, romance, all that jazz? Obviously, I know your latest guy wasn’t all that great, or at least he was a coward.” He paused, drumming his fingertips on the table. “But then there’s always knowing the whole story. Maybe you did something.”

My mouth dropped open. “What?!”

He chuckled. “I’m just saying you never know. I knew a guy who got hell for walking out on his wedding. But the whole story was his almost-wife had cheated on him. They’d gone to therapy and everything. When the guy she cheated with showed up at the wedding, he walked out. Only a few people knew the whole story. He didn’t care if the rest of the world thought he was a total ass. My mom wanted to tell everyone what happened, but she didn’t. Even then, you can’t keep that kind of affair a secret.”

“I’m so sorry,” I repeated.

He shrugged. “It’s the past, and I can’t change it. Anyway, back to you.”

“I didn’t do anything horrible to Kent. It’s not like we were madly in love. We hadn’t even talked about being in love. We were dating and having fun. I guess I just didn’t expect to get dumped at the airport.”

“Yeah, definitely a dick move. Should I do something to avenge you?” He grinned.

I laughed. Whether he meant to or not, Dylan’s teasing about what happened started to help me let it go. Oh, for sure, it would remain a blot of embarrassment. It wasn’t the end of the world. Kent and I hadn’t been in love.

“It’s a good story. I’d rather know now before things went further with us that he’s kind of a douche.”

“Guy is a total idiot. What he should’ve done is go to this weekend and then dump you,” Dylan pointed out.

My mouth dropped open as I shook my head, laughing in annoyed wonder. “Really. Is that what you would’ve done?”

“Hell, no. That’s even worse. I’m just saying if you’re going to be a dick, then be smart about it, that’s all.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve never heard stories from Wade that you’re a dick or a heartbreaker. Just that you’re always on the move.”

Dylan shrugged. “I never make promises.”

Chapter Seven

DYLAN

Piper took a sip of her water, I shouldn’t have noticed the way her tongue darted out to glide across her bottom lip after she set the glass down. The lighting was designed for an atmosphere, specifically a romantic atmosphere. It was soft and imbued everything with a hazy glow. With the holiday lights strung around the room and the candles on the table, the entire space was set up for love and romance.

Meanwhile, my body was strung tight with arousal, the inconvenient need tearing me up inside.

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