Faking It with My Bossy Ex (Sweet Christmas Kisses)

20. Dylan

Chapter 20

Dylan

I should’ve told her ages ago. All these years, and I waited until now? Maybe if I’d just manned up and told her everything back then, we wouldn’t be walking around on eggshells now. At least she’d have known my side of things. Instead, I blew it. Again.

Rounding the corner of the library hallway, someone runs smack into my chest. It’s Amy. She takes a couple of wobbly steps back, looking me up and down, that same cold chill in her gaze as the day before. My confession doesn’t seem to have done much.

“Dylan.”

“Amy.” I flash her a grin, hoping it’ll chip away at that wall she’s building. Because she’s looking at me like I’m a stranger she’d rather avoid. Ouch.

“Fine. The silent auction is all setup, and I just finished my last art class.” She smiles, and for a moment, there’s a flicker of happiness in her eyes before she stomps it down. “How about you?”

“Same. I just collected the rest of the donations. We’re close to the target amount for the fundraiser, so with the silent auction, we should be past our target.”

Amy nods curtly, then moves to step around me. My hand shoots out and I grab her arm gently.

“Amy, are we going to go back to avoiding and hating each other?”

She looks up at me, meeting my gaze.

“I never hated you.” She looks up at me, meeting my gaze. Her voice is barely above a whisper, and electricity shoots through me where my skin rests on hers.

“Can we talk after this?” I don’t know if there is anything left to say, but if there is something, I’ll find it. There has to be a way to repair things, to bring them back to the way they were, even when we were pretending.

“I don’t know. I, um … really have to go.” She rushes past me, leaving me in the hall without an answer.

The rest of the day drags by. Tomorrow will be the final competition at the Cozy Haven Inn. I’ll see her there and at the auction in the evening. After that, we’re both leaving Snowfall Springs, and I might have missed my chance at love forever.

When I finish putting the rest of the numbers for the day into the computer, I already know there will be a note waiting for me at the front desk stating that Amy’s left with Laura. I miss our walks through the woods without our trusty snow shoes.

It doesn’t take me long to walk down the block and find the fire station. It’s right in the center of town, about one and a half blocks from the library. Sam’s out front, washing one of the trucks. I watch him work for a couple of seconds before approaching.

His whole face lights up when he spots me. I wish I was in such good spirits.

“Dylan! To what do I owe this luxury?”

“Oh, stop it. You know, I’d visit more often if we lived in the same town or even remotely close.” Moving to New York City made it a bit hard to keep up with old friends.

“Everything okay with Emily? If you have a problem with her, you’ll have to solve it yourself. I’ve gotten on her bad side, and, let’s just say, I’m not interested in getting the wedding called off over a sibling spat.” Sam laughs.

He puts down his hose and crosses his arms, leaning against the red firetruck. It looks well with him. It didn’t really surprise me when he decided to be a firefighter.

Adventure and adrenaline are two things that Sam loves. A desk job would have killed him.

“It has nothing to do with Emily.” I've experienced my sister's wrath before, and it's certainly everything Sam makes it out to be. I swallow back my chuckle, remembering the few times Sam and Emily have butted heads.

While they may have their share of arguments like any couple, they're also experts at making up. Their ability to weather storms together shows how their love bridges even their biggest differences.

“So it has to do with Amy, then?” Sam wiggles his eyebrows up and down, giving me one of his goofy grins.

“Yes, it’s about Amy. She found out about everything.”

Sam raises his eyebrows.

“Well, I told her, and on top of it, Clara’s back in town. She hasn’t really talked to me since, and I feel like everything is wrong. I’m running out of time here, man.”

“I see.” Sam frowns. He looks deep in thought for a moment. While my friend is the first person I go to for a good time or for a solid joke, he also has his moments of wisdom and intelligence.

“Seeing as you managed to make my sister, of all people, fall in love with you, you must have a trick or two up your sleeve when it comes to romance and a difficult woman, right?”

“Are you calling Amy the difficult one in this whole situation?” He raises his eyebrows. “You might be in more trouble than I thought.”

“No. Of course, she’s not the difficult one. I just need to figure out how to get her back. This whole fake dating thing? It helped a lot. It really did, but not quite enough. You got any ideas? When we both leave Snowfall Springs …”

“Honestly, man, all I can tell you is to put everything on the line. She’s probably scared that you’re not really all in. After all, you walked away from her when things were at their best. Maybe she’s watching you to see if you’ll walk away in the worst moments, too.”

“So … she’s waiting for me to prove it? To show her I’m all in, no matter what?” I frown. How can I prove it?

“Do more. You need to pull out all the stops and do something that says, I love you, no matter what, no matter how much you resist, I’m not stopping.” Sam fans his hands in the air as if he’s illustrating an impressive title up in lights in the sky.

“What do you recommend?” What could I do that would show Amy just how much I care?

“Oh, no. I can’t give you any more advice than that. You’re going to have to figure out the rest on your own. I can’t tell you what it is that Amy values or what signifies the fire between you. There has to be something, but only you know what it is.” Sam has one of those guru smiles on his face like he knows everything, and I shake my head.

“All right then, thank you for the advice.”

“Good talking to you, man. You should come by more often. I have lots of good advice if you’re here to listen. I have to get going, but you let me know how it goes. Emily and I will be at the auction in two nights.” He holds his hand out to shake mine.

“I’m counting on it.” Sighing, I give his hand a shake, then turn and head back toward the library.

There’s not a lot of time to come up with an amazing idea to steal Amy’s heart.

My mood darkens when I see Clara waiting in the lobby for me. She’s packing up some of her interview equipment, but her eyes brighten as soon as she sees me.

I’ve had the luck to avoid her for the whole day.

Thankfully, Amy isn’t around to see us talking. Not that it means anything, but I wouldn’t want her to think that it does.

“Dylan, I’m so glad I finally got a moment to speak to you. Seems like every time I look for you, you’ve disappeared,” Clara says with a giggle, as if I’d been avoiding her by accident.

“Clara, I’m kind of in a hurry to get back to the inn,” I say, hoping she’ll take the hint and move along.

“Perfect!” she purrs. “You know, I’m also heading that way. The other day, I didn’t get a chance to ask, as I didn’t want to be rude, but I was hoping that you’d have a few moments to catch up, just the two of us. Maybe over coffee or dinner?” She blinks twice, most likely an attempt at flirting. I find myself completely uninterested.

How can I turn her down and make it clear that I’m uninterested in a relationship with anyone but Amy?