Page 60 of Family Forever
Chapter Fourteen
Dylan paced his bedroom. Why on earth was he so nervous? He was just going to see Marissa, a woman he’d already spent countless hours with. But this time was different. It was kind of like a first date, and he hadn’t seen her since Monday, the morning following their near-all-night kissing session. If it hadn’t been for his brothers’ busy after school schedules this week he would have met up with her sooner, but time just didn’t permit it. Thank goodness it was Friday.
He pulled the jewelry box from the bag and took another peek at the ruby earrings he was going to give her tonight, his Valentine’s Day gift to her though it was several days late. They would be a nice match to the necklace he gave her for Christmas, and she really seemed to like that so hopefully she’d like these as well.
After closing the case, he slipped it back into the red gift bag, smoothed out his shirt with the palm of his hands and headed into the kitchen where the boys were in the midst of their early dinner. He wanted them fed before he left to take Marissa to dinner at an Italian restaurant he’d heard about that was near her school.
Aric was throwing on his jacket when Dylan stepped into the kitchen.
“I’m outta here. They’re already in the driveway waiting for me.”
“Okay, have fun, and be home before midnight.”
Aric nodded and bolted out the door.
Dylan glanced at his watch. It was 5:30. He needed to get going if he was going to pick Marissa up and make their seven o’clock dinner reservation. He looked at Braden. “You’re in charge until Cole gets here, which should be in an hour or so. Watch your brothers and don’t fight.”
Braden nodded.
Apprehension coiled in his chest. This was the first time he was leaving Braden in charge of his two younger brothers where he was further away than the barn. He hoped Braden and Nate didn’t kill each other while he was gone. With any luck, Cole would get home sooner than expected.
“Are you leaving or what? I got this,” Braden said, knocking him out of his reverie.
Dylan climbed into his truck, cranked the engine and took off. In less than an hour, he was knocking on Marissa’s door. She pulled the door open and greeted him with a warm smile. The very smile he’d dreamed of more times than he could count. Her bright red lips matched the red shirt she wore that crisscrossed over her breasts making them look larger than he remembered. Good Lord, they hadn’t even gone to dinner yet and he was focused on her breasts. But he couldn’t help himself, he had just a slight feel of them the other night when he held her tightly to him, and since then he couldn’t stop thinking about them. He debated kissing her, he wanted to but decided to keep it light before dinner, or he probably wouldn’t make it to dinner.
“I just need to grab my jacket,” she said as she turned away from him.
He eyed her thin legs covered with black tights and tall, sexy black boots. The length of her black skirt fell to just above the top of her boots. The entire outfit was sexy as hell on her, every piece of material hugging her tiny, shapely body in all the right places.
He took her coat from her hand, held it as she slid into it, and when she spun to face him he instinctively reached for the buttons. He had the first button fastened before he realized what he was doing. “Sorry, it’s a habit with Luke.”
They shared a nervous laugh.
They drove to the restaurant only a few miles away, and though it was busy, they were seated right away. He glanced at her over the top of his menu. Her shiny blonde hair fell over her shoulders and framed her milky white face. Long black lashes outlined her bright blue gaze. She had the most beautiful blue eyes. He’d found himself lost in her gaze on more than one occasion since she’d come into his life.
Sometime between the salad and main course, the tension in the air eased and conversation resumed normally, like they held in the old days before they kissed, and even before Terry came into her life. Most of their conversation revolved around the boys and their activities. It warmed his heart to know how much she cared for his brothers and missed them when she was away. And like he’d discovered months ago, she still talked to them all regularly on the phone, even Aric.
A tinge of fear swept through him at the thought of his brothers losing her someday. He knew in his heart he’d never voluntarily let her go, but what if she and he didn’t work out? What if she decided this whole ready-made family was too much to bear? How would his poor brothers handle such a loss, another loss of this magnitude in their young lives? Was he making a mistake, pursuing her romantically? Would leaving their relationship at friendship carry less risk of his family losing her? A blast of adrenaline coursed through him, he needed to stop dwelling on this, as these questions were moot anyway. He was already all in.
He watched Marissa as she finished up the last of her tiramisu. His had disappeared in the customary four bites but she took her time with hers. Judging from the satisfied look on her face, she savored every morsel. When she was finished, Dylan rose from the table, pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and glanced at the screen. No messages or missed calls. This had to be a first. Normally he didn’t go an hour without a call from one of his brothers, urgently needing something.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Marissa assured with a soft smile.
She knew him too well. “Yeah, I know.” He stuffed the phone back into his pocket.
He drove her back to her dorm, parked the truck, slid out and hurried to her door to open it for her, then he snatched the small gift bag out from the center console.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I got you a little something.”
Her eyes sparkled and her smile widened.
“What is it?”
“You’ll find out in a minute. Let’s get inside, out of this cold air.” Yep, he was going to use this to his advantage to get into her room and spend more time with her. But how was he going to deal with the roommate issue, he wanted alone time with Marissa.
They slipped inside her dorm room. No roommate. “Where’s Ashley?”
