Shane powered on. “That said, Faith and I are not dating. Hey, look at me.”
Dylan raised his eyes, glowering.
“Buddy, I’d tell you if I was dating someone. Hunter is too young to understand, but you deserve to know if there’s a woman in my life.” Crossing the room, he knelt beside his son. “What I’m about to say is a secret. Do you promise not to repeat it to anyone else?”
Dylan nodded.
“I need the words.”
“I promise,” he muttered.
“Good. Faith’s parents wanted to match her up with that guy, Leon, but she wasn’t interested, so I helped her out by pretending to be her boyfriend. That’s what friends do. They help each other.”
A frown marred Dylan’s forehead. “You were faking it?”
“Yes.”
“You and Faith aren’t really dating?”
“No, we’re not.” Although he couldn’t help wondering whether it would be so bad if they were. Technically, their reason to pretend had passed, but he liked to think the kisses and touches between them had been more than just keeping up appearances. For his part, they certainly had been. “I think you owe Faith an apology.”
Dylan had the decency to look ashamed of himself. “Yeah, I know.”
That might be the best Shane was going to get. “I expect you to make it right.”
Dylan’s shoulders straightened. “I will.”
For the sake of curiosity, Shane asked, “If I were dating Faith, why would that make you so angry?”
Dylan shrugged, expression turning sullen—his default as of late. “She’s nice, but I like us the way we are. If Mum came back, that would be one thing, but this is different.”
Shane frowned. “What would make you think there’s any chance of your mother coming back? She’s been gone for years.”
Dylan’s shoulders hunched. “She says she might come back when she gets too old to be a movie star.”
She does?
It was the first he’d heard of it, and he was going to have to have words with Diana. She couldn’t go putting ideas like that in her son’s head.
“That won’t be for a long time yet, Dyl. Maybe never. Actresses can have long careers these days. Besides, even if she did come back, we wouldn’t get back together.”
“You don’t know that.” The words were defensive. “Caleb’s parents just got back together, and they said it would never happen.”
Ah, now things made more sense. Damn Caleb’s parents for planting ideas in Dylan’s head. He needed to accept that Diana was never coming back.
“Yes, I do know.” But he wasn’t going to push the matter. Dylan was worked up enough as it was. They’d talk about it when he was calmer.