She laughed. “Sounds like the way to a girl’s heart.”
“The dessert part?”
All of it. “Especially the dessert part,” she said with a smile. Just as she realized they weren’t dancing anymore. They were simply standing in the middle of the floor with John Legend’s voice drifting around them.
“Shannon, I was going to wait to do this tomorrow night, but don’t make me wait.”
She lifted her chin so he could kiss her.
His lips were warm and firm and his breath tasted faintly like peppermint. And suddenly, she didn’t care what they were supposed to be doing or if he was going to take her out for sushi or steak or hole-in-the-wall Mexican food tomorrow night. She was just glad he was going to take her out.
When he lifted his head, they were both a little breathless yet again.
“Shannon,” he murmured. “That was incredible.”
But before she could answer Traci was at the door. “Lange.”
A chill rushed through her and they broke apart.
Looking at Traci, Dylan’s expression was hard. “What happened?”
She held up a note. “I went to work out after work, so I just got home. I parked next to Jennifer’s Altima and saw this under the windshield wiper.”
“She got another letter.”
Looking pissed off, Traci nodded. “I’m not into having rapists hanging around my house, Dylan. We need to put a stop to this.”
“You’ll get no argument from me.” Turning to Shannon, he said, “Do you mind if I go upstairs, hon?”
Hon? “Of course.” As Dylan walked by Traci, Shannon smiled at Traci’s what-just-happened look.
As Dylan climbed the stairs, Shannon took a breath and allowed herself to take one last moment to appreciate what had just happened.
She and Dylan had changed course. There was something really good between them now. Something special worth hanging onto.
She hoped that was going to be possible.
CHAPTER 34
“Break dance, not bones.”
“Hey, Jen, are you around?”
Jennifer looked up from the page she was designing for her new website. “Yep, I’m over here,” she called from her bedroom. When her brother poked his head in her doorway, she waved him in. “This is perfect timing! You’re exactly who I need to see. What do you think, should I mention the cooking classes I took years ago, or does that just make me seem out of date?”
Dylan walked inside but stopped against the doorframe. “Hmm?”
She moved the screen of her laptop so he could see it better. “For my website. Right now I’m calling it ‘Home Cooking by Jen’ until I can think of something catchier.” She sighed.
“Of course, I started thinking that maybe ‘catchy’ doesn’t matter all that much. I mean, people want good food, not gimmicks. What do you think?”
A line formed between his brows. “I couldn’t tell you.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s no help.”
Looking back at her screen, she said, “Anyway, I know I need some kind of bio, but it turns out that it’s harder to write about oneself than I thought. So, what do you think about those classes? You never said.”
“Um, I’ll have to do some thinking about that.” He paused. Cleared his throat. “But first, there’s something we need to talk about.”
Jennifer heard the words, but it was his expression that made the big impression. It was carefully blank, the one she knew he used often as a cop.
It was also the look he’d worn when he’d visited her at the hospital the day after her attack. So she knew that look, but she really wished she didn’t.
Feeling like she was about to drown, she pushed her laptop to one side and stood up. “What happened?”
“You got another note.”
That just about took her breath away. “When?” she asked when she finally got her voice to cooperate.
“Today. Traci just found it.”
“Where did she find it?” Not that it really mattered. Did it?
Dylan looked regretful. “It was on the windshield of your car, honey. Traci parked next to you, saw a familiar-looking envelope stuck under one of your windshield wipers, and brought it inside.”
Would this never end? Determined to not let all her fears get the better of her, Jennifer sent her brother a watery smile. “I guess it’s good I’m still living with a cop, huh?”
Dylan just looked at her. “We need to see what it says, Jen. Are you ready for that?”
The question caught her off guard. “You don’t already know?”
He shook his head. “Traci thought since you were here, you should get the honors.”
For some reason, that made some of her muscles relax. She didn’t know if it was because it was empowering or simply because she knew that giving up control was never easy for her big brother. “What did you think about that?”
He shifted, looking almost boyish for a moment. “You know what I thought. If I had my way, you’d never even know it had arrived.”
Walking to his side, she nudged him gently with her elbow. “You’re the best brother a girl could have. Literally, I think you’re going to go in some world-record book, you’re so great.”
“But?”
“But, I’m glad that I’m going to get to be one of the people who deals with this letter. I don’t want to just be the victim.”
“I never thought of it that way, but I think you’re right. This is better.” Looking more resigned, he nodded. “Well, come on, then. The girls are downstairs.”
“Pardon me?”
“Sorry,” he said as he walked down the stairs. “I meant women. The women are downstairs. Does that sound better? You know I meant no disrespect.”
“Whatever, Dylan. I’m trying to figure out who you’re talking about.”
“Traci, Kimber, and Shannon, of course.”
Of course? “All of them are here?”
He paused on the landing and looked up at her. “Jennifer, yeah. They’re your roommates, honey.”
Yes, they were. But had she expected them to become involved in her personal nightmare? Ah, no. No, she had not.
“Everyone’s in here,” Dylan said as he led the way into Shannon’s dance studio.