Page 30 of Some Kinda Romance

14

SERENITY

After they left, I sat in my office in stunned silence. I could not believe Dash had defended Ethan like that. It boggled my mind that he didn’t know anything about the real Ethan like I did, and yet, he didn’t want him to get the wrong idea?

What utter bullshit.

Fuming as I tried to wrap my head around the reason for his request, I felt my pissed-off-o-meter climbing way into the red. Ethan’s professional side was not who he really was at all, and anyone who thought that it was had no idea what they were talking about.

Wasting no time at all, I grabbed my phone and put in a call to the main blog that had been speculating about my relationship with Dash. I’d spoken to the blogger before, and he and I got along reasonably well.

I had no issues setting him straight, and once he ran a new story, the others would follow suit. Not five seconds after I pressed dial, Eli’s voice came over the phone and he sounded so shocked that he was slightly breathless.

“Serenity Halverson? Is that really you?”

“It’s me, Eli,” I confirmed, injecting some friendliness I really wasn’t feeling right now into my tone. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” he said, suddenly suspicious. “Is this about the article about you and Dash St. Clair?”

“Indeed it is,” I replied. “For the record, he and I are not together. His mother chose my company to plan her wedding and he’s helping her with some details from the family’s side. All it was the other day was him walking me to my car after he’d dropped some papers.”

“Okay,” he said, not sounding convinced. “The two of you seemed pretty chummy on the pictures.”

“We’re working together,” I said firmly. “It’s a purely professional relationship and you can quote me on that. There is no romantic entanglement and we’re not a couple, just to be perfectly clear.”

“Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent. Right now, I’m all about business and that’s unlikely to change soon.”

Grabbing the opportunity to turn this into an interview, Eli took the bait I’d dangled. “All about business? Does that mean you’ve got new opportunities to join the cast of any of the shows that are rumored to be looking at you?”

Having expected the question, I used it to plug my current business. “Maybe one day I’ll look into any opportunities that may present themselves when the time comes, but for now, I’m focused on Miracle in the Making Events.”

“That’s Ethan Langley’s company, isn’t it?” He quickly cleared his throat and corrected himself. “I mean, the company you were awarded in the divorce.”

I bristled but didn’t let it come through in my voice. “My blood, sweat, and tears have gone into making the company what it is today. I wouldn’t have been awarded it otherwise.”

“Oh, of course,” he stammered. “How, uh, how is it going?”

“Extremely well,” I said honestly. “The company has been going from strength to strength, and it’s really requiring all my focus right now. I’m determined to provide every client with the best service possible, and our attention to detail is really paying off.”

He paused for a moment. “We’ve heard that Abram Fox was trying to convince you to join the cast of his new show about life after divorce. You’re saying that neither that, nor the revival is an option for you at the moment?”

“Abram is wonderful and I hope to work with him again someday, but like I said, I’m really tied up at the moment.”

“My readers would kill me if I didn’t at least try to ask you this,” he said cautiously. “If we’re not going to be seeing you on a show about life after divorce, do you want to tell me how it’s been treating you?”

“Life after divorce?” I asked, not waiting for him to respond before I continued. “Honestly, it’s been a big adjustment. Ethan was a huge part of my life for a very long time and it’s been a challenge to learn how to rely only on myself again, but ultimately, that chapter is closed and I’m looking forward to seeing what this next one holds for me.”

“That’s a pretty generic answer,” he said, and I sighed quietly. I wouldn’t say anything bad about Ethan and I knew that was what he was angling for, but I’d never indulged in mudslinging and I sure wouldn’t start now.

Instead of letting him get to me, I chuckled. “That doesn’t mean it’s not true. I’m finding my feet on my own and ask anyone. That’s no easy feat. Ethan and I are now on different paths in our lives and although we had a lot of great times together, we’re looking toward the future. I wish him well in any endeavor he takes on and I’m sure he wants the same for me.”

“Do you really think so?” he asked, surprised. “Your divorce was pretty recent. Do you harbor any resentment toward him?”

Tons. “Not at all. We were young when we met, and sometimes, even if you don’t mean for it to happen, people don’t grow together when they get older.”

“So diplomatic.” He chuckled. “There’s really nothing to the story about you and Dash St. Clair?”