Susan Mallery - The Christmas Wedding Ring

“We’ll have separate rooms and split expenses fifty-fifty,” he said. “Agreed?”

Molly had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. No doubt the poor guy was terrified she was going to come on to him the moment they were alone. She sighed. It made sense. After all, she had had a serious crush on him all those years ago and he was still incredibly gorgeous. However, she would do what she could to control her wayward self in his presence.

For a moment, she allowed herself to believe that his statement about separate rooms was made in order to make her feel safe. If only it were true. If only Dylan would look at her and find her attractive. But she knew about wishing after the moon. All it ever got anyone was a crick in the neck.

“That sounds fair,” she agreed.

“Then I guess that’s it,” he said. “Do we have a deal?”

“You’re willing to do it?” Molly asked, then felt instantly foolish. But she wanted to be sure. “We’re really going to take an adventure together?”

“I’m game if you are.”

Be careful what you wish for, a voice in her head whispered. She dismissed it and smiled. “I’m already packed.”

“Great.” He held out his hand. “Let’s shake to seal the deal.”

His long fingers engulfed hers. Heat flared between them, warming her from the inside out. She felt a faint tingling rippling through her body, and she didn’t care that her reactions were the result of a drink on top of no food, or even remnants from her crush all those years ago. She didn’t mind that she was the only one having all the reactions. It was enough that Dylan had agreed.

When he released his hand, he picked up his burger. “I’ll need the rest of today and most of the morning to get my business affairs in order. We could take off just after noon tomorrow, if that’s all right with you.”

Molly was suddenly starved. She poured more mustard on her bun, then smoothed the bright yellow sauce in place. “That’s great. I’m ready to go anytime, and I don’t have anywhere to be until the 22nd. If you’ll give me your phone number, I’ll call and let you know where I’m staying tonight.”

He swallowed his food. “You can stay with me.” He grinned. “I have a huge house up on one of the hills. I fell in love with the view, but the place is way too big for me. There are five bedrooms, and a couple are made up for guests.”

Molly hesitated. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.” The truth was, she was uncomfortable at the thought of staying with him under any circumstances. Being at Dylan’s house would be so intimate.

“I see. You’re willing to go away with me, but you won’t spend the night at my house? That makes sense.”

“Oh.” He had a point. She felt herself flushing. “I guess you’re right. Then thanks, I’d love to stay.” If nothing else, she would enjoy getting a peek into his world. What would his house look like? Did he—

She was about to take a bite of her burger, but she stopped suddenly and set the food back on her plate. Her mouth got dry as realization flooded her. “I never thought to ask,” she stammered. “You’re not married or anything, are you? It doesn’t matter as far as the travel, but I don’t want to get in the way or cause trouble.”

Actually, she was lying. If Dylan was married, she wouldn’t want to go away with him, but saying that would sound too weird, as if she had some secret romantic agenda.

“If I was married, I wouldn’t have agreed,” he said. “I’m between women at the moment, so no explanations are required. You don’t have to worry, kid—I live in a normal house. You won’t find anything scary lurking in the closets.”

His teasing smile was like a sucker punch to her belly. She was not relieved that he wasn’t married and she was not going to fall for him. Not Dylan, no way. She knew better.

That out of the way, they finished eating. When they were done, Dylan snagged a clean paper napkin from the passing waitress and drew Molly a map.

“This is the shop,” he said, motioning to a small box he’d made on the napkin. “The route to the house looks complicated, but once you’re on the road it’s pretty easy. Most of the time there’s only one way to turn.”

He explained the intricacies, then pulled his key chain out of his pants pocket and took one key off the ring.

“This is it,” he said, handing it to her. “I’m trusting you not to run off with the family silver.”

She closed her hand around the small bit of metal. It was still warm from his body. “I appreciate this, Dylan,” she said. “Both your willingness to come with me and the trust. I won’t let you down.”

He shrugged. “If I thought you were going to, I wouldn’t give you the chance. Besides, I saw that little car you drive. I could hunt you down in a heartbeat.”

“I’m sure you could.”

She studied his broad shoulders, which nearly stretched out the seams of his dress shirt. He was powerfully built. What would it be like to be so strong that you never had to worry about being physically afraid? It was, she decided, something men took for granted.

“You ready to go?” he said, preparing to slide out of the booth.

She frowned. “We haven’t paid the check.”

“They automatically put it on my tab. I pay it monthly.”

“What happened to splitting all expenses equally?”

He paused. “Young lady, you have a point. You also owe me ten bucks.”

She laughed. “That’s better.” She extracted the bill from her wallet and handed it to him.

Outside, the sky was clear. When she drove through L.A., it had been hazy, with a combination of low clouds and smog. Beyond the restaurant, there were only open areas. The city of Riverside was a sprawling, mostly rural town, while the county itself stretched all the way to Arizona. She felt as if she were a thousand miles from home, instead of only seventy miles away.

“We’ll go back to the office so you can collect your car,” he said as he opened the passenger door of his Mercedes. “Then you can head up to the house and relax for the afternoon. If you’re a typical female, we’re going to have a talk about packing.”

“I resent the implication,” she said, trying not to think about the huge suitcase filling her trunk.

“I’m going to give you one duffel bag and that’s all you get.”

“You’re not turning into a tyrant on me, are you?” she asked, not sure where he was going with this. Why on earth would it matter how many suitcases she brought and why would he want her to use one of his?

“I’m being practical.” He touched the tip of her nose and grinned. “We’re not taking a car on our adventure. We’ll be riding on one of my bikes.”

Her brain instantly provided a picture of a bicycle and she opened her mouth to protest. What on earth was he thinking? Then she remembered...this was Dylan. All bad boy and black leather on a motorcycle.

Her eyes got wide, and the image was so powerful she couldn’t speak. Then all she could do was laugh in sheer delight.

* * *

Dylan watched Molly drive away, then he turned back toward his building. As the sound of her car faded, he told himself to go inside, that a thousand things needed doing. Yet he stood there, staring at the brown hills and dry desert land.

He couldn’t believe he’d given a strange woman the key to his house and blithely let her go there on her own. Even Molly had been surprised by his blind trust. What had he been thinking?

The truth was, he hadn’t been thinking at all. His gut had said it was okay to trust Molly, and so he had. Weird, considering he never trusted anyone. What was it about her? Their past? Or maybe it was the vulnerability in her eyes. Something that called to him, begging for protection or comfort.