Page 33 of Some Kinda Romance

15

DASH

Iparked outside of Serenity’s building at eight on the dot. Climbing out of the car, I straightened my jacket, strode up to her door, shook my hands out at my sides, and pressed the button for the penthouse apartment.

Asking her to dinner had been a spur of the moment decision, the type I didn’t usually make, but I was glad now that I’d done it. Weirdly, I was quite looking forward to an evening with her.

I’d felt like an asshole after that comment I’d made about her ex, and it hadn’t taken me long to realize I’d stuck my nose in somewhere it didn’t belong. I’d also realized that I didn’t really give a shit how Ethan felt about my involvement with his ex-wife.

They were divorced and they had been for some time now. What she did and who she saw was none of his concern. It hadn’t even really been that bothering to me anyway.

After drawing in a breath to steady my nerves, I was about to press the buzzer again when the door suddenly swung open. Serenity appeared on the other side, looking dazzling in a skintight black dress that hung to the tops of her knees and showed off a generous amount of cleavage, but was still modest and elegant.

“Dash,” she said, a slow smile spreading on her lips. “You’re right on time.”

My mouth dried up and I cleared my throat as I inclined my chin. “I always am. Time exists for a reason. If someone says they’re going to be someplace at an appointed time, it’s not a guideline as far as I’m concerned. It’s a rule.”

Amusement flashed in the depths of her blue eyes. “Figures. I should’ve known you’d see it that way. It’s good to see you.”

She gave me a fairly obvious onceover and I returned the favor, deliberately dragging my gaze from her eyes, to her mouth, and further down to every sweep of her curves under the soft fabric of that dress. It wasn’t exactly friendly behavior, but true friends also didn’t make out furiously in each other’s offices. So clearly, we weren’t quite friends.

“You look radiant,” I said. “Absolutely breathtaking. Shall we?”

I offered her my arm and she took it, her eyebrows climbing on her forehead as she chuckled. “Aren’t you gallant? Punctual and a real gentleman. You keep surprising me, Mr. St. Clair.”

“I aim to please,” I said, then shook my head. “Actually, that’s not really true. In certain circumstances, sure, but not in general.”

She laughed as I opened the passenger door for her, looking up at me once she was seated from underneath those long lashes that were only just barely dusted with mascara. “Either way, I appreciate your punctuality and your arm. You already know I’m clumsy, but heels always seem to exacerbate the problem. It was nice not having to worry about it.”

I didn’t respond, simply nodding before I closed her door and walked around the car to my own. Being with Serenity was proving to be easier than I’d expected. It had been a while since I’d eased into any kind of relationship with someone so naturally, but with her, it seemed I didn’t even have to try.

The observation proved to be correct as I got into the car and we started talking, not about anything groundbreaking, but a simple, easily flowing conversation between two people who were barely more than strangers.

“So tell me, friend,” she teased, placing emphasis on the word. “Why haven’t I met your brothers yet? There are five of you, correct? Surely, you can’t be the only one showing a real interest in your mother’s wedding.”

“Oh, I’m not. In fact, I was the holdout, but you don’t want any of them anywhere near the planning process. Zachary would be alright, I suppose, but the rest of them would wreak havoc.”

She chuckled. “I’m an only child. I always wished I had siblings, but so often, people speak about theirs in terms like havoc and chaos. It always makes me wonder if it’s an exaggeration or if multiple-child households simply are chaotic.”

“Wait, does that mean there are households with children in them that aren’t chaotic?” I feigned surprise. “That’s news to me. My younger brothers have always been like a hurricane. If they’ve been someplace, you know it because nothing is the way it’s supposed to be. Zach—that’s my oldest brother—is better, but he’s also the most serious of us all, so he was permanently running after the others, trying to clean up their messes or getting them to take responsibility.”

“He’s the most serious of you all, huh?” She glanced at me with one eyebrow raised as I eased out of my parking spot. “I find it difficult to believe that anyone can be more serious than you were when we first met.”

“Trust me, I’m a barrel of laughs in comparison to what he can be like.”

She chuckled. “Sibling relationships are so intriguing.”

As I drove, I knew I shouldn’t, but I kept sneaking peeks at her anyway. I couldn’t help it. She looked too damn beautiful in that dress, with her hair up but not in a severe hairdo. It was more like she’d simply clipped it all back so it wouldn’t bother her.

Her smiles came easily and she didn’t appear to be worried about what she looked like at all, throwing her head back as she laughed and even snorting on occasion when that laughter completely overtook her. I’d have thought it would be off-putting, but it wasn’t. In fact, I found it rather endearing.

When we pulled up outside of the restaurant to find the paparazzi waiting to greet us and whoever else would be dining here this evening, however, both of our smiles faded. She sat up a little straighter and glanced at me.

“I spoke to Eli Manning. He knows we’re not together. Since he was the first to speculate, I’m hoping that he’ll also be the first to set the record straight. I asked him to and I gave him an impromptu interview. I haven’t checked if he’s published it yet, though.”

“No matter,” I said smoothly. “They’re going to write what they write. Thank you for calling him, though. I cannot imagine being on such good terms with any member of the press that I’d simply pick up the phone and chat to them.”

She chuckled. “They’re not the enemy, Dash. They’re annoying, sure, and they get stuff wrong more often than they get it right, but still, most of them aren’t bad people.”