“Oh . . .”
“So did you misread all that?”
Dillon nodded. “I guess so.”
Janelle brightened. “Well, that’s a relief. I told Jordan over and over last night that you didn’t strike me as the kind of girl who would lead a guy on and then just leave him hanging like that.”
“No, I would never do that. Not to anyone—especially not to Jordan.”
“So you’re as interested in him as he is in you?”
Dillon nodded again.
“Well, I told the twins I’d be right back. They’re getting dressed. So I better go.”
“I’ll go with you,” Dillon stood. “I haven’t even brushed my teeth or anything yet.” As they returned to Dillon’s trailer, she was relieved not to see anyone. Especially Jordan. She suspected she looked a fright. As Janelle herded her girls out of the trailer, Dillon used the privacy to do some much-needed primping. So all her worries had been for nothing! What a silly fool she’d been. She should’ve known Jordan wasn’t like that.
CHAPTER
33
Finally, feeling ready for the day and suspecting that breakfast was probably being served, Dillon emerged from her trailer and hiked up to the group area. There, to her total surprise, everyone was waiting with balloons, a birthday banner, and a sheet cake. And suddenly everyone was singing “Happy Birthday” to her.
“Blow out your candles,” Jordan told her. “We didn’t know how many to put on, so I insisted the girls stop at thirty.”
“Thank you!” Dillon grinned at him. She took in a deep breath, and knowing that her wish was probably already coming true, she blew toward the candles. With the help of the girls, she managed to put them all out.
“Are you surprised?” Chloe asked.
“Absolutely.” Dillon nodded. “I almost forgot it was my birthday.”
“We didn’t,” Emma told her.
“This is your birthday breakfast,” Chloe said. “It was my idea.”
“The girls insisted you had to have your cake first thing,” Janelle told her. “I wanted to wait until lunch.”
“Cake for breakfast,” Dillon declared. “What could be better?”
As they ate breakfast together—bacon and eggs and birthday cake—Dillon felt fairly certain that Janelle had informed Jordan that all was well with her. At least she hoped so. Since Jordan was acting fairly normal, she tried to do the same. Still, she hoped that they’d have a chance later to talk about all this stuff. It felt like they needed to clear the air . . . and get a fresh start. Perhaps even a birthday kiss?
So when they were done eating and Jordan invited her to take a walk, she gladly agreed. They were just setting out when a small rental RV pulled into their camp area. “Someone must be lost,” Jordan said as the vehicle parked near the group area.
Dillon glanced at the gaudily painted RV van then suddenly felt sick. “Oh no!”
“What’s wrong?” Jordan asked.
“I can’t believe it,” she said in a hushed tone. “It’s—it’s Brandon.”
“What?” Jordan frowned. “Why is he here?”
“I have no idea. I haven’t seen him since—”
“Dillon!” Brandon got out of the RV, extracting what looked like a giant bouquet of red roses and, wearing a confident smile that defied all common sense, he strolled over to them. “Happy birthday, honey!”
“Brandon?” She looked at him with a horrified expression. “What on earth are you doing here? How did you even know how to find—”
“Margot told me you were here. So I rented this RV for a few days and came up to find you. The camp host said your group was over here.” He grinned. “So here I am, wishing you a very happy birthday.” He handed her the roses with a flourish.
“But I—”
“Now, don’t say anything. Not yet.” Brandon reached into his jacket pocket. “I have a very important question to ask you.”
“Brandon, don’t—”
“Please, let me say this without interruption, Dillon.” He pulled out a small blue velvet box. “It’s too important.”
“I think I should excuse myself,” Jordan said stiffly. “This looks like a private moment.”
“But I don’t want you—”
“Let him go,” Brandon said abruptly to her. And before she could stop him, Jordan was gone. Then, to her complete and astonished horror, Brandon got down on one knee and, declaring his love, asked her to become his wife.
“No, Brandon.” She folded her arms in front of her, firmly shaking her head. “I’m sorry you went to all this trouble. Especially after I already told you—over and over—that we were over and done with.”
“But this is the real deal, Dillon.” He stood, brushing off his knee. “I’m not asking you just to be my girl, or to wait a whole year. I’m asking you to marry me, Dillon. And we can do it right now if you want.”
“I don’t want!” Dillon sensed eyes on her and turned to see all her fellow campers staring down at her with way too much interest. “Come walk with me, Brandon.” She grabbed his arm, tugging him away. “You have to understand this once and for all. I am not ever going to marry you. Not now. Not next year. Never.”
“But it was what you’d always wanted. And now that I’m really ready to do it, I can’t believe you’re blowing me off like this.”
“I told you the last time I saw you, Brandon. No is no.”
“I didn’t propose to you the last time. Not like this anyway.” He held out the velvet box. “You didn’t even look at the ring. It’s really—”
“I do not want the ring.” She paused in the shadow of some trees. “You have to believe me, Brandon. I will never marry you. Never ever.” She handed him back the roses. “Please, go.”
He looked truly dismayed.
“I’m sorry if that hurts, but you can’t say I didn’t warn you before. I wish you’d listened.” She glanced around, hoping to spot Jordan nearby . . . and desperately hoping Brandon’s sudden unexpected appearance hadn’t just set them back again. But she didn’t see Jordan anywhere.
“But I thought we made real progress when I was here last time. Remember we had that great lunch right here at this very lake. It was a good day. Remember?” Brandon was giving her his kicked puppy look, but she wasn’t buying it.
“Sure, we parted on friendly terms, Brandon. But that was all. I didn’t want hard feelings between us, but I never did anything to make you believe I’d marry you.”
“So I did all this for nothing?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry, but you did.”
He scowled. “So there’s nothing left to say.”
“Not as far as I’m concerned. I just wish you’d listened before. Then you wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.” She wanted to add that he was ruining her birthday, but didn’t.
Brandon just shook his head and, without another word, turned and stomped away. Dillon watched as he got back into that hideous RV and drove off. It wasn’t until he was out of sight with only a trail of dust left behind that she realized she was shaking and on the verge of angry tears. Why had he done this? And on her birthday too? How selfish.