Page 24 of Some Kinda Romance

There were so many of them that it made me feel claustrophobic, with protective instincts I’d never felt before rising like an angry dragon within me. Reaching for Serenity, I was about to sling my arms around her shoulders to tuck her into my side when I realized she didn’t seem surprised at all.

In fact, even with everyone crowding her, she seemed at ease, managing a smile as she waved at them. “Have a good night, guys. Stay safe.”

What in the ever-loving fuck?

I walked her to her car, though. That angry dragon made me do it, ensuring she didn’t get mobbed when all she was trying to do was get home. When we got to her door, she opened it and then smiled at me. “Good night, Dash. Thanks for everything.”

I nodded, desperation clawing at my insides to get away from the cameras. I didn’t know how she took it in stride, but I sure as hell hadn’t learned that trick. For as long as I could remember, they had hounded me and my family, but I didn’t want everything that happened in my life to be featured in blogs and newspapers.

It was unnatural—and not a life I’d chosen. Personally, it was the only part of my life that I despised and I would certainly never wish the vultures a good night.

As I left, I turned to call to her one last time. “It’s good practice to keep these guys away from your building if you want to succeed!”

True, but I probably sounded like an asshole. Either way, the lack of surprise she’d displayed told me this was a regular occurrence for her when she left for the day. They probably knew exactly when she came and went, which was fine if she was okay with it, but her clientele wouldn’t always be. I knew a ton of people who would be put off by it.

Shaking my head, I climbed into my own car, drove home, and found myself watching her show later that night. I hadn’t searched for it, but it came on while I was eating and I didn’t change the channel, deciding to learn more about her by watching it instead.

It wasn’t anything deep, but about two episodes in, I’d already learned a few things. For example, she got freaked out by sandwich spread and hated depths. She loved daisies and seemed to have a rather strange obsession with Disney movies and any kind of zombie flick.

As I kept watching, I started feeling badly about how I’d left her. Clearly, this woman was a genuinely good person. There was a reason she’d been so popular on the show, and it had everything to do with being kindhearted and real.

Eventually, I blew out a heavy breath and pulled my phone out of my pocket. Opening my messaging app, I searched for her name and fired off a quick text.

Me: I didn’t mean to rush off. Hope you got home safe and that you’re having a good night.

It wasn’t really the apology I’d had planned, but it was as close as I’d get. Less than thirty seconds later, she read the message but didn’t respond. She left me on read?What the hell?

My mind started racing, my heart thundering in my chest. That had never happened to me before, and I really didn’t like it.

I tried to carry on watching the show, but it had lost its appeal. Grabbing my remote control, I smashed my thumb down on the power button and decided to call it a night. This whole thing with Serenity Halverson was getting to me and I refused to let it.

She’d left me on read and it was probably for the best. That moment in her office had been one of the hottest I’d ever had. If I could, I’d do it again in a heartbeat, but I couldn’t. I also didn’t want to think about how I felt about that fact. Instead, I marched straight into my bathroom and stripped off my clothes. Then I turned the temperature to freezing cold and let the water flow.

I had no idea what was going on with me, but clearly, I was broken. I didn’t behave like this, think like this, or feel like this. Maybe a waterfall of ice-cold water would snap me back to my real self.

If that didn’t work, I would be in trouble. Because the alternative was that all these things were happening because I liked her, and that couldn’t be true. It just didn’t make sense.

I didn’t develop silly little crushes and I didn’t feel things for women, and yet, I had an uneasy prickling in my gut that made me wonder if this time, with her, perhaps I didn’t know myself as well as I thought I did.