Secret Designs(36)

"Oh. And it's not sorted yet?" she asked, rubbing his thigh in a comforting gesture.

"Not yet. But it'll be fine eventually," he said reassuringly.

"You're very close to them, aren't you?" she observed.

"Yeah. They're like brothers to me," he said a little sadly.

"I hope you settle your differences soon." She curled up her legs underneath her and put her head on his shoulder.

Dylan took her glass from her hand and put it down beside his. He caressed her face and kissed her—tenderly at first, then insistently, as if he was trying to coax some answer from her mouth.

Aware of his need for her, she wrapped her arms around him gave him her body as solace for his unsettled mind.





*******



"I'll be very busy this week, baby. I'm way behind with my project so I can't see you until next weekend at the earliest."

"That's okay." Ari smiled at Dylan as she snaked her arms around his neck. "I have to work hard on the dresses, too. I should be finished with your mum's outfit for Faye's wedding this week so I could hand it to her next weekend."

"I'm sure Mum would have another dinner party in celebration of the completion of her dress," Dylan grinned.

"Well, I hope she doesn't invite Rosie again," she said with a mock pout.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Knowing Mum...I'll ask her not to." He gave her a quick kiss then released her to open her car door. "I'll see you next week at my parents', okay?"

"Okay," she said and got in her vehicle.

As she drove away, she wondered how Dylan intended to tell his mother not to ask Rosalie to dinner. He didn't say anything about telling his parents about them. Or wasn't he ready for that?

Come to think of it, she hadn't told Jasmine about them either. It was still too new, and it was nice to be able to just 'keep him to herself' for a while. Except that his best friends knew already. She didn't mind, but she still felt that Trey had acted a little weird. He gave off vibes that made her feel he didn't like her.





*******



"Hello, Ari," Linda greeted her. "How are you, darling?"

"I'm well, thank you, Linda. And you?"

"Very well, thank you," Linda responded, her eyes shining as she took the garment Ari had in her hands. "I can't wait to try this on. Do you mind if I do that now, before we start dinner?"

"Sure," Ari grinned, just as excited as Linda was.

"Jasmine and Kane are already in the games room waiting for you," Linda said as she made her way up the stairs.

The doorbell rang.

"That's probably Dylan. Would you mind getting that please, Ari?" Linda asked as she stopped in the middle of the steps.

Ari turned around to open the door, her heartbeat already accelerating. She hadn't even spoken to Dylan all week. They'd both been very busy. She had been tempted to call him a couple of times, but decided to let him concentrate on his work.

She turned the knob and tried to look unaffected, conscious of Linda waiting to see who was at the door.

"Hey, gorgeous," Dylan said with a surprised smile. "I wasn't expecting you to open the door."

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Hello, darling," Linda called from the stairs. "I'm glad you're on time tonight. No parties?"

Dylan smiled resignedly at his mother as he closed the door behind him. "Hi, Mum. I haven't partied for a while. Been too busy."

"Good. I'll be back down in a few minutes to parade my new outfit." Linda continued her ascent up the stairs and left them alone by the threshold.

When Linda disappeared from view, Dylan leaned down to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. "How've you been?" he asked softly.

"Good, thanks. You?" she asked breathlessly. Lord, she missed him.

"Not bad." Dylan put an arm around her waist and led her to the games room which seemed to be the hub of the Summers household.

"Dyl," she said in a low voice, "how should we act toward each other tonight?"

Dylan smiled at her. "I've been thinking about that, too. Do you mind if we keep this quiet for a while? Is that okay with you?"

"Sure."





*******



"Hey, Dyl," Bradley said as they all gathered in the living room after they'd finished dinner. "I bumped into Trey at The Establishment last Friday night. He said I just missed you. You left with a girl named Cindy or something."

Ari's head whipped toward Dylan in surprise.

"Who's Cindy? A new one-day girlfriend?" Riley asked in a teasing tone.

"No." Dylan scowled at both of his twin brothers. "She just happened to leave at the same time as I did."

"She wasn't very pretty, I take it?" Bradley teased.