What if they don’t like me?
What if they don’t want a relationship with me?
We sit in silence for a few moments, and I’m unable to tear my gaze away from the photograph between us. Is that really her? The woman who brought me into this world?
“Just think about it, okay? Please?” He reaches into his pocket and puts some bills on the table.
I look up, startled to see him standing already. He just got here. Why is he leaving already? “You’re leaving?”
“I want to give you some time. It’s what I would want if I were on that side of the table. But don’t worry, sis, I’ll see you soon, okay?”
I smile up at him, appreciating him anticipating that I’d need time. “Okay.” I offer him the picture back, but he shakes his head.
“Keep it.” He sets a piece of paper with a phone number on the table between us. “This is my cell. Call me when you’ve made up your mind, okay? No pressure though. It was enough to just get to meet you.” With one final smile, he turns and leaves.
The second the door closes and he’s on the street, Talia slides into the booth. “Okay, girl, spill. Who was that?”
I stare down at the photo, then smile. “My brother. That’s my older brother.”
Chapter 5
Dylan
Forty-five minutes.
That’s how long I’ve stood in this church parking lot, waiting for Emma to leave the diner. Riley joked that it’s because I’m jealous, but it’s not. Not entirely, anyway. I’d noticed the man who approached her as he lingered in the back of the church during the service.
He wasn’t there for the Gospel, but rather, the entire time, his gaze had been trained on Emma. At first, I brushed it off. She’s gorgeous, so the fact that she captured his attention doesn’t surprise me.
But when he’d beelined for her after service, something felt wrong.
Off.
So here I wait. Watching. Making sure she leaves safely.
The stranger left a few minutes ago, and I snapped a couple of cell phone pictures for Tucker to run through facial ID. I know the man doesn’t live here, which makes him a potential threat—at least in my opinion.
Unknowns are unpredictable.
I like my life to be predictable.
She steps out onto the street like a ray of sunshine in her yellow-and-white striped church dress. After waving goodbye to Talia inside, Emma makes her way across the street, a smile on her face. But as she gets closer, I note the red rimming her gorgeous eyes.
Eyes that are currently narrowed on me.
“What did he do to you?” I demand, already prepared to hunt him down and make him pay for causing her pain.
“Nothing.” Emma crosses her arms. “What do you want, Dylan?”
What am I supposed to say? That I was worried and wanted to make sure she was safe? Or that the idea of her sharing a meal with someone else makes my skin crawl? “I didn’t recognize him, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Emma’s glare turns molten. It’s something about her that’s always fascinated me. Emma is the happiest person I’ve ever met, but her temper, while slow to come by, is a force to be reckoned with. “You don’t care whether or not I’m okay, Dylan. So stop pretending otherwise.” She tries to walk past me to her car, but I remain where I am.
“I do care.”
“Why? Because you bring me anonymous flowers every year? You think that earns you the right to ask me about my life? To pry when it’s none of your business?”
How do I explain to her that I’m doing everything I can? That those flowers are the only way I can safely show her how much she means to me?
