Goodbye Gifts: (The Steamy Version) (A 'HOT' Castle Mountain Lodge Romance Book 5) by Elena Aitken Page B

repeated. “I kind of told her to take you out so you could get your mind off of work a little bit. I see now that probably wasn’t the best idea. But as your big brother, I thought you could use a little fun and—“
    “Slow down.” Dylan’s head was spinning with everything Trent was saying. He’d told Carmen to take him out? “What do you mean, you told her? She asked me for a drink.” Dylan thought back to the other day in the lobby of the Lodge when he’d met Carmen for the first time. She’d seemed a little uncomfortable, but it had definitely been her idea to go for the drink. Hadn’t it?
    Trent laughed. “Carmen doesn’t date, brother.”
    “Yeah. I got that.” Dylan curled his hands into fists at his sides. “Now tell me what the hell is going on here.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

    With a smile on her face, Carmen put a little extra care into her clothing selection as she got ready for dinner. She didn’t have a lot more than her uniform, a few sweaters, and t-shirts to choose from, but at the back of the closet she dug up a black dress she reserved for special events at the Lodge. It might be a little much for dinner with her parents, but it wasn’t her mom and dad she was dressing up for.
    Without a doubt, her afternoon with Dylan had been the best one she’d had in a long time, and despite trying everything to keep it from happening, in just a few short days, there was no doubt that she was developing feelings for him. Strong ones.
    And more than it scared her, it confused her. Morgan was right: she had to tell Dylan about everything with his brother and their stupid deal or whatever it was. And she would, right after dinner.
    She made her way to Oliver’s, the upscale restaurant that was situated in the heart of the Castle Mountain Village where there were mostly a few shops and some art galleries for guests to peruse. She would have been happy eating at the Grill, but her dad insisted on treating her to an expensive dinner every time they came to visit. It was his way of showing her he loved her, and even though as far as Carmen was concerned, it was unnecessary, she played along and let him make the reservations. If it made him happy, what was the harm? Her parents were waiting for her already, but Dylan was nowhere to be seen.
    Carmen paused at the hostess’s stand before she made her way across the crowded room. Her mom was positively glowing, whether it be from the sun she got out on the lake, or the fun she'd had. Or maybe a combination of both; it didn’t matter. But it was nice to see. Carmen smiled and watched the two of them animated in conversation.
    When she approached the table, they stopped talking and her dad jumped to his feet. "Carmen? You look lovely. We were just talking about you." He kissed her on the cheek and waited for her to sit down.
    "Were you?" She eyed them both suspiciously.
    "Of course we were, dear," her mother said. "We were talking about how wonderful your young man is." She gave Carmen’s dress a once-over. “I didn’t realize we were dressing up quite so fancy.” Her mom pursed her lips and tugged at the sleeves of her cardigan.
    “It’s really all I had clean,” Carmen said. She sat down, determined not to let her mother affect her mood. “And why not dress up once in a while? I thought it would be nice.”
    “It is,” her dad said.
    “You do look nice, dear,” her mother said. “But you didn’t answer my question. Where’s Dylan?” Her mother got straight to the point. “We had such a nice time with him this afternoon. I didn’t know you had a boyfriend, dear. Really, you could have told us, you know?”
    “He’s not my—“
    “Well, whatever he is,” her dad jumped in. “He seems like a nice young man. I for one am looking forward to getting to know him.”
    “Yes.” Carmen looked around and glanced at her watch. “Whenever he gets here. I’m actually surprised he’s not here yet. He was just going to go up and change.” A knot of