Page 118 of Some Kinda Romance

58

SERENITY

The day before the wedding, I was beyond jittery. Dash had tried to talk to me a few times, but he hadn’t pushed me to see him and I appreciated that. My old relationship had given me trust issues. I understood that. Dash seemed to understand that as well.

I’d seen the follow-up interview he’d done, saying that the video was half a decade old and that he’d grown since then. He said he didn’t feel that way anymore and he had seemed sincere.

While I liked that he’d once again said all the right things, I knew I just had to focus on the wedding for now. I could deal with our relationship after, when I didn’t have the future of my career hanging over my head as well as the future I’d envisioned with him.

Unfortunately for me, the wedding I had to focus on was his mother’s and they were all coming in today to do a walkthrough before the big day. Diana, Richard, Dash, and all his brothers. They’d all be here in just a few minutes and I was so damn nervous that my hands were shaking like it was my first day of high school.

If even one thing wasn’t right today, I’d be working through the night to set it right before tomorrow. If more than one thing was wrong, I was screwed. Plus, Dash.

I sighed, wondering if I should have talked to him when he’d called last night. It was too late to go back and change it now, but it might’ve helped if I’d known where I stood with him. If he brought a date to this wedding, I would never recover.

Staring out my window, I knew the moment they arrived. My office faced the front of the building, and when a huge, black limousine pulled up, I knew it was them.

I watched intently as they climbed out, one dark haired man after another. I’d never met Dash’s brothers, and now they were all here, knowing I was the reality star their brother who hated reality stars had been dating for the last couple months.

I couldn’t see their features clearly from up here, but I still knew which one was Dash. My gaze zeroed in on him and I realized I didn’t know how I knew. Just that I did.

It was the way he moved. The way he held his shoulders and stepped aside for Richard to emerge. The way he reached back into the car to offer his mother his hand and, finally, in the way his head tipped up to look at my window like he knew I was watching him.

My heart ached to run to him, urging me to fling my arms around his neck and tell him that I believed him. But I couldn’t do that. Because I didn’t know if I did believe him.

The interview he’d given to rebut his previous point of view had been beautiful, heartfelt, and genuine. He’d had even the reporter misty-eyed by the time she’d signed off. Al Carson wasn’t even the type to get misty-eyed. She was generally pretty rough around the edges, but he’d managed to reduce her almost to tears.

That was how beautifully he’d spoken, but Dash was good with words. Going on air to give the rebuttal interview hadn’t just been words, though. It had been an action. A big one, considering he’d apparently called them to arrange it, but still.

I just didn’t know if I could go through it with him again. We’d had so many ups and so many downs, but we were at the point now where the highs felt like I could touch the clouds and the lows were so low that I had to pull myself up by my bootstraps.

I just had to get through the day, and I had to do it without looking like I was holding myself up by my damn bootstraps. Spinning around once I saw them entering the lobby, I took the elevator to the mezzanine level that contained the lounge where I was meeting them.

“Serenity!” Diana said excitedly when she saw me, though I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes as well. “We love the flower arrangements being done in the lobby, honey. They’re gorgeous.”

“Thank you,” I said. “The florist assured me that the buds will be in bloom tomorrow and that nothing will be droopy until the day after. We just need to keep the AC on, which we will do.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine. I also love the font you chose for the welcome signage.” She gave me a hug, then stepped aside to wave a hand at the army of St. Clair boys behind her.

I had to admit that shoulder to shoulder, the five of them really could’ve been an army. They also looked remarkably alike, all their features sharp and handsome, and all of them as tall and well built as the next.

“This is Zachary,” she said, motioning to the man standing closest to Richard. “He’s my eldest. Then that’s Finn, Asher, and Corbin.”

As she said their names, they each stepped forward to give my hand a swift shake, but only Asher managed a smile at me. Zach scowled, Finn looked concerned, and Corbin just seemed bored. Dash stepped up last, inclining his head at me but, thankfully, not saying anything in front of his family.

Richard shooed him away, ostensibly under the guise of hugging me, but as he did, he also whispered into my ear. “He’s an idiot, but he’s a lovable one, don’t you think?”

I sighed, chuckling softly, but didn’t respond. With the introductions now made, I led the tour, showing them everything being prepared for the wedding as we walked through the venue.

Diana was in tears by the time we were done, and she gave me another tight hug as she thanked me. “It’s beautiful, Serenity. Absolutely breathtaking. Thank you. Thank you for doing this for me.”

I nodded, hugging her back, and then said goodbye to the army of St. Clairs at the door. Dash hung back, however, his hands in his pockets as his gaze met mine. “Can we talk? Please?”

Considering that he’d waited the entire meeting to even try, I nodded. “We’ll have to make it fast, though. There’s a lot still to get done today.”

“Of course,” he said amiably, following me into a conference room just off the lobby. Once the door shut behind us, he leaned against the chair closest to him, scrubbed his hands over his jaw, and closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. “I gave that old interview hot off the heels of a wedding we hosted at the estate.”

I frowned. “Okay?”