Page 22 of Rogue’s Path (Sweet Chaos #1)

Dylan

“Have I told you that you’re the weirdest friend ever?” Cordelia pulls her front door closed, locking it behind her.

There’s something about this small town that makes people feel safe, but not safe enough to ignore locking up. “Nope.” Though I’ll take that as a compliment. Weird is better than strange.

“You’re going on a date, and you didn’t spend three hours picking out an outfit and fussing with your hair.” Cordelia clearly did, but she has to be perfect all the time.

“It’s not a date. He’s just hanging out with us.”

“That’s a total cop out. He asked you on a date.”

We start down the steps.

“And I said no.”

“No isn’t inviting him to join us. That’s a yes maybe. It tells the guy that you might be interested but want to test the waters first.”

Test the waters? “Bear is a nice guy and all that, but I don’t want to test the waters.”

“Then what do you want? Because you currently have three guys who want to get to know more about you. You need to pick one before you lose them all. If you don’t pick Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy, can I have his number?”

“Even if he isn’t emotionally available for a long-term relationship?”

Cordelia grins. “Especially if he isn’t. I don’t want to introduce him to my family, even if they’d love him.”

“That man isn’t the kind to trifle with. When he falls in love, he’s going to be relentless in his pursuit.” More like if he ever lets himself fall in love.

Cordelia turns toward the tree-lined sidewalk. The old oaks create a grand spectacle even with their bare branches. How are Cordelia’s flowers still alive in the middle of winter when everything else is dead?

It’s supposed to snow tomorrow. I’ll get to figure out her secret then.

“I won’t let him fall in love with me. It’s as simple as that.”

Won’t let him. I laugh. “You don’t just get to pick who you love. Life doesn’t work like that.”

“I know that. Probably more than anyone else in the world. But we do get to choose not to love someone. And I choose not to fall in love with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy.”

Have fun with that. Something tells me Taylor would win the battle of wills if it came to it.

“Tomorrow, a few of my friends are coming over for tea.”

That sounds fancy but fun.

“They all want to meet you again.”

Again? “Were they at the pre-bachelorette party?”

“Yeah, most of them. The problem is…” Cordelia looks down at the ground.

She wants some privacy and doesn’t know how to ask me to leave. “I was planning to write at the café tomorrow. Deadlines and all that. Do you mind if I say hi and then leave right after?”

Her face lights up. “Not at all.”

The tree-lined path leads right up to the town square, which is completely transformed for the event. Vendor tents line the street with lights strung up all around for when the sun sets. There are chairs set up all through the park in front of a massive blow-up screen. “Tonight is going to be fun.”

“It sure is.”

The scents of cotton candy and kettle corn waft over to us first.

“Where are we meeting your not-date?”

“Very funny. He said he’d meet us at the dairy barn. I haven’t seen a dairy barn in town, though.”

“The dairy barn is an ice cream vendor. They put boards around their stand and made it look like a dairy barn. Many of the vendors have done it since then, which makes everything even cuter.”

It really does. “We should get some ice cream first.”

“See, I knew there was a reason we became friends. I always start with dessert, too. Who wants to risk running out of space for the good stuff?”

I want to drink in all the scents and sights as we walk past booth after booth. This would be the perfect setting for a romcom or maybe a small-town romance. The couple could hold hands and walk down the street, sighing at each other.

Then, a crazy murderer could sneak up on them when they’re kissing behind a bush and stab them fifty times with a meat skewer he stole from the kebab booth. Or maybe he uses one of those long poles that hold whole chickens over the rotisserie.

The herbs make them smell intoxicating. I want to eat everything now. Bear is going to have to carry me out of here.

If Rogue were here, he’d end up tossing me over his shoulder again.

Which wouldn’t be the best idea with all the food in my belly.

What would it have been like if Rogue showed up at the café and asked me instead? Would he have taken my hand in his? Nah, he’s not one of those cutesy men. He would have slung an arm over me and pressed me tight to his side as we walked together down the street.

Would he be a temple kiss kind of guy? He seems that way.

They’d be firm, not soft...

“Earth to Dylan.”

Huh? “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“There’s only one guy by the dairy barn, and he’s um…large.” Cordelia’s eyes almost pop out of her head.

Large…I follow her gaze. That’s Bear, but without all his wild hair. I kind of miss the free spirit. Somber, well-dressed Bear…it’s not him. Was he trying to be someone else to impress me? Because I liked him the way he was. Not liked him liked him. But liked him as a person.

Cordelia was right. In his head, this is definitely a date.

Ruh roh.

How am I going to let him down gently?

Why am I not even thinking about dating the sweet guy in front of me? Unlike Rogue, he did all the right things. It’s not a kiss and run and then totally disappear without a word. Don’t I want a nice guy? Everyone should want a nice guy.

Not the guy who destroys your mind with a single kiss. I could at least give Bear a try…Maybe he’s a good kisser, too.

That’s it. I’ll have a kissing contest. The best kisser wins a date with me.

My life is so not becoming a romcom.

Which one is going to turn into the sexy billionaire who sweeps me off my feet onto his private jet to travel the world and cover me in diamonds?

What utter drivel. That never happens.

Though if I had to guess, it would be Taylor.

The only thing I’d end up covered in with Rogue is leather.

Not happening. There’s no way I’m spending the summer sweating to death. Would it squeak when I walked? Or would the rivers of funk roll down my legs and into my flip-flops? They probably don’t even wear flip-flops. It should be a law that you have to wear them in the summer.

Nope. I’m not cut out to be a biker chick or whatever they are called.

And there’s no way I’m ever letting a guy call me his old lady.

Focus, you have a non-date sort of date standing right in front of you. “Hey, Bear. You made it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” His eyes aren’t on me.

Bear is staring at Cordelia like he’s never seen a woman before. Interesting. “Bear, this is the friend I was telling you about, Cordelia.”

“You’re really the cake lady?”

He might not have wanted to shave because when his mouth falls open due to shock, we’ll actually be able to tell now.

“I don’t know about that. But I make cakes for a few places around town.”

“Oh, you’re definitely the cake lady.” He steps forward, moving until he’s between us. “Your cannoli cake is amazing. Have you considered adding pistachios to it?”

“I have. I even dipped some pistachios in chocolate…”

***

Two hours later, I’ve heard more about cakes than I ever wanted to know. It would be easy to make one of my characters a baker. Only now, he’d be a tattooed guy in a heavy metal band.

“So where would you ladies like to eat next?” Bear’s eyes never leave her face.

At least I don’t have to worry about him being hopelessly in love with me while I’m playing kissing tag with his gang member. Club member. Whatever it is they’re called. I haven’t done research on motorcycle clubs in a long time, and all that was just superficial for a side character.

“A gyro sounds good to me. What do you think, Dylan?”

“Sounds good.” Thankfully, we've each been taking a bite while Bear finishes the rest.

It’s the best way to do this. He never seems to fill up. It must take a ton of fuel to run a man like him.

“I’ll be right back with one.” Bear gives her a smile before walking off.

“He’s really sweet.”

On you. “Yeah, he is.”

“And his ideas for new cakes are insightful.”

That I wouldn’t know about because I zoned out and started imagining a novel about two minutes into your conversation. “They are. Will you be trying some of them out?”

“Absolutely. Especially the one with the white chocolate…”

My brain loses focus of her words as a man carrying an armful of red roses walks down the street.

He’s coming straight at me.

What am I going to do? What if he has a weapon? I need to protect Cordelia.

There are too many people around. He won’t be able to kidnap me.

This is all about him controlling the situation, showing me he can find me no matter where I am. How did he find me? I’ve been completely off-grid staying here. I took three different modes of transportation to get to Cordelia’s house just for that reason.

The guy carrying flowers stops twenty feet from us as a man says, “I’ll take one of those roses for my girlfriend.”

A vendor. It’s not my stalker. This guy is just selling flowers. It makes sense with all the couples wandering around.

Those red roses just took a year off of my life. Death by roses. I’m not even ready to consider a title like that. One day…

“So what do you think?” Cordelia looks at me expectantly.

Think? All I could think about was death, destruction, and how to avoid it. There’s no way I can tell her any of that.

Bear walks over to us with a gyro wrapper in his hand. “Got it. The line was long.”

Food to the rescue!!!

***

“We have just enough time before the movie starts to try one more thing. What haven’t we tasted yet?” Cordelia’s eyes roam the cute booths.

Not much. “I don’t think we tried those chocolates.” They’re small enough that they might actually fit in my overstuffed stomach.

“I’ll go grab some. Be right back.” Cordelia dashes off, leaving the two of us together.

Bear turns to me. “Your friend seems really nice.”

It’s almost impossible to hold back a laugh. Nice. You’ve been hanging on to her every word all night. You don’t think she’s just nice. “She is. I’m so glad you were able to join us.”

“Me too…” He scoots his foot across the ground, staring at them like they have all the answers.

“You should ask for her number.”

“What? You think I should? But I asked you out.”

Poor, confused Bear. “You should. Cordelia is really nice—” I barely stop myself from emphasizing the nice. “—and you two clearly get along.”

“You aren’t hurt?”

“Not in the least.” I set my hand on his arm to reassure him. He’s got some serious muscle with all that bulk.

“You asked Peaches out!”