Silver Heart (2 page)

I paid the driver and we piled out of the car as Maddie said, “You talked him into coming to Whistler for two days, so I’ll talk him into strapping on a snowboard.” As always, she sounded like she could take on the world. “Hell, maybe I’ll even convince him to go skinny-dipping in the hot tub with me.”

Despite her self-assured tone, her cheeks turned a deep crimson shade. I knew her well enough to know that her excitement had very little to do with the icy mid-January wind. Maddie had been obsessing over Adam for years. To him, she had always been his little sister’s pesky friend, but that hadn’t deterred her from trying to worm her way into his heart.

Or his pants, for that matter.

“Four years have passed since your brother was at our high school graduation. So much has changed. I’m no longer a tall, thin beanpole with frizzy hair and braces.” She shook out her silky auburn locks and placed her hands on her hips. “Look at these curves, baby!” she called out as she made her way into the airport.

She came to a halt at the end of a long line of people assembled in front of a ticket pick-up booth and performed a dramatic spin, completely oblivious to the fact that her runway performance had turned numerous heads.

 I chuckled to myself as I dragged over our luggage and joined her in line. My best friend had grown into a stunning young woman. She radiated beauty from inside and out, but the best part about her was that she was still every bit the Crazy Maddie I knew and loved.

“We’ll have to find you a sexy ski fling to occupy your time—and bed—while I’m busy with your brother.” Maddie’s shrill voice ensured that the entire line of passengers en route to Vancouver had overheard her words.

“No, we won’t,” I informed her—and our spectators. “And the mere fact that you used the words
sexy
,
bed
, and
brother
in the same sentence just signed that idea’s death warrant.”

“We’ll be at one of the hottest ski resorts in North America.” She winked and elbowed me in the ribs. “With some of the hottest men alive. You should be getting ready to party! You know, like most twenty-two-year-old college graduates often do.”

“Preston is coming up in two days,” I mumbled, glancing down at my feet. Now was a good time as any to share that particular detail.

I didn’t even have to look up at Maddie’s face to know that there was a scowl painted across it. “Are you kidding me?” she moaned. “Preston Stonewall the Third? Or whatever freaking number goes after his pretentious-ass name?”

The Stonewalls were the most esteemed family in all of Denver. Old money, new money—they had it all. Preston’s mother was an oil empire heiress and his father owned a world-famous tech company. Preston was following in his footsteps, already a well-established programmer at twenty-five.

“He’s only staying for one night, so we’ll still have plenty of girl time.” I tried to keep my voice light, but I was suddenly speaking in a high-pitched tone to compensate for my uneasiness. “He wanted to meet you and congratulate me on my graduation. It’s the only time he’ll be able to get away from the office for the next three months. I couldn’t exactly tell him that he wasn’t allowed to come. He’s flying in on his father’s private jet for the occasion.”

“I don’t care if he’s riding in on a unicorn,” Maddie retorted. “I don’t have any interest in meeting the guy.”

“Don’t be mean. Preston is…”
What was he?
“Well, he’s—”

“Lame as hell,” Maddie finished for me with a very deliberate yawn.

Preston and I had met at a fundraiser gala his parents were throwing for my father’s clinic. It hadn’t been love at first sight. Or second sight, for that matter. What we had wasn’t love at all. Our relationship was one of convenience. It was something our parents had forced on us and pushed for, so we went along with it. Two years later, we were still going along with it. Mostly because we both shared one common trait—the inability to stand up to our parents.

Strangely enough, our arrangement suited us both and kept our families off our backs. We only saw each other when our mutual presence was requested by our parents, so despite the fact that he worked in Silicon Valley and I was in Stanford for school, we only had to carry on the charade when we were in Denver.

“Dee, we’ve been friends for a long time now,” Maddie said, eyeing me carefully. “Right?” I knew that look—she was getting ready for a lecture.

“We have,” I replied as the line of people ahead of us began to move.

“I know you better than you know yourself.”

“You do.” I busied myself with rummaging through my purse in search of my passport.

“Preston isn’t your destiny,” she said, gently touching my arm.

There was nothing wrong with Preston—he was smart, good-looking, kind. He was just the wrong guy for me. And while I succeeded at hiding that fact from my parents—as long as his bank account was full enough, they were utterly blind to how empty my heart was—I was unable to fool Maddie. She knew exactly how I felt about Preston. Or, rather, how I
didn’t
feel.

“You know how I know that you and Preston aren’t fated for a happily ever after?” Maddie wasn’t ready to drop the subject.

I looked up at her and sighed. “There are no sparks in my eyes and no warmth in my voice when I talk about him,” I recited. She had said that exact phrase a billion times over the past two years during our many Skype chats about this topic.

“No spark is an understatement!”

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing that I don’t believe in fate,” I reminded her. “I believe in reality.”

My grandfather had once told me that fate was an inevitable force which preordained all life events. I was seven and he was dying of cancer. He’d evoked the concept with the intention of momentarily alleviating my fears and justifying his rapidly approaching demise, but the idea of not being in control of every single part of my life both scared and scarred me. It was that day that I’d waged my war on fate.

Fate demanded utter, infallible submission, and I wasn’t very good at surrendering control. I had been brought up to follow a set path in life, trained to feel a sense of comfort in knowing how a story would end before it even had a chance to begin. Yes, I was one of
those
people—the type who flipped to the very last page of a book and read the final sentence just to make sure that I had full control over every surprising twist along the way. I came to accept the fact that I would never live an exciting life, but at least I was lucky enough to be safe and comfortable.

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Well even though you don’t believe in fate, can you at least try to believe in
fun
this week?” she asked, breaking into a smile and tugging at one of my blonde curls.

“I know how to have fun.” I playfully swatted her hand away, but her words resonated through me, bruising my ego.

Yes, I was a workaholic-and-a-half with a lame pseudo relationship, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t be fun. The fact that Maddie seemed to have forgotten that hurt. After all, she’d been the one who’d taught me how to party.

My friend’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “You have fun doing
what
, exactly? Following your parents’ dreams? That’s all you’ve been doing since we left high school. Don’t you think it’s time to let loose and live a little?”

“I know how to have fun,” I repeated. “I’m just a lot safer about my fun than you. For me, fun equals going out to bar for a drink, not running off to Antarctica.”

Maddie raised her hands defensively. “Alright, alright. You win. Dylan Silver is the queen of fun. Just please avert that evil glare. I feel like your baby blues are drilling a hole in my head. I’m going to spontaneously combust any second now.”

“I intend to overdose on fun this week,” I vowed, softening. “Promise.” After all, this wasn’t just a greatly anticipated reunion with a long lost best friend; it was going to be a well-deserved, much-needed break from school and responsibilities. “I’ll let you take the reins on our entertainment,” I told her. “Just like back in the day, okay?”

Maddie had always been the outgoing one in our group. Hell, she was born without any inhibitions. I, on the other hand, had grown up hearing the words
no
,
don’t
, and
can’t
. My parents had given me so many opportunities in life, but along the way they somehow managed to prevent me from experiencing a normal, messy childhood.

Maddie’s free-spirited attitude had brought me out of my shell. She knew how awkward I was in social situations, so she constantly pushed me to take more risks and be bolder by challenging me to overcome my introversion.

“You’re really willing to do everything I ask?” she asked, sounding somewhat doubtful. It had been years since we last played this game.

“Yes,” I pledged. “
Everything
.” I knew that I would probably want to eat my words the moment Maddie’s first idea hit, but I was so unbelievably excited about the fact that we were finally together. In this particular moment, I was ready to sign over my firstborn. Or something more important—like my MCAT scores. “Just promise me that you’ll be nice to Preston,” I begged. “And please no making out with my brother. At least not in front of me.”

“I’ll give Preston a fair chance to make a good impression,” she said. “How about that?”

I nodded. “Fine.” It would have to do for now.

“I can’t make any promises about your brother, though.” She grinned mischievously.

“I know,” I replied, smiling. “It was worth a try.”

CHAPTER TWO

A three-hour flight to Vancouver somehow turned into a full day of travel. There was no such a thing as a short line at airport security, our take-off was delayed, and it was written in Murphy’s Law that every single time I traveled my suitcase would be the very last one to hit the baggage claim belt.

By the time we were settled into Adam’s rental, I could tell that he had been waiting for a few hours. His blonde hair was tousled and his gaze weary. My brother was only twenty-four, but sometimes he seemed an entire decade older. It wasn’t his physical appearance that aged him as much as it was the permanent fatigue planted within his dark blue eyes.

“Mom wants you to call her,” Adam told me after greeting us. “She was worried about your late arrival.”

My mother was worried.What else was new?

As we set off on our ride to Whistler, I switched on my phone, but ignored the numerous voicemail and text notifications, deciding against responding to her right away.

One week. I just needed one week off.

Before I was even able to place the tiny device back in my purse, a familiar number flashed on its screen.

“I’m alive,” I said as I picked up. “The plane landed safely and I haven’t been kidnapped by anyone. Not yet, anyway.”

“I understand that you’re on your little vacation, Dylan, but jokes like that are not amusing,” my mother responded dryly. “I have been trying to reach you for hours.”

“Our flight was delayed. Everything is fine.”

“Now that I know you’re safe and sound, I wish to discuss your summer plans. You’ve been avoiding my questions all week. Have you given any more thought to what you’re going to do for work?” When she wasn’t worrying about my health and safety, my mother was fretting over my education and career.

“Yes, I have. But I can’t talk right it now, Mom.” Final exams had taken a lot out of me, and the last thing I needed was yet another one of her lectures on the importance of networking amongst medical professionals. Or the one about how her friends’ kids already had their prestigious summer internships on lockdown.

“I don’t think it would be in your best interest to help out at your father’s clinic again this year. You already have his name on your resume,” she said, either oblivious to my attempt at avoiding the talk or choosing to ignore my wishes as she often did. “We need to expand your horizons. You need a mentorship position with someone who can tutor you and help you get ahead of the pack. Sure, you managed to stay at the top of your class for the past four years, but medical school is going to be a lot more competitive than your undergraduate years were. Just ask your brother.”

“I know, Mom,” I said, gritting my teeth to keep from raising my voice.
How many times has she told me this? About twenty. Just this week.
“I already contacted some free clinics to see if they’re accepting any student volunteers. I’d really love to shadow a pediatrician.”

“
Free clinics?
” I could almost imagine the blood draining from my mother’s already pale face. “Dylan, you need to be working with
influential
professionals. Not wasting your time in some
free clinic
.” She said
free clinic
like it was some dirty strip club name. “Listen to me—”

“I promise to listen, but I really need this week to rest.” Maybe it was the fresh mountain air or the physical distance from my mother, but I gathered enough courage to cut her off—something I rarely did. “We’ll talk more about this when I get back next week, okay?”