“Oh.” She wasn’t sure if he’d gotten the point about not talking about this.
“Yes. She told me she got it from you. I’m sure you can imagine how surprised I was. I wasn’t even aware you had my number.”
Neither was I.“I’m sure she was mistaken.”
“No. Patty was positive about it. Do you know what’s even more puzzling?” She didn’t want to know. But by the look on Dylan’s face, he was about to tell her. “She said you handed it to her with a donation from me.”
Her mind raced in a million directions. The money she’d handed Patty was the money she’d gotten from a stranger. Dylan was that person? He’d stopped and helped a beggar on the street? God, you’re not just gorgeous, but you’re kind and generous too. He sure seemed to be the whole package. And what was she? Oh, a fake. How could she tell him without pissing him off? She had taken his money under false pretenses. Granted, she didn’t keep it for herself and actually put it to use in a way she hoped he approved of, but that didn’t make any difference.
“Dylan, I really prefer not to talk about this. At least not here.” Emily was still watching them from a distance.
“Would you like to take a walk?” Dylan asked.
Well that answered that. He wasn’t dropping it for anything.
“This is why you wanted my number?” she asked.
“It is.”
So much for being flattered that he might be interested in her. Sofia closed her eyes for a moment, knowing this charade was over. Once Dylan knew, then so would others and before long, her parents would learn the truth. She opened her eyes and said, “Let me tell my mother we’re taking our food to go.”
“If you’d prefer to eat first that is fine.”
Her stomach was tossing and turning already. Eating was the last thing she wanted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“How about we just step outside for a few minutes?”
She looked around and because it was late, not many people were there. She called out to Emily and said, “We’re going for a short walk. We’ll be right back.”
Emily grinned and said, “Take your time.”
Dylan let her lead the way as they went outside. She knew there were some benches across the street and that was probably going to have to do. She wasn’t about to ask to go sit in his car. That would just cause people to speculate that they were making out. That wasn’t about to happen.
Once they were seated, she started to explain. “That was me in the city. I was the woman begging on the street.”
“You? Why?” Dylan looked around, knowing it made no sense.
“I want to be an actress and I was at the theater for a part in a play. They weren’t sure about me, so they wanted me to prove I had what it took. If I could get five people to give me money as a homeless person, the part was mine.”
She could feel him glare at her. “Well you did a great job at hustling people out of money.”
“No, that’s not what I was trying to do.”
“But you took money under false pretenses. What else would you call it?” Dylan asked.
Her heart felt heavy; she knew he was right. “I’m…sorry. I wanted the part so badly that I wasn’t thinking of how the people who gave me money might feel.”
Dylan stared at her for what seemed to be an eternity. “Why didn’t you call me and return it?”
“I never even looked at the card. Actually, I forgot all about it. I knew the money wasn’t mine to keep. And I wanted whoever, now that being you, to have actually given it to the needy. So, I went back into the city and found a place where I could do that.” She was being so truthful with him and hoped he could find it in him to forgive her. No one liked being lied to or manipulated. “I never did anything like that before, and I swear, I won’t again.” No part was worth this feeling she had inside.
“So why couldn’t we discuss this inside?” Dylan asked.
Oh the real hard part hits now. “That’s another story. See, my parents would never understand me going into the city to do this. They want me to stay here and run the restaurant when they retire. That’s not what I want.”
“Just explain to them. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
Dylan made it sound so easy. “No. They won’t. I’ve tried for years. And then they would tell Sal, and he’d tell them how dangerous it was for me to be alone in the city so late at night. And before you know it, I’m stuck here for the rest of my life.”