Page 75 of Some Kinda Romance

“I have actually. I’m going to meet him for lunch in a few.”

“Have fun,” she said, smiling before she widened her eyes in warning. “Talk to him, though. Got it?”

“I got it.”

“Good.” She waved at me as she left, and I got my things together before I followed her out.

Amelia told me she’d already sent the papers to the client from this morning, and as a result, I was on cloud freaking nine when I walked into the restaurant where I was meeting Dash. I knew we were risking being photographed together, but I’d decided to take it as it came.

Ultimately, we couldn’t hide forever and I didn’t want to. He wasn’t my dirty little secret and I wasn’t his, so I didn’t even bother hiding my smile when I walked in to see him already waiting for me.

“Is it bad that I’d rather have been somewhere with you today where we could be alone?” I asked softly as I joined him at the table.

Those gorgeous eyes of his crinkled at the corners as he smirked at me. “Nope. I was just thinking the same thing.”

I sat down, wishing we could hug or something, but we couldn’t. Being seen together was one thing, but touching each other in public was something else entirely. “I might’ve been tipsy last night, but I’m still thinking about it. I haven’t been able to stop.”

“Same.” He pushed his fingers through his thick brown hair and mine itched to do the same. He caught me following the movement and groaned. “Let’s plan something soon where we can be alone. Like, really soon? How’s your afternoon?”

“Slammed.” I wrinkled my nose. “I’m sorry, but there’s just no way I can play hooky all afternoon again.”

“Yeah, I know. I can’t either, but it was worth a shot.” He exhaled deeply, then he focused on me and blinked the lust out of his eyes. “Besides, I’m trying to prove that I’m not just here for the alone time, so hit me. Tell me about your day so far.”

I chuckled. “Really? You want to hear about my day?”

“More than anything else,” he said, and he sounded so sincere that my heart skipped a few beats. “What did you get up to this morning?”

“I had breakfast with Julie, but then I had a really big meeting and I knocked it out the park.” He stared back at me for a short moment, then suddenly broke into a wide grin.

“You got the Horowitz event, didn’t you?”

I dipped my chin in a nod. “I probably shouldn’t be surprised that you know about it.”

He laughed. “I don’t miss much that goes on in this town. Congratulations, Serenity. That’s amazing. I’m really fucking proud of you.”

“Thank you,” I said. “So am I. If you know about it though, why didn’t you get it?”

He shrugged. “She must’ve preferred what you had to offer and I don’t blame her. I mean, I was a skeptic at first, I know, but you’ve won me over. I have no doubt that you’re going to win over every potential client you meet with as well.”

“You were already fully booked, weren’t you?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point,” he said, shaking his head at me when I opened my mouth to object. “She wouldn’t have come to me over you anyway. She was looking for something fresh and modern. That’s you. You’re going to be great.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, inhaling deeply through my nostrils as I let it sink in that I’d really brought in two big-time clients in as many months. “I feel like I’m on top of the world.”

“Which is exactly where you deserve to be,” he said. “Are you up for a glass of champagne? We are celebrating again, after all.”

“As long as it’s just one.”

He laughed. “I couldn’t handle more than that today, anyway. Just one it shall be then.”

The waiter came and we placed our order. Then he asked me more about the meeting and the event itself, and I could tell he was paying careful attention to every word I said in response. For the first time ever, the man I was seeing was truly interested in my career. He understood what I was saying and what this meant to me, and he was nothing but positive and supportive in return.

It was a good feeling. A great one, really, and though I knew we also still had to talk about him not defending me to Ethan, I didn’t feel like I’d forgiven him too soon. Dash was human and he made mistakes, but he also took responsibility for them when he did and we were still getting to know each other.

We were growing together, and for now, that was the best feeling ever.