Take on Me by Sarah Mayberry

Author:Sarah Mayberry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2007-07-08T16:00:00+00:00

WHEN SADIE EMERGED from the bathroom Dylan was running his hand under the cold water tap in the kitchen He flicked a glance her way before returning his attention to his reddened hand.

“There’s ice in the freezer. I’ll make you a pack,” she said.

“Thanks.”

Pulling a fresh dishcloth from the drawer, Sadie filled it with ice and tied it in a knot. She handed it to Dylan wordlessly.

“I’m sorry about what I did at prom,” Dylan said after a long silence. “I was half-cut, but that’s no excuse. I wanted to tear you down.”

“I know. I guess I wanted to do the same to you, too.”

The anger had faded from Dylan’s face. For the first time, she saw him as a whole person, not simply the adult version of her teen crush, or the manifestation of all her insecurities. He was still a very attractive man. But she could see the humor in him, the cleverness. The kindness. He wasn’t even close to the arrogant egotist she’d painted him as.

“I wish I’d known about your dyslexia,” she said hopelessly.

“That makes two of us,” he said wryly.

“I can’t believe they kicked you out of school because of what I did that day. I thought you went because you wanted to.”

“Probably did me a favor in the long term. I was never going to graduate, not with my marks. And if I hadn’t left school, I wouldn’t have wound up at the Burger Barn, and I wouldn’t have met Harry.”

Sadie frowned, and Dylan obviously read her confusion.

“Harry’s kid had dyslexia. He was the one who worked out what was going on for me.”

“Lucky.”

“Yeah.”

“How’s your hand?” she asked.

Dylan flexed it experimentally. “I’ll live to fight another wall,” he said lightly.

Sadie managed a half smile. Everything had shifted. Nothing was the same, even her memories.

“After the prom—it must have been pretty bad,” he said.

Sadie shrugged. “I survived.”

“Still. I was an asshole.”

Sadie shrugged again, but something nudged a confession from her. “It was the first time I’d done that, you know. Stuffed my top. I wanted to impress you so badly.” She shook her head at her own foolishness. “I must have been the only seventeen-year-old titless wonder in the state.”

Dylan’s eyes dropped to her chest. “If it’s any consolation, I’m pretty impressed now.”

Sadie blushed and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“Please. We both know my chest is never going to set the world on fire.”

The moment she’d said it, she knew how it sounded: like a plea for reassurance.

“You said something before. About a time in the locker room…?” he asked.

Her relief that he’d chosen to ignore her moment of weakness faded. She so didn’t want to explain about playing voyeur all those years ago.

“Forget it,” she said lightly, waving a hand dismissively. “It wasn’t anything important.”

Dylan raised an eyebrow.

“Not knowing this stuff has caused enough problems for both of us, don’t you think?” he said.

He wasn’t going to let it go. She sighed, prepared to be embarrassed all over again.

“One day after gym class, I heard you singing in the boys’ change room.

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