Page 117 of Some Kinda Romance

“Okay, so love isn’t enough. Do you know what is?”

“No.”

“Making her see that you’re not that person anymore,” he said emphatically. “I knew you then, and if it’s necessary, I can bear witness to how much you’ve changed these last few months.”

“Somehow, I think I’m going to need more than the word of my best friend.”

“Exactly, you need to show her that you’re not that guy anymore.”

“That’s great. Any ideas on how to do that?”

“Nope.” He grinned at me. “I can’t give you all the answers. Some things, you need to figure out for yourself.”

After that useful tidbit, he left and I managed to pull myself together just enough to get through my meetings. The morning dragged by though, and I still hadn’t heard a peep from Serenity by lunchtime. Needing to get out, I called my mother to see if she was free.

“Of course, honey. Come on over. I wanted to talk to you today anyway.”

Grabbing my keys, wallet, and phone, I took off, letting my assistant know I’d be back when I was back. I had no more meetings this afternoon and I honestly didn’t know if I had admin and planning in me, so I decided to take the rest of the day as it came.

Driving over to my mom’s, I was surprised to find her waiting for me by the door when I arrived. I wasn’t so surprised when the first words out of her mouth clued me in on what she’d wanted to talk to me about today.

“I saw the video,” she said. “Boy, you must be in a lot of trouble with Serenity.”

“Trouble doesn’t even begin to describe it,” I said honestly, my heart crumbling now that I was looking at my mother. “I think this is the end, Mom. If this was the first thing that happened, then fine. We could’ve probably worked it out, but every time I think we’re okay, something else goes wrong and I don’t know how many more times she’ll forgive me.”

“As many as is necessary, sweetheart,” Mom said. “For as long as you deserve it, that is. Relationships are endless cycles of mistakes and forgiveness. Misunderstandings and trying to understand.”

“Okay, so what do I do?” I asked, cognizant of the fact that I wasn’t even inside her house yet and I was already asking her advice. “How do I prove to her that I don’t think that anymore?”

“You said this publicly,” she told me. “The answer seems rather simple to me. Release another video saying the opposite. A lot of things change in five years. You’ve been one of those things in the last five.”

“That’s it?” I asked, frowning. “I just go do another interview and say that I love reality stars now?”

Mom snorted as she shook her head. “No, darling. That won’t cut it. Not only will you have to make her feel it all the way to her bones, but after this, the world is also going to have to believe that you’ve changed. That knowing her has changed you and that loving her has opened your eyes to the judgmental asshole you were in the past.”

“Gee, thanks, Mom,” I said. Jogging up the steps, I brushed a kiss to her cheek and started back down to my car. “Seriously, though, thanks for the advice. I’ve got to go do something, but I’ll talk to you later.”

She wiggled her fingers at me in a wave. “Call me after, Dash. Be careful what you say.”

Climbing back into my car, I looked up the number for the gossip blog that posted the video, and immediately, they agreed to a rebuttal interview. That had been the easy part, though. They were always going to be willing to have me back on air.

The difficult part was going to be figuring out what to say once I had a camera pointing at me.