Page 37 of Some Kinda Romance

17

DASH

Iwoke up the next morning with Serenity on my mind. I didn’t know when it had happened, but I liked her and I had finally accepted it.

While it had taken me a few days to come to terms with it, I’d eventually reached the point where it was the only thing that made logical sense. When I was with her, I felt things I’d never felt before and the only reasonable explanation for those things was that I liked her.

It definitely wasn’t a feeling I was familiar with, but I’d found that when I’d started leaning into it instead of continually fighting and searching for a better explanation, it had suddenly come quite naturally to me.

My father had taught me never to back down from a challenge and to try anything twice before deciding it wasn’t for me. He and my mother had also modeled what a loving, healthy relationship looked like, and while I’d never thought it would happen for me, he’d also often told me that when it did, I would know it.

And that when I knew it, I had to go for it.

While that obviously didn’t mean I was ready to do something crazy like ask the girl to marry me, it did mean that I was mature enough to have told her and to take the chance. Last night, I really hadn’t wanted to leave her, but I also really needed to work.

Plus, I hadn’t wanted to be seen leaving her house early this morning. Wherever she went, the paparazzi seemed to follow, and while they hadn’t been around her place when we’d arrived back there after dinner, I had no doubt at least one photographer would be there this morning.

I didn’t care about being seen with her, but I just didn’t want to deal with the publicity at the moment. My mother really did deserve the spotlight for a bit and I had a feeling Serenity would also rather keep our relationship under wraps while she was responsible for planning the wedding.

People finding out that she dated clients would inevitably cause her reputation to take something of a hit, which was bullshit, but I knew she wouldn’t want that to happen. Once I wasn’t a client anymore, it would be a different story.

All through showering and getting dressed, I thought about her. About how she’d opened up to me about her marriage over dinner. About how she’d smiled at me as she’d led me to her bedroom. About the sounds she’d made and the way she’d moved.

I only managed to put her out of my mind when I arrived at the estate and jumped straight into the most urgent things I had to do that day. Mom and I had another meeting scheduled with Serenity later to finalize a few more things for the wedding, and at this rate, I was going to have to work for four months to catch up the two months I was basically missing while helping Mom.

My assistants and I blazed through as much as we could before Rick suddenly got up. “Right, everyone. The boss needs to get going. Let’s go.”

I blinked hard, surprised that the time had passed so quickly but not arguing with him. Instead, I smiled and shut my laptop. “I’ll see you all later. Great job this morning, guys. We’ll pick this up again tomorrow. In the meantime, you know what to do.”

Rick’s eyes went wide, and he wasn’t the only one who seemed puzzled by my praise. I laughed as I got up, shaking my head at them. “Go on, then. Don’t make me take it back.”

They suddenly scrambled to get up, racing past me and dispersing, but not before they’d each shot me some more confused looks. Since I wasn’t ready to share the news about Serenity with anyone, I let them wonder, perfectly content with the situation I was in.

As I was about to leave though, Lance strode into my office. My best friend worked for me in the legal division and I frowned when he shut the door behind him. “What’s wrong?”

He sighed. “I checked your calendar and I know you blocked it out for the rest of the day, but I’m afraid whatever it is, you’re going to have to postpone.”

“Why?”

“David Davidson is here and he’s insisting on meeting with someone who has their name associated with the company.”

“David Davidson,” I repeated after him, frowning. What the hell was he doing here? “Has something gone wrong with his daughter’s wedding? Please don’t tell me we’ve done something to piss off a federal judge and one of the biggest benefactors of the oceans’ charity drive.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think we’ve pissed him off, so to speak, but he still wants to talk.”

I sighed. “Yeah. Okay. He’s too important to keep him waiting. Bring him in, but if he’s suing us, I hope you have a backup career planned because there’s no way you’ll be able to stay in the law.”

“I’m already in my backup career,” he joked. “I’m a wedding planner now too, remember? Doing contracts for the company isn’t exactly practicing law.”

“Fair enough,” I agreed. “Alright. Go fetch it. I’ll call my mom.”

“Your mom?”

I rolled my eyes. “Who did you think I blocked out my afternoon for?”

“Well, I was hoping it was for a girl,” he said, laughing. “Just not the one who gave birth to you.”

I groaned as I headed for the door. Once I was alone, I put in a quick call to tell my mom I wouldn’t be able to make it. Thankfully, she didn’t mind at all. She simply told me she’d handle this one and fill me in on what happened later.