Page 68 of Reality With You (Arden Beach #1)

W ith the press of a button above her head, the wrought iron gates glided open. Lennon had texted Dylan when she was on her way, and he told her to let herself in.

It felt a little too much like coming home.

Her heart squeezed at the sight of him already waiting at the front steps, leaning against one of the pillars with his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans, feet bare on the polished stone.

Since that morning, he’d styled his hair and changed into a fitted button-down shirt. The fractures in her heart deepened.

This would need to be quick.

“Thanks for letting me borrow your car,” Lennon said as she stepped out onto the paved driveway, tugging her tote over her shoulder.

She squinted against the sun, cursing herself for leaving her sunglasses on her kitchen counter in her rush to get to the interview.

The heavily tinted windows in his car had helped, but now, she wished she had something to help her hide the pain she felt while looking at him.

“Any time. How’d the interview go?”

Lennon pushed the door shut with a sigh. “I start in two weeks.”

“That’s great,” he said, pride glowing in his smile. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Lennon stopped between the steps and the car, smoothing a hand down the front of her pencil skirt. “It’s been a … busy day. I’m exhausted, so is it OK if I take a rain check on dinner? You probably should focus on preparing for your meeting, anyway.”

Dylan’s smile faded a little, disappointment flickering across his expression. “Yeah. Sure. I can drive you home—”

“No, it’s OK. You’ve already done enough for me.

” And she couldn’t bear to sit that close to him.

It was hard enough coming back, seeing him with that invisible barrier resurrected between them.

Knowing what was going to happen next. Part of her wished last night had never happened.

It made losing him again feel like she was carving out a piece of herself right after it had scabbed over.

Lennon slipped her phone from her bag, checking on the status of the car she’d ordered. Six minutes out. She could manage six minutes. She could check her email, say she has to take care of something for the new job—

“I’m not taking Kelsey’s deal.”

Lennon’s head shot up. She couldn’t have heard him correctly. “What?”

“I’m not taking her deal,” Dylan repeated more firmly.

Lennon’s stomach briefly lifted in relief, but then quickly dropped back to cold, hard reality. “You have to.”

“No, I don’t. It’s not worth losing everything over a lie.”

“Are you kidding? That’s exactly what’s going to happen. You’ll lose your career, your reputation, the team—”

“You. I mean you, Lennon.”

Lennon blinked, shell-shocked. The palm trees swayed in a breeze that swept across the motor court. She nearly swayed with them.

“I was never going to take her deal,” Dylan continued. He pushed away from the pillar, straightening. “I don’t want to be with her, real or fake. Especially after how she treated you.”

It took her a moment to find her voice. “What about the team?”

Remorse surfaced in Dylan’s eyes. His neck flexed through whatever inner turmoil he was fighting.

“Either I move forward with things the way I’d originally planned, or—” He glanced at the statue of a female figure holding a tipped pot, watching the water trickle into a small fountain.

“I take Nolan’s deal instead.” His gaze returned to her, sharpening.

“He came by earlier. He wants me to stay off the team this season and help him get the Tidebreakers in exchange for burying the footage of me at the party.”

Lennon’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline. “So, you’ve basically been blackmailed twice in one day,” she deduced, disgusted. His mouth twisted in a “basically, yeah” kind of way. “Did you tell him to go fuck himself?”

“I’ve been waiting to talk to you. He also promised to give you a good edit on the show.” Dylan paused, watching her. “And a record deal.”

The surprises kept on coming.

“Are you serious?” Lennon almost asked if Nolan even had the power to do that or if it was a manipulation tactic, but then she remembered who they were talking about. He had the connections, the money, the influence. And most of all, the audacity.

But it didn’t matter.

Lennon’s shoulders caved, shame and grief squeezing between her bones.

“Even if he could get me a deal, I couldn’t take it,” she said, her throat tightening around the words.

“I didn’t realize the exclusivity clause wasn’t voided when my contract with Goldrush was terminated.

I can’t record any music without their permission for ten years.

” Saying it out loud still felt wrong, like it wasn’t real.

Dylan’s expression went from shock to sorrow to anger all in a matter of seconds. He set his jaw. “We’ll fight it. We’ll get you out of it,” he promised, his voice deepening.

“It’s not important right now. Don’t take Nolan’s deal because of me. If it will cost you the Tidebreakers, it’s not worth it.”

“You’re worth more than the team.”

Lennon’s heart expanded and ached at once. It was exactly what she had waited for years to hear him say. But the funny thing about getting what you want is that sometimes it comes too late, and the cost of accepting it becomes too great.

How would Dylan feel down the road when he realized what he’d given up? How could his family ever look at him—or her—again after he threw it all away over a mess she’d gotten them both into?

She had to dig herself out of this and live with the consequences.

“I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself,” Lennon declared. “What about Eddie and Rhett? You’re making that decision for them, too. You’d force them to sacrifice something we both know they wouldn’t agree to.”

“They’ll get over it. Eddie’s a billionaire, and my dad’s a decorated player.

He’s won championships. He’s in the Hall of Fame.

The only thing he’s missing is winning one with me, and that’s a small disappointment in the grand scheme of things.

” Dylan’s eyes were clear, his voice unwavering.

“Yeah, it’ll hurt like hell if they lose the team, especially to someone like Nolan. But it’s not the end of the world.”

Though his reasoning was sound—their problems were absolutely of the champagne variety—Lennon knew the heart rarely cared about logic.

This was his family’s legacy. Maybe he’d eventually get over the loss, but would his father?

Would that put an even bigger rift between them?

She knew the pain of losing a parent who was still alive, of having them look at you like you’d ruined their life.

She wouldn’t be the reason that happened to Dylan.

And she wouldn’t be the reason he gave up his own dreams.

Dylan’s gaze drifted somewhere past her shoulder, unfocusing, as he seemed to recede into thought.

A tiny divot formed between his brows. “I’ve always put them and the team first. I’ve spent my whole life trying to live up to the idea of someone else.

My grandfather. My father. The perfect baseball player.

Meanwhile, I’ve failed at being the things that matter—a brother.

A friend. A husband.” His dark eyes softened on her.

Every part of her ached in response. “Of all my mistakes, my biggest regret is not being there for you when you needed me.”

The world turned blurry as tears surfaced. Lennon shook her head. “I can’t let you throw away everything for me. I won’t. ”

“I’m not throwing anything away. I’m making a choice.

” Dylan came down the steps—the pressure building in her eyes, throat, everywhere as he moved closer—and stopped a foot away.

The way he looked at her with such determination nearly made her come apart.

She took an uneven, steadying breath. “I should’ve chosen you every time because you were and are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

I’ll happily spend the rest of my life choosing you, Lennon. If you let me.”

Lennon turned her head to the side, needing not to look at him so she could get a hold of her emotions and think straight. She was suspended between everything she wanted and everything at stake if she gave in to it, ripping her in half.

“The only team I care about is this one—” Dylan took her hand and gently cradled her fingers in his. His touch made her release a jagged breath. “But if you don’t want this—us—tell me,” he said. “I’ll understand. I just want you to be happy. With or without me.”

Lennon closed her eyes. Happiness felt as elusive as any other dream, always slipping through her fingers when she thought she’d finally grasped it.

It seemed like her only option at this point was not to make a bigger mess of things.

“I can’t let you bail me out, Dylan, especially not at the expense of you and your family. I have to do this myself.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Lennon said, voice rising in frustration. She whipped her head forward. “I have to live with the consequences of my choices.”

A wrinkle formed between his brows. “Did you talk to your mom?”

The truth cut deep. She clenched her jaw to keep from crying, unable to answer.

Dylan hissed a sigh through his teeth. “I don’t know what she said, but whatever it was, I feel pretty safe saying it was bullshit.” He barely reeled in his anger, his voice softening around the edges. “You deserve to have everything you want, Lennon. Let me help you.”

Her mouth dragged into a frown. She shook her head. “I won’t take it at your expense.”

“It wouldn’t be—”

“It would. You fucking know it would.”

“Well, I don’t fucking care.”

Lennon’s heart pumped fast, staccato beats.

A tear slid down her cheek as she stared in his eyes—looking back at her with fire and desperation.

Pleading with her. She waved her head again in denial but before she could argue again, he pulled her to him and crashed his lips against hers.

She sunk against him. His hands framed her face as he kissed her like he was fighting for his life.

Her fingers grazed his ribs, curling around shirt to wrench him closer.

“I just want you,” Dylan breathed against her lips. “I don’t care about anything else.”

Lennon wanted to say fuck it all. To take what he was offering and run with it.

But where would that leave them once reality caught up to them? When he’d lost everything he loved, so he wouldn’t lose her.

She couldn’t live with him resenting her, too.

“I can’t, Dylan,” Lennon said with finality, her edges fraying.

His expression twisted with frustration.

“Please—go to that meeting. Fight for your spot on the team. If you don’t want to take Kelsey’s or Nolan’s deal, fine.

But don’t do it for me. Do what’s right for you.

” She fixed him with a steady look, so he knew how serious she was.

He watched her with a scrunched brow over pained eyes.

Her voice cracked as she said, “I need you to be happy, too.”

Her phone dinged.

“That’s my ride.” Lennon sucked in a sharp sniffle. “Let me know how it goes tonight, OK?” She could tell he was fighting against honoring her decision and arguing with her further. She gave him a look that pleaded with him to let her go, then peeled herself away from him.

Dylan reluctantly released her.

And she reluctantly walked away.