Midnight Angel Read Online Free PDF Page B

finished
playing his getting-to-know-each-other-again game.
    He reached a hand out and caressed her
cheek. “I’d love that,” he said, the smile on his face evident in
his voice.
    Tremors of excitement shot through her, and
as he turned the engine over, her stomach rolled with anticipation
at the night to come.
    * * *
    Whoever said you couldn’t come home again
didn’t know Holly Evans, Dylan thought. Her apartment was cozy and
made him feel welcome and at ease. While she put something together
for dinner, Dylan kept himself busy stringing the lights on her
tree. He couldn’t believe the Holly he knew, who loved Christmas,
hadn’t decorated her apartment before now, but her hectic schedule
was his gain. He put his own touches on her tree, and in doing so
he hoped he was making a definite mark in her life.
    He heard her footsteps as she walked in to
join him. His gaze was immediately drawn to the way the tight denim
jeans molded to her hips and thighs. Still slender, she’d filled
out in a womanly way that made him hard just looking at her. It
wasn’t desire alone that beckoned to him but the sense of
fulfillment and belonging he found only with her.
    Today had shown him that his memories were
but shadows of reality. Together they could share so much, if he
could convince her to open her heart to him again.
    “Hi, there,” he said.
    “Hi. Dinner should be ready in about
forty-five minutes. I hope you like frozen lasagne because when I
offered to cook, I forgot I hadn’t been shopping in a while. We’re
lucky I was able to find something to defrost so we could eat at
all.” She knelt down and sat on the hardwood floor.
    “I’d have been happy to take you out, but
I’m happier to have more time alone.” He patted the empty space
beside him, but she kept her distance.
    She smiled, but after a day of laughter and
relaxed fun, he recognized forced cheer when he saw it. “What’s
wrong?”
    She glanced down, rubbing her palms against
her jeans. “I just had some time to think, and I can’t help but
have questions. A lot of them, actually.”
    “Like?” he asked, prepared to deal with
whatever was on her mind.
    She lifted her gaze to meet his. “Like why
you left so suddenly and why you came back into my life the same
way.”
    He nodded slowly, glancing up at the empty
tree top, wondering where to begin. Hoping he wouldn’t push her
further away.
    Though she sat cross-legged on the floor
next to him, their easy camaraderie was gone, and she went out of
her way to make sure her bent knee didn’t touch his. She was
waiting for an explanation, and he wondered if anything he said
would make sense—or make a difference to her now.
    “You know how badly I wanted to act.”
    She nodded. “You said Broadway. We had
plans. Dreams. At least I thought we did, but after you took off, I
convinced myself they’d been
my
dreams and you’d humored
me through high school before moving on.” At times she even thought
that he’d used her, Holly thought.
    She bit down on her lower lip, not wanting
Dylan to see the extent to which he’d hurt her. Certainly she
didn’t want him to know his betrayal had probably ruined any chance
she had at trusting any other guy. Now that she was beginning to
understand how deeply he still affected her, in a way she resented
him even more.
    He gazed at the needles on the tree as if
they could offer clarity until finally he spoke. “The closer we got
to graduation, the more trying for Broadway and acting in New York
seemed like a sacrifice,” he admitted. “Like I’d be accepting
second choice without even trying for the big-time.”
    “So why didn’t you just tell me? Or was I
that much of a burden?” she asked, admitting her fears out loud for
the first time. “Were you afraid I’d hold you back?”
    He jerked backward and stared. “Are you
serious? It was just the opposite. I didn’t want to hold
you
back. Your family had dreams and goals for you.
You
had those same