She smiled and looked relieved that he finally understood.
'You don't do this a lot, do you?' he asked.
'Hit on men and take them to my bed? No, I don't. I'm not very with it, am I? And you on the other hand probably can't remember the number of women you've slept with. That's why I thought you'd be… safe. You know- no promises, no regrets.'
'And you're okay with that?'
'I've upset you.'
'No, you haven't.'
'You're frowning.'
'I'm just trying to get this straight. It's a little surprising, that's all.'
'What is?'
'Your attitude.'
'Why?'
'You thought that spending the night together and having passionate sex wouldn't mean anything to me?' She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head. 'As I was say- 'Try to understand,' she said. 'I had just gotten some awful news, and I felt like my world was crashing in on me. Then there was Jordan's surgery… and I was so scared for her… and after…'
'Yes?'
'I went a little nuts. You were there, and I… you know?'
'You seduced me?' He was trying not to smile.
'Yes, I did.' She couldn't understand why he was having so much trouble comprehending what she was telling him. Had he already forgotten that night?
'I made the first move. I jumped your bones.'
'You're telling me you had a lot to deal with, and you went crazy?'
Hadn't she just said as much? 'Yes.'
He wasn't smiling now. 'Guess I was damned lucky I'm the one who showed up at your door with the pizza. Tell me something. If Nick had knocked on your door, would you have jumped his bones?'
She shook her head. 'No, of course not. He's married. You're not.'
His expression didn't leave her guessing. He didn't like what she was telling him. Tough, she thought. At least she was being honest.
'What happened was a mistake,' she continued, ignoring his frown. 'I shouldn't have…'
'Jumped my bones?'
She nodded. 'That's right.'
'I thought it was pretty great. Didn't you?'
'Do you need a testimonial?' She was actually trying to lighten the mood with her question because he was frowning so intently, and she was surprised when he nodded.
'Yes, I guess I do.'
'It was wonderful, but…'
'Now you regret it?'
'Dylan, try to understand. I shouldn't have come on to you the way I did. You're my best friend's brother. I'm going to be going back and forth to Boston quite a lot, and I don't want it to be awkward when I see you again.'
'So what was your game plan?'
She pushed against his chest, hoping to get him to move back, but he wouldn't budge. 'Answer me,' he demanded.
'I had hoped that I could come home and…'
'Pretend it never happened?'
'Yes.'
She smiled and looked relieved that he finally understood.
'You don't do this a lot, do you?' he asked.
'Hit on men and take them to my bed? No, I don't. I'm not very with it, am I? And you on the other hand probably can't remember the number of women you've slept with. That's why I thought you'd be… safe. You know- no promises, no regrets.'
'And you're okay with that?'
'I've upset you.'
'No, you haven't.'
'You're frowning.'
'I'm just trying to get this straight. It's a little surprising, that's all.'
'What is?'
'Your attitude.'
'Why?'
'You thought that spending the night together and having passionate sex wouldn't mean anything to me?' She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head. 'As I was say-ing, you chose me, used me, and now you want me to move on without…'
'Any guilt or worries.'
He stepped back, smiled, and then laughed.
'Why are you so happy?' she asked.
'Pickle, you're a dream come true.'
Chapter Nineteen
The letter arrived by special messenger at ten o'clock that evening. Everyone heard the doorbell ring, though they were each in different areas of the house.
Isabel was upstairs packing; Kiera was in the kitchen folding laundry, and Kate had spread the papers from the CPA firm on the coffee table to search for a copy of the loan agreement. Dylan had decided to do a home security check and was moving from room to room inspecting the doors and windows.
'I've got it,' Isabel shouted from the upstairs landing.
'No, you don't,' Dylan replied in a no-nonsense tone of voice as he came from the back of the house. He went outside and pulled the door closed behind him. Isabel watched from the side window.
'Who's at the door?' Kate asked.
'Some man with an envelope. Dylan just made him show him his driver's license. That's kind of odd, isn't it?'
'It's late,' Kate offered as an excuse.
'I think he's scared of Dylan. If you could see his face…' She jumped back so Dylan wouldn't know she'd been watching when he opened the door.
'One of you needs to sign for this.'
'Who would send something this late at night?' Isabel asked as Kate signed the form.
The envelope was marked urgent. That can't be good, Kate thought. She looked at the return address and wanted to groan. The envelope had come from a law firm, and that definitely couldn't be good.
'Who's it from?' Isabel asked.
'Smith and Wesson.'
'The gun company?'
'The law firm.'
Concerned that the letter was delivering more financial bad news, Isabel snatched the envelope out of Kate's hand so that Dylan wouldn't see it. 'Why don't we let Kiera open this,' she said as she quickly headed to the kitchen.
Kate didn't follow her. If it was another unpleasant surprise, she didn't want to be the one to break it to the
