Secret Designs(37)

"I'm just not interested in her, so shut up, Brad," Dylan replied through gritted teeth.

"Hey, relax! What's with you tonight? This never bothered you before."

"Maybe he really likes this Cindy chick, and that's why he's being weird," Riley egged.

Dylan shot dagger looks at Riley.

"Stop it, you two. Leave him alone," Kane warned the twins.

"Ooh. Something is up with you, Dyl," Bradley said. "How come Kane's in on the secret and we're not?"

Ari felt her face heat up. Fortunately, all eyes were on Dylan—except for Kane's and Jasmine's. They were glancing at her surreptitiously.

"Is this Cindy person the reason why you asked me not to encourage Rosalie to come here tonight, Dylan?" Linda asked.

"Oh, Mum, come on. Not you, too," Dylan groaned.

"Your older brother and your younger sister are getting married, Dylan. You're the guy in between them. You should at least consider finding yourself a girlfriend."

"Mum, we've been through this countless times," Dylan complained.

"I can live in hope," Linda sighed.

Ari was more than disappointed that Dylan didn't even glance her way during the conversation about this Cindy woman. She was under the impression that he'd holed himself up at home to meet his project deadline. She'd even avoided calling him to give him the space.

But obviously he'd gone out with his friends. Not that she minded him hanging out with them. It was just that as his girlfriend, she had expected that he would invite her along as well, or at least let her know he was going clubbing on a Friday night without her. Was that too much to expect? And who the hell was Cindy? And why on earth did he want to keep their relationship a secret from his family?

Jasmine sat next to her. "Are you okay?" her friend whispered.

"Yes." She gave Jasmine a smile that struggled to reach her eyes.

"Oh, Ari. You really like Dylan, don't you? But you know what he's like."

"What is he like, Jaz?"

"I told you once before, he's not into relationships. You said you knew that, too."

Ari chewed her lip. "You think he won't change?"

Jasmine shrugged and leaned closer to her ear. "Ari, I love Dylan like a blood brother, but if all he's interested in is casual sex and that doesn't work for you, then I really think you should forget about him."

"Hey."

Ari and Jasmine both looked up, startled, as Dylan sat on the other side of Ari.

"Hey, Dyl. The twins are giving you a hard time, huh?" Jasmine asked teasingly.

"Yeah," he said to Jasmine then flicked his gaze to Ari. "Sorry," he mouthed.

Ari looked into his eyes, trying to guess exactly what he was sorry about.

"Sometimes my brothers don't know when to zip it," he continued. "I didn't intend to go out last Friday, but Trey forced me to. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Ari heard Jasmine gasp beside her. She turned to her friend and smiled at her shocked expression. She patted Jasmine's hand, resolving to tell her all about it when they were alone.

"I don't think he likes me," she said, looking back at Dylan.

"From what I'm witnessing right now, I think your statement is inaccurate," Jasmine said, clearly dazed.

Ari and Dylan chuckled.

"I meant Trey, Jaz," Ari said.

"Don't take it personally, babe," Dylan said. "There's a good reason why he's acting like he is. Don't worry about it."

Ari doubted she could just sweep it aside. Trey was like a brother to Dylan. If she couldn't get along with him, it would put Dylan in a hard place.

"Come on, guys. You're killing me. What's going on between you two?" Jasmine whispered earnestly.

Ari shrugged. "I don't know."

"Ari, don't be like that," Dylan said softly.

"What are you kids whispering about there?" Linda called out. "Come and have some tea."





*******



"Shit!" Ari hit the brakes just in time to avoid the car in front, which had slowed down to match the traffic.

"For goodness' sake, Ari, watch the freaking road," she muttered to herself. The last thing she needed was an accident two minutes from home.

She'd been in a spin all through dinner and was even more upset now that she was feeling frustrated.

Dylan confounded her. He wanted her to ignore the twins' teasing about Cindy, yet he didn't explain who the woman was. He wanted Jasmine to know about the two of them, but he went out of his way to hide their relationship from the rest of his family. He whispered in her ear that he missed her, yet he didn't want to spend the night with her. Sure, he had an early morning meeting tomorrow to present the completed project to their client, but he'd found the time to hit the bars last Friday night, hadn't he? Something just didn't feel right.