Page 69 of Some Kinda Romance

She nodded. “Let’s do it. I’ll text Molly to pack a box for us.”

Pulling her phone out of her purse, she fired off a quick message, and by the time we arrived at the bakery, Molly herself was waiting on the sidewalk to hand over our order. I paid, thanking her. Serenity said her goodbyes to her friend, promising to pay her a proper visit soon.

As we were getting back on the jet, my foot caught on the top step, and though I didn’t fall, I dropped the damn box of cakes I’d been carrying. Serenity tried her best not to laugh as she arched an eyebrow at me, the barely restrained laughter sparkling in her eyes.

“Didn’t you say I was the clumsy one?”

I grunted, but I also couldn’t stop laughing at myself once I’d started. “It seems I caught it from you, so thanks for that.”

She chuckled, picking up the box and opening it to inspect the inside before she shrugged. “They stuck a little bit, but we’ll still be able to eat them.”

We snacked on the most damaged ones during the flight, leaving the couple that had remained intact for my mother and Richard. Once we landed, I grimaced at Serenity. “We’re home. I have a car waiting to take you to your office or wherever you want to go, but I figured we’d need to go separately instead of driving into the city in the same car.”

She sighed before dragging in a deep breath through her nostrils. “I hate that you’re right, but you are. You’re also super thoughtful, though. Just in case I forget to say it out loud. You are, Dash. You’re incredibly thoughtful and considerate, so thank you.”

“So considerate that I’m going to kiss you goodbye now before someone with a telephoto lens catches us doing it on the runway.” I reached for her, claiming her mouth for my own and having to force myself to stop before I kept her here all day.

Once we left the jet, we barely looked at one another again, climbing into the vehicles waiting for each of us and taking off as if we meant nothing to the other. It’d been annoying before to have to consider things like the press, but now, I detested it.

I knew it wasn’t my call to make to go public with our relationship, but on my way back to the office, I dialed my mom. At least I could tell her the truth, and since she was one of the most important people in my life, I wanted her to know first in any event.

“Dash, honey!” she said enthusiastically as she picked up. “How was the trip? Is the baker any good?”

“She’s amazing,” I replied. “I brought you back some samples that I’m going to have my driver run over to you after he drops me off, but I’ve already booked her. Serenity was right about her being worth the trip. She’s really something, Mom.”

“Who?” she asked playfully. “Serenity or the baker?”

“Both,” I said, deciding to use the comment to segue into the news I’d called to tell her, but at the last moment, I changed my mind. There was something else I needed to say first. “Look, Mom, I’ve been thinking about it and I want you to have whoever you want walking you down the aisle. You really don’t have to ask me just because I’ve been helping with the wedding. I threw a temper tantrum the other day and I’m sorry. You should have who you want, not just the son who’s gone to some meetings with you.”

She paused for a moment, but I heard the smile when she spoke again. “I don’t know what I did right with you, darling, but I sure am glad that I did it. I’ve thought about it again and I would like it if all my boys could walk me down the aisle. Would you be okay with that?”

“It’s a great idea,” I said, and I meant it. “I’m more than okay with it. Have you spoken to the others?”

“Not yet. I wanted to check with you first, but if you’re onboard, I’m sure they will be too.”

“Great. I’ll let Serenity know her venue needs to expect six of us walking down the aisle on the day.”

Mom laughed. “Gosh, I hope that’ll work. Let me know what she says, okay?”

“I will, but I also know that it will work because Serenity will make it work,” I said confidently. “I don’t think there’s anything that woman can’t do.”

“Really?” Mom asked, clearly surprised since her voice had gone up an octave or two. “Coming from you, that’s high praise. What changed?”

“I was really impressed with the baker she chose,” I said. “I mean, just for starters, I would’ve offered some other baker around here double what they were already getting paid just to get them to do your cake instead, but Serenity didn’t even consider doing something like that. She just made a different plan. A far more honest one at that.”

Mom hummed but didn’t disagree, so I continued, finally coming out with the truth. “I like her, Mom. A lot.”

“Oh, thank God you’ve realized it,” she said happily. “Are you ready to admit that there’s something going on between you yet?”

“Yep, there’s definitely something going on between us, though to be fair, it’s new. We’ve already hit a few bumps in the road, but I suspect our relationship might be serious.”

She chuckled. “Good. Do whatever makes you happy, baby. I’m just glad you’ve finally found someone you like and that you can see yourself getting serious with. For the record though, I am happy that it’s Serenity. I like her too, and what’s more is that I like her for you. She’s a ray of sunshine, that girl. Be good to her, darling. In fact, be extra good to her to make up for all the bad times she’s been through.”

I breathed out as I nodded. “Yeah, I will be. I’m trying to be.”

“I know,” she said softly. “Thanks for telling me, love. It goes without saying that no one will find out about it from me.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

She agreed then hung up just as I pulled into my parking space at the estate. Lance had gone to lunch with clients, so I spent the afternoon working without talking to anyone else about Serenity, but that didn’t mean that I’d stopped thinking about her.

In fact, she was still the only thing I could really focus on. I couldn’t believe how well things had been going for us the last few days. I knew it hadn’t been years, but it felt like it could become that, and the fact that the prospect didn’t scare me spoke volumes.

I felt like a completely different person. Knowing her and trusting her had already changed me. For the better, in my opinion.

I was also glad that I’d told my mom, unable to believe how much it felt like things had changed in such a short amount of time. I pondered on it until I got a message from Serenity at the end of the day.

Serenity Halverson: Just got home. Hope you managed to be more productive than I was today! X

I smiled, a stupid, dopey smile like the one people in love often exchanged, and as soon as I realized it, I decided to go get her some flowers and surprise her. Mom had told me to be extra good to Serenity after all, and I remembered how happy she’d been whenever my father had unexpectedly brought home some flowers.

Feeling better about my life than I possibly ever had before, I packed up my stuff immediately and abandoned the idea I’d had about working late. I had a surprise date with my girl, and even though it’d only been a few hours since we’d last been together, I could hardly wait to see her.