Devotion (Club Destiny #5)(72)
Author: Nicole Edwards

“Have you talked to him about it?”

“No,” Ashleigh said, shaking her head back and forth. “I would never get myself involved in my brother’s love life. If you ask me, he’s a fool for letting her go.”

“Do you think they’ll work things out?”

“Not if Dylan has anything to say about it. From the brief conversation I had with him, he feels guilty for moving on. We’ve all told him that’s what Meghan would want, but I don’t think he can come to terms with it. The surprising thing is Sarah is just as familiar with loss as Dylan is, but for some reason, he sees his situation as entirely different.”

Sierra wanted to ask for details, but she didn’t want to seem like she was digging for dirt. She didn’t know Sarah that well, having met her only once or twice at a couple of parties. From what she saw, she and Dylan appeared to get along rather well, but it never did seem like an intimate relationship from the outside looking in.

“Sarah’s husband died,” Ashleigh blurted.

Sierra didn’t ask, but she gave her friend her full attention.

“Oddly enough, her husband took his own life.”

Sierra’s heart stopped beating for a brief second. Despite not knowing the man, she was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness.

“I think Sarah’s scared too,” Ashleigh continued. “I don’t blame her. It had to be hard to lose him. And then to have to go through with Dylan the same sort of thing she went through with her husband…” Ashleigh let the words trail off.

Sierra sipped her tea, trying to swallow the lump that suddenly obstructed her throat. She didn’t want to cry, but for some reason, thinking about what could happen to Dylan if he didn’t get help was more overwhelming than she expected.

She only hoped and prayed that whatever was going on with him, he’d find the strength he needed to move forward. Before it was too late.

Chapter Twenty Five

“Where’s Sierra?” Luke asked when he walked in the front door.

“Lunch with Ashleigh,” Cole said, reminding Luke of the conversation they’d had just that morning.

“Right.”

“Everything all right?” Cole stood from his place on the couch and made his way to the kitchen. He had been emailing one of the contractor’s they hired to do some work on the new club.

They were adding a second floor with a similar setup to the original club. They all agreed to tear down the interior bathrooms and rebuild with an open concept main floor. The second floor would wrap around the exterior only and allow a visual of everything that was going on below from the wrap around hallway.

“Couldn’t be better,” Luke growled and Cole knew something was up.

“Did you meet with Trent this morning?”

“How’d you guess?”

Cole smiled. He still wasn’t sure how Trent managed to push Luke’s buttons, but he found it rather amusing. In recent weeks, Luke had admitted openly that he’d much rather work with Xander than Trent. Cole figured that was because Xander was closer to their age and he had a feeling that Trent’s outgoing personality became annoying at times.

When Luke stood in front of the refrigerator, Cole chose that moment to move up behind him, pressing intimately against his back. “I know a way to get your mind off of him,” Cole said gruffly against Luke’s ear, loving the way his body tensed in response.

“Think so?” Luke didn’t turn around as he continued to pretend to search the refrigerator, although Cole noticed that he clearly wasn’t looking for anything specific anymore.

“I know so.”

Although the three of them were attempting to christen every room in the house, one by one, they hadn’t made it to the kitchen yet.

“Then I only have one question,” Luke growled, closing the refrigerator door, but not turning around.

“What’s that?”

“Who’s in charge this time?”

Cole’s entire body reacted to the question. He knew Luke wasn’t giving him complete control. At least not yet. They had begun to do things a little differently lately, and the best part about it, they both seemed to want the same thing. They were taking their time though. Cole knew it wasn’t easy for Luke to give up his hard earned control, but he was enjoying the hell out of pushing him to the breaking point.

“Turn around,” Cole demanded, answering the question by his simple command.

Luke slowly turned to face him and the desperate desire swirling in his eyes was unmistakable.

“Hannah just laid down for her nap, so I’ve got plenty of time,” Cole told him.