Page 106 of Sunshine
“Ready. And Mom?
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
She gives me a wink before she swings open the door. “Hello, Dylan. How are you, honey? Come in. Come in. Don’t stand out there in the hallway.”
He ducks his head with thanks as he moves past her into our tiny home, and the concern on his face unravels me completely. I leap from the couch and crash into his arms, which curl around me and don’t let go.
“I hate to be rude,” Mona murmurs, “but you’ve caught me in the middle of getting ready for work. You don’t mind if I leave you guys to it?”
“Not a problem,” he says.
“Poppy?” she asks, and I nod without lifting my head from Dylan’s chest.
“I’m okay.”
“Good. And we’ll talk more later, okay?”
“I’d like that.”
She offers me an encouraging smile before she disappears into her bedroom.
“Izzy’s with Annalise?” I ask as I tighten my grip on Dylan like I might find a way to burrow underneath his skin.
“Yeah. Soccer first, then they’re going out to lunch. We’ve got a couple more hours before Annalise leaves for her flight.”
“Have you talked to Daisy yet?”
Dylan cups my face and touches his lips to mine before he shakes his head with regret. “She didn’t sleep at home last night, and she didn’t crash at Finn’s place either. Charlie made herself scarce this morning, so she probably knows what’s up, but I suspect my siblings are staying out of the line of fire until everything gets resolved. And then, by the time I got to the stables today, Daisy was already out on a ride.”
I take Dylan’s hand and lead him to the sofa, sitting with his fingers twisted in mine on my lap.
“She isn’t returning my calls,” I say. “Or my texts. I stayed up all night just in case so I wouldn’t miss her call while I was sleeping, but…nothing.”
“Are you okay?” he asks before he shakes his head. “I’m sorry. That’s a stupid question.”
He kisses the back of my hand as I huff out a sad kind of laugh. “I’m a mess.”
“Well, I have news that might make you feel a little better. Annalise likes you.”
“You’re joking.”
He fights a smile. “No. And she wants an invitation to the grand opening of your first spa.”
“Well. That’s…”
A distant kind of joy expands inside my chest. Weirdly enough, Annalise’s faith feels bigger than it should. She’s a stranger, she barely knows me, and yet she believes in me.
And yet it’s still too small to make any difference to the ocean of grief I feel about Daisy.
Dylan frowns and rubs his stubbled jaw. “I know. It’s not easy to be relieved about Annalise when we still need to fix things with Daisy.”
“Oh, Dylan. How could we let this happen?”
He pulls me into his arms, and I lean against his chest, running my fingers over the cotton of his t-shirt and sinking into the safety of his embrace.
“Finn accused me of liking the thrill of us sneaking around,” Dylan says. “He said that behaving like a kid who got away with something bad made this thing between us hotter and more exciting.”
