Chapter 26

Julie popped her head into my office, giving me an apologetic smile. "I need to run out to get a prescription, but when I get back, I'm all yours, okay?"

I nodded, inhaling deeply in an attempt not to lose it on her for just needing to go to the drug store. "Sure thing. Just hurry, okay? I'm in it up to my neck right now."

"I know," she said. "I won't be long. I promise."

As she left, I bit my lip and looked back down at all the checklists I'd laid out on my desk. It was all for Diana's wedding and Julie had promised to help me get through it this morning. There was just no way I could do it all myself and I refused to ask Dash for help under the circumstances.

I had a few other events I needed to focus on as well, but I just wanted Diana's wedding to be perfect. After all, if this one went badly, all the others might cancel.

This wedding was going to be a test run that would have the eyes of the entire city on it. Everyone would be watching to see if I could do what Ethan had done for so long. If I could do it better or even at all, especially after he'd planted that seed of doubt about me only being with Dash to benefit the company.

It was utter crap, of course, but now that it had been planted, the public would be watching this wedding so much more carefully—and they had already been watching. Curious to see if the judge had made a mistake by awarding such a prestigious events coordination business to a starlet with no experience.

Tears threatened to spring to my eyes, but I inhaled again, fighting them just as I had been all morning. As I finally managed to get back to work, my phone rang and I jumped, prepared to ignore it if it was yet another journalist calling for a comment, but it wasn't. It was Worldly Production Studios and a lump grew in my throat.

Reluctantly taking the call, I tried to brace myself for the probability that they were about to retract the offer they'd made me. I still hadn't accepted or declined a role in their new show, but they might not want to work with me at all anymore.

"Serenity, this is Janet again," the woman said at the other end of the line when I picked up.

Surprisingly, she sounded even more excited today, not at all grim as if she was about to tell me they'd decided against working with me. "How are you holding up? We've seen you've been at the center of some attention today."

Inwardly, I whimpered, but I kept my voice as even and as sure as I could. "It will pass. It always does. I'm alright. Thank you for asking. What can I do for you, Janet?"

She giggled. "It's more a case of what I can do for you. I know we didn't discuss figures the last time we spoke, but I thought I should let you know that we're willing to offer you more now if you decide to take the role."

"More?" I frowned. "Why?"

"Well, because there's the potential for more drama, of course," she said happily. "I know you're not sure if you want to do it yet, but if you are willing to appear, would you be open to discussing the divorce and all the rumors about yourself and Dash St. Clair on the show? We're really looking for this one to pack a punch and the producers are willing to ensure that you're paid well for helping them do it."

Heavens above. I know this is reality TV, but do these people have absolutely no shame whatsoever?

"Thanks for the call, Janet," I said, making my decision on the spot. "I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to accept your offer. I've given it some consideration, but at the moment, I just really need to focus on my company. The timing couldn't have been more wrong."

A show like the one they clearly had in mind wasn't something I was interested in right now and I definitely didn't want to discuss all this on TV. "Maybe if it was a show about my life, we could talk, but outside of that, I'm afraid I simply can't commit to anything right now."

I'd said it offhandedly, trying to let her down easily, but it seemed she'd taken me seriously. "Let me get back to you on that. Bye, Serenity! Thank you."

I blinked hard, frowning. I shook my head and set down the phone. Fortunately, I doubted her bosses would be interested in the Serenity Show, so I put it out of my mind and did my best to make some headway with the wedding.

Dash tried to reach out to me again throughout the course of the morning, but I ignored him. I was still too mad at him to even think about accepting the help he was offering. As it was, I'd been fielding calls about us all morning. The last thing I needed was to be seen with him right now and I knew that if I accepted his offer to help, he was going to ask me to meet up with him.

All I needed was to throw myself into work and lose track of time. Doing it was harder than I'd expected, but eventually, I was so deep in thought trying to get through it all that I startled when Julie suddenly came in.

"Time for lunch," she said, smiling as she strode into my office. "Are you ready to go?"

"No," I said emphatically, wondering if she was smoking something. "There's no way I can just leave all this and go out right now. If you're hungry, why don't we order in instead?"

"Nope. We're going out." She crossed her arms and gave me a meaningful look. "I insist. You need a proper break and you're not going to get it in here. Come on. We're leaving."

I sighed, my head shaking, and dug my heels in. "I really can't, Jules. I'm sorry and I know you mean well, but I just can't today."

"Yes, you can," she said, not giving an inch. "Don't let Ethan turn you into a recluse all over again. I know all this has been traumatic and I realize it's stirred up some old issues, but that's even more reason to get out of here. I really think it'd be good for you."

I rolled my lips into my mouth, contemplating what she'd said until I finally nodded. In many ways, she was right. I couldn't hide from the press, but more than that, I didn't want to. I didn't want anyone to think I was embarrassed or ashamed.

I wasn't.

More importantly, I couldn't let Ethan think he'd gotten to me. He'd tried to knock me down, but I had every intention of getting back up again. For that reason, I lifted my chin and forced a smile. "Yeah, okay. Let's go."

"Excellent," she said happily, then waited for me to gather my things before we took off.

We drove together to a restaurant nearby. To my eternal relief, there was no pack of photographers waiting. On the other hand, I hadn't even known I was coming here.

Short of Julie tipping them off as to where we'd be, which she would never do, they had no way of knowing I would be coming here for lunch. Now that we were here though, it was a different story altogether. We were bound to be seen by a fellow patron, or some enterprising employee would call in the tip to earn a few extra dollars today.

Glancing at my friend as we walked in, I motioned toward the sign for the restrooms at the rear of the dining area. "I'm just going to wash my hands. Go on ahead and find a table. I'll join you in a minute."

Julie was looking around. She nodded, her brow slightly pinched for some reason. Deciding to ask her about it when I was done, I ducked into the restroom, taking my time to wash my hands and touch up my makeup. By now, I was sure someone had let the press know where I was, and if they were going to photograph me having lunch with my best friend, I didn't want to look like I'd had the morning I'd had.

When I finally walked out, I almost ran directly into a waiter carrying a tray, narrowly avoiding crashing into him. But as I stepped aside at the last moment, I smacked into someone else. Someone who smelled suspiciously like?—

"Dash?" My jaw dropped when I looked up to see him standing against me, his big hands wrapped around my shoulders to keep me from falling. I groaned, embarrassed heat flushing my cheeks. "Not again."

Trying to wriggle out of his grasp, I leaned around him, looking for Julie and hoping she was about to save me, but she was nowhere to be found. Realization hit me like a truck. "She set me up, didn't she?"

"Yes, she did, but I wanted to talk to you, so I asked for her help. Just give me a chance. Please?"

The surprise that she'd gone along with his scheme rendered me speechless for a moment and he took advantage of my silence, not exactly rambling but launching into a calm apology and explanation I never thought I'd get from him.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," he said, starting strong since he sounded completely sincere.

My heart skipped, but I wasn't ready to forgive him just because he'd said he was sorry.

He kept going though, his voice deep and serious and his eyes unwavering on mine. "I know now how bad Ethan is. I never should've thought that you'd take him back. That night I ran into him outside your apartment and he told me that you were working on your marriage, I should've known he was up to something and I should've rushed up there to make sure you were okay rather than taking his word for it, and I'm so sorry. I don't know why I felt the way I did, but I don't anymore."

"Okay," I said curtly. "Thanks."

He took a tiny step closer to me, so close that his chest brushed against mine on his next inhale. "I want to make it up to you. What do I have to do?"

"Nothing," I replied. "It's best not to do this. I have to go. We shouldn't be seen together."

It took everything in me to walk away from him, but I did it, spinning on my heels and marching back outside to my car. Julie was gone, obviously having taken a cab or something, but however she'd left, she hadn't hung around to see what would happen.

"Serenity!" Dash called after me, apparently having followed me outside. "I don't want to just let this go. I don't want to forget you or us."

As I turned to tell him again that this was a bad idea, especially now that we were outside, he strode right up to me, slid his arm around my waist, and pulled me in for a kiss. His lips were hot and firm against mine, his body so safe and familiar even though this had happened less than a handful of times in the past.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew there was every possibility that the photographers that had been absent until now could pull up at any moment. I even knew they might've already, but I didn't care.

Just for one minute, I let go of everything else and I kissed him back, my hands flying up to capture his face as I held him to me. Much too soon, he ended the kiss, those eyes blazing into my own as he took my hands.

"I have a car waiting for us, so they won't be able to track yours to my place. Will you come with me? I'm not taking you there for any reason other than being able to talk in private. I promise. Nothing else will happen unless you want it to."

I stared back at him, entirely uncertain what to say. A quick glance around told me that by some miracle, the paparazzi hadn't shown up yet and that seemed to be a sign. But I also knew that if I got in that car with him, I was going to have to talk to him honestly about things I wasn't sure I was ready to talk about.

I was going to have to trust him, and I just didn't know if I could. As if she'd said them for this very reason, Diana's words came back to me then. I know he's not the easiest man to live with, but he is a good one. His father's passing damaged parts of him that I'm not sure will ever heal, but he's trying.

Deciding to trust her instead of her son, I nodded, hoping like hell I wasn't making yet another mistake. "Okay, Dash. Let's go, but we better do it fast before the whole world finds out that we're talking."