Mountain Charm (18 page)

Maddie’s face paled. “And Nick was never a Boy Scout. What if he can’t get me unlaced?”

Angelina stifled a giggle.

Lydia could sense she was losing her commission. “Well, that’s why you buy a going-away dress! You’ll change at the church. I’m sure your bridesmaid will be happy to help you with the ribbons. We have some lovely—”

“I can’t afford
two
dresses,” Maddie snapped. “No, this won’t work at all. I need something simple and classic. Easy on and
definitely
easy off.”

Angelina managed to hide her smile as a disgruntled Lydia went off in search of dress number eleven. She began unstrapping her friend from the two thousand dollar dress, and when she looked up, she caught Maddie’s eye in the mirror.

“Thank you,” she mouthed.

Angelina winked.

“This corset really is a pain in the ass,” she said, tugging on the ribbons.

Maddie smiled. “Thank you for being here.”

“Of course. Where else would I be?”

“With your mom. With Dylan.”

“I can be with them all weekend. This is important.”

“She’s going to be okay, you know,” Maddie said. “This second round of chemo will do exactly what it’s supposed to do.”

Angelina nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“I didn’t think you were expecting Dylan until next week.”

“I wasn’t.” The last of the laces fell away, and Maddie let the dress pool at her feet. “It was a complete surprise when he showed up in my bedroom this morning.”

“In your bedroom?”

Angelina told her all about Dylan’s arrival and her mother’s premonition that he was coming.

“And she didn’t tell you?” Maddie laughed just as Lydia arrived with another dress. “It’s a good thing you don’t sleep in the nude. Or maybe that’s a
bad
thing . . .”

Imagining the two of them snuggling naked under a blanket caused butterflies to erupt in Angelina’s stomach.

“It’s a bad thing,” she muttered.

Maddie giggled as Lydia helped her step into the dress. The gown was made of satin and lace, with no straps, no train, and—most importantly—no corset.

The girls gazed at the mirror.

“This is perfect,” Maddie said.

Tears welled in Angelina’s eyes, because it really was.

After choosing a simple veil and shoes, the girls were in the car and headed back to Maple Ridge. Maddie was in her bride bubble, chatting away about her ideas for the reception. As happy as Angelina was for her friend, her mind couldn’t help but drift.

So much was happening right now. Her mother was scheduled for another surgery, she and Dylan were growing closer, and Maddie was getting married and moving away. There was such a mixture of happiness and sadness in Angelina’s world.

Is this life?
Moments filled with overwhelming joy and crippling misery? Taking the bitter with the sweet? Enjoying the rain because without it, you’d never see a rainbow? Are all of those annoying clichés really the secret to a happy life?

“You’re thinking about your mom, aren’t you?”

Angelina sighed and gazed out the window. “Among other things, but yeah.”

“And Dylan?”

“And Dylan. And you.”

“Well, your mom and I are going to be just fine,” Maddie said with a smile. “And Dylan is absolutely crazy about you.”

“I know. He told me.”

“Did he?”

Angelina nodded. “I told him about the spell, too. He knows everything now.”

“Does he believe in it?”

“He wasn’t sure at first, which is absolutely the right response for a sane person to have,” Angelina replied. “Now that he’s back, he says he doesn’t care about the spell. That it doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t. All that matters is how you make each other feel. Girls wait their whole lives and kiss a lot of frogs before finding their prince. So what if some ancient spell helped move things along? He’s in love with you, Angelina. The only reason he hasn’t told you is because he knows you won’t believe him. It’s going to be so much fun watching him prove it to you, and I hope he works quickly, because I don’t want to miss a minute of it.
And
I can’t wait until he sees you in that dress we bought tonight.”

Angelina couldn’t help but grin. Who would be her fountain of romantic optimism when Maddie moved away?

“Speaking of dresses, tell Nick he owes me. You looked so beautiful in it, but he would have
hated
unlacing that corset.”

Maddie wrinkled her nose. “It was really uncomfortable, but I was willing to deal with it because it made my boobs look
so, so
good.”

The girls laughed all the way home, and Angelina savored it, because she knew it could be one of the last times they’d have the chance. Maddie would be busy planning her wedding, and Angelina would be taking care of her mom after her surgery.

But for tonight, they were just two best friends, giggling like teenagers and talking about boobs and boys.

When Dylan asked if he could have Angelina all to himself for the weekend, she had no idea how lucky she would get. Celia was spending Saturday at a bluegrass festival in Strawberry Plains. It was only about an hour drive, but Celia and her friend chose to spend the night at a hotel and drive back home on Sunday.

Angelina didn’t ask the name of the friend, and in return, Celia didn’t ask where Dylan would be sleeping on Saturday night.

Ignorance was bliss for all involved.

Angelina and Dylan were cuddled in her bed, pretending to watch a movie. Instead, they alternated kisses with conversation, and Dylan admitted he’d quit his job.

“But you loved your job.”

 “I love to write, but it wasn’t as if I wanted to work there the rest of my life anyway. I have a few freelance offers. It’ll be fine.”

 “So there’s no article?” Angelina asked.

“No article.”

Her face fell as emotion bubbled inside her. Without a story, Dylan had no reason to stay in Maple Ridge.

Everybody leaves.

“Hey, I thought you’d be happy about that. You never wanted me to write the feature.”

“I know, but . . .” Her voice trailed off. She took a deep breath. “So, I guess you’re . . . headed back to Nashville soon.”

Dylan frowned. “Why would I be going back to Nashville?”

“There’s no reason for you to stay.”

Dylan rolled them over, pressing her into the mattress. Angelina snaked her arms around his neck, sighing softly when he rubbed his nose against hers.

“I think you’re a very good reason to stay. The best reason.”

Angelina moaned as he dipped his head, trailing his lips along her neck. His breath was warm against her skin, and she pulled him closer, desperate to anchor herself to him and never let him go. Instinctively, she arched against him, and he groaned, capturing her mouth with his once more.

When they finally pulled away, panting and breathless, Dylan pressed his forehead to hers.

“If I’m spending the night with you and sleeping in your bed, then you and I need to have a serious conversation.”

Sighing heavily, Angelina framed his face with her hands. “I’m so tired of serious conversations. For one night, can’t we just do whatever we feel like doing and ignore the rest?”

He chuckled and rolled over onto his back. Groaning, Angelina turned onto her side and gazed down at the infuriating man lying beside her.

“Don’t you want me?” Her voice was timid.

With a hungry look in his eyes that made her tremble, Dylan reached for her, pulling her face down to his. Angelina whimpered into his mouth, clutching his shirt in her hand. She let her fingers slide beneath the fabric, and he whispered a curse when she brushed her nails across his stomach. His low groan gave her courage, and within seconds, his shirt was gone. Feeling brave, she eagerly reached for the zipper of his jeans.

“Baby,” he murmured, his hand gripping hers. “If you value my sanity at all, you won’t do that.”

Angelina buried her face against his neck.
Why does he have to be a nice guy? Why?

But deep down, she knew she wouldn’t want him any other way. It wasn’t rejection she felt. It was confusion, and maybe, a little embarrassment. Dylan wanted her—she had no doubt about that—and they had this big house all to themselves for the night.

What was he waiting for?

“Do you know how much I care about you?” Dylan whispered against her ear. “Do you know how much it would kill me if you regretted this?”

“I care about you, too.” The words sounded so wrong. Almost blasphemous. Because she
more
than cared about him. “And I wouldn’t regret it.”

Gazing up at her, he smiled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You told me you’re a virgin.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Why?”

“Why am I a virgin?”

He nodded and gently brushed his hand against her cheek. “Don’t get me wrong. I love that you are. I’m just curious as to why. I mean, you’ve waited for a reason, and I don’t want to be the jerk that comes along and makes you regret not waiting a little longer.”

“I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“But why did you wait at all? Were you saving yourself for marriage or . . .”

She shook her head. “No. I mean, it’s a noble goal, but that isn’t why I’ve waited.”

“Then why, Angelina?”

She took a deep breath.

“Because a very small piece of my heart still believed in the spell. I wanted to wait . . . for him. Just in case.”

Dylan couldn’t hide his smile. “So you
do
believe in magic.”

She shrugged and lowered her head, letting her hand trail across his inked bicep. “I’d forgotten you have a tattoo.”

Angelina ghosted her fingers along the black ink. The design was two crisscrossed drumsticks with a half-heart in the middle.

“You must have really loved playing drums,” she said.

“I did, yeah.”

“Not anymore?”

“It was never a real passion. Just more of a phase. My mother was relieved when it finally passed.”

Angelina giggled. “The drumsticks I understand, but why the half-heart?”

“It was symbolic.”

“Of?”

Dylan shrugged. “I don’t know. It could mean a lot of things, I guess.”

She wasn’t letting him off that easy. “It must have meant something to you.”

Dylan sighed. “My mom seemed to think it symbolized my feelings about my dad. He left me incomplete, or some bullshit like that.”

“You don’t agree with her?”

“My father was the last thing on my mind when I picked the design. I just thought it looked cool and represented my life at the time. You know, like maybe I was this imperfect and unfinished beating heart. I was nineteen years old. Still growing up and trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life.”

With a smile, Angelina gently traced the outline of the heart with her fingertip. “I love that.”

Dylan shuddered as her hand traveled down his arm and along his chest.

“What’s this?” she asked, running her finger along a spot just above his navel.

“I had chicken pox when I was ten.” Dylan held his breath when she dipped her head to press a soft kiss against the scar. “Can you heal it?”

Angelina smiled against his skin. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried healing old wounds. I wouldn’t want to, anyway. It’s part of who you are. Some scars are good, I think. They remind you of where you’ve been.”

Her voice was soft and quiet, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she had any scars of her own.

“Did you ever have chicken pox?”

Angelina laughed. “No. Anytime we had an epidemic at school, mom would conjure some kind of potion to protect me. Magic sometimes has its advantages. I have a tattoo, though.”

Suddenly, he sat up in bed and reached for her, pulling her into his lap so they were nose-to-nose.

“Show me,” he murmured roughly.

She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are you trying to distract me from wanting to have sex?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Then showing you mine is probably a very bad idea. I’d have to be naked for you to really get the full effect.”

Dylan groaned and buried his face against her neck. They held each other close until Angelina finally whispered against his ear.

“Why do you want to wait?”

He lifted his head and found himself staring into her confused blue eyes.

“Because I love you,” he said simply. “I want to wait because I love you.”

Angelina gasped.

“You love me?”

Dylan rubbed his nose against hers. “You know I do. You just don’t believe it in your heart. Not yet. And that’s why I want to wait.”

He kissed her deeply, and Angelina moaned into his mouth. Tightening her arms around his neck, she pressed herself against him, desperate to have him closer as she savored his sweet words.

“I love you,” he whispered, letting his lips linger against her cheek.

Angelina wanted to say it back, but the words hung in her throat, suffocating her. Dylan placed his hands on each side of her face, forcing her to look into his eyes.

“Don’t say it, Angelina. Not tonight.”

Her eyes flashed with confusion. “You don’t want me to say it?”