Page 92 of Some Kinda Romance

“Thank you for distracting me tonight. I really needed it.”

She chuckled as she hugged me back. “No problem, babe. I’m always here for you, but thank me by saying we can go in a little bit later in the morning.”

“That seems fair,” I agreed immediately. “I don’t have any early meetings, and as long as you don’t either, I think it should be okay for us to go in a couple hours late.”

She whooped, hugging me again before she climbed out of the car and headed inside. Once she was gone, the buzz of adrenaline started fading. I sighed, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes. The driver started in the direction of my apartment next.

I didn’t fall asleep, but I kept my eyes closed for a while. Then I just stared out the window for the rest of the way to my place. As we rounded the final corner, I noticed that the paparazzi was out in full force again tonight and I sighed heavily.

I definitely have to move.

When we got closer though, I realized that they weren’t just waiting for me to get back. They seemed to be clamoring around someone and my heart started pounding. Shit. Is this another one of Ethan’s stunts?

“Do you want me to keep driving, ma’am?”

I shook my head, squinting when I caught a flash of dark hair through the cameras. That’s not Ethan.

The driver nodded and started slowing as he pulled up to the curb, and the paparazzi parted like the Red Sea to reveal Dash standing in the center of them. I got out slowly, confused, apprehensive, and also just a little bit excited as my gaze met his and I started moving closer to him, ignoring the crowd of people—and their cameras—around us.

“What on earth are you doing here?” I asked, too scared to hope until I saw the huge bouquet of flowers he produced from behind his back.

I sucked in a sharp breath, wondering if he’d come to his senses or if it was simply wishful thinking. On the other hand, there were only so many things he could be doing in front of my apartment at this time of night, armed with a bouquet of flowers and clearly having been making nice with the paparazzi. What have you done this time, Dash St. Clair, and will it be really stupid of me if I forgive you yet again?

45

DASH

Serenity’s lips parted as she stared at me, but not a sound escaped. She just stared, then suddenly started looking around as if realizing for the first time that we had an audience. Blinking slowly, her eyes came back to mine and she frowned as she took a few steps closer.

“What on earth are you doing here?” She’d gone back to ignoring the paparazzi, but I didn’t.

For once, I was the one flashing them smiles and waving. Or at least, I had been before she’d arrived. Now, my attention was solely on her, but I still wasn’t ignoring them.

That would be rude, given that they’d all come here upon my invitation. I’d made contact with every blogger and publication I could think of, letting them all know that they’d want to see what happened between Serenity and me tonight.

I was more exposed than I’d ever been before, but that had been the point of this. While I couldn’t say that I didn’t care about all the eyes on us, I’d decided to take a big swing and this was it.

Gaze fixed solidly on her wide eyes, I stepped forward and held out the flowers. “You were right before. I didn’t know what I wanted, but then I met you and all of that changed. I do know what I want, Serenity, but I also know that I’ve made mistakes. Big ones.”

I glanced at the camera in my face, an instinctual flare of annoyance ripping through me at how close the photographer was, but I shoved it down. I was here to tell her how I felt publicly, for everyone to hear, and he was capturing every word I said on video.

It was intimidating but not enough to stop me. Inhaling as I turned back to her, I reminded myself that the spectacle I was making was worth it. Whether or not she forgave me, it would still have been worth it.

“Right now, I don’t know what we are or if we’ll ever be anything again, but I know that we’re more than just friends. I should’ve said that before and all the noble reasons I thought I had for not saying it then don’t really matter. I’m saying it now. We are not just friends. Maybe I’m too late, but I am sorry. I’m sorry, Serenity.”

Giving her the flowers, I took another deep breath and waited for her reaction. There was so much more I could’ve said, but that was the important stuff. She’d been worried that I was ashamed of her. That I didn’t want anyone to know about our relationship because I wasn’t sure of her, but none of those things were true.

I was hoping that telling her what I had in front of so many reporters and cameras would do the rest of the talking for me. If actions spoke louder than words, then this had to be screaming. I would have said more, but I was holding back for her sake, not mine.

Ethan would see this soon enough, and the more I said, the angrier he would get. Just in case she decided not to forgive me, I didn’t want to set him off. If I wouldn’t be around to help her with him, I didn’t want to give him any more reason than I already had to come after her.

As she looked into my eyes, searching as she took another step forward, I gave her a small smile and inclined my head at the cameras, praying that she understood. For a few more charged moments, she kept staring at me but then her face broke out in a smile.

I closed the distance between us, meeting her halfway as she kept moving forward slowly. When I reached her, she wrapped her arms around my neck to hug me and I happily slid my arms around her in turn, holding her close as my heartrate picked up.

Breaking out of the hug, she remained still in the circle of my arms as she looked up at me, her fingers combing through my hair as she smiled. “Are you going to kiss me now?”

She asked the question so quietly that I doubted even the closest cameras would’ve picked it up, but that really didn’t matter. I grinned, lowered my head to hers, and wrapped my arms around her.