“I don’t really know what to say to that.” Carla rested her hands on the arms of her chair. When they’d dated, Sophie knew every single expression Carla made, and what each one meant. But now, Sophie couldn’t read her at all. “We dated for close to a year, and if you don’t know whether you love someone after a year, then there’s probably a bigger issue. I don’t want to be mean about that, but it’s true.”
“There is an issue, you’re right,” Sophie admitted. “That’s what I’m trying to work on now, and I’m aware that it’s completely a me thing. I’m just hoping that you might be willing to give me a chance—”
The sharp ring of a cell phone interrupted them. Carla hesitated, then frowned and pulled her cell out. “Shit, I have to take this. Work.” She caught Sophie’s eye with an apologetic look, then stood and walked out.
Sophie exhaled sharply and sat back in her seat. She didn’t know why she felt exhausted, exactly. If anything, she should be energized about being in the same room as Carla. But the way that Carla used to make her giddy didn’t seem to be kicking in. Maybe she’d been so worked up and stressed about what could happen leading up to their date that her body was just starting to catch up?
Sophie checked her phone and saw a new message from Nina. She sucked her lip in. It’s not that she was avoiding her sister, exactly, but she knew that Nina was still (rightfully) pissed off, so she thought it best to give her some space.
You are coming to see me on set tomorrow. No excuses.
Well, now she had no other choice. Even though she’d hoped Nina might take time to cool off, she suspected her sister was still very much in the land of being mad. She gave the text a thumbs-up, put the phone in her pocket, and went back to waiting.
The waiter dropped off a bowl of edamame, and Sophie nibbled at one. As she looked up, Carla walked toward her.
“I’ve been trying to take more time off and set work boundaries,” Carla said as she sat back down. “But I have a few patients who’ve decided boundaries don’t exist for them. Apparently, I need to make a house call tonight.”
Carla’s shoulders pinched up around her ears in a shrug, and she grabbed a piece of edamame. “Do you mind if we take dinner to go? I’m so sorry, Sophie.”
“It’s okay.” Sophie waved away Carla’s apology and smiled back to reassure her. Sophie had, after all, been one of Carla’s patients once upon a time, which is how they’d initially met (though, Sophie got a new doctor as soon as she realized there was more to explore with Carla). So she understood that when there was a medical issue, people needed her.
“I’ll drive you home.” Carla signaled a waiter to bring their check.
“You don’t have to do that. I can call for a ride.”
“No, no, I insist. I’d like more time with you.” Carla’s hand reached across the table, and her fingers threaded through Sophie’s. Sophie waited for butterflies to swarm, but none came. So she swallowed down something that was either edamame or apprehension as she held hands with her ex and wondered why things felt so very different between them.
Which is how Sophie ended up in a Tesla with a to-go box of sushi on her lap. When they pulled up in front of Sophie’s place, Carla parked the car.
“I’m sorry we had to cut the night short.” Carla’s hand reached again for Sophie’s, and she willingly gave it.
She should’ve been thrilled that Carla wanted to spend more time with her, so why wasn’t she?
“Maybe we can see each other again, like, for a date?” Sophie cautiously asked. She knew that something didn’t feel exactly right about being with Carla in that moment, but they also hadn’t seen each other in a very long time, and maybe they just needed to warm up again. She wasn’t going to throw away the opportunity to find love because it didn’t feel as exciting as when Dash held her hand.
“I’d like that.” Carla gave a generous grin, and Sophie softly smiled back.
Good—they’d have another date, and another chance to try this out. If Sophie really wanted to fix her writer’s block, falling for Carla might be the only real way to do that.
“You’re really hard to say goodbye to,” Carla told her. Then she leaned across the car’s console, brought her fingers to Sophie’s chin, tilted her head up and...kissed her. One tentative, soft kiss. And Sophie returned the kiss, just as tentatively.
She wanted to feel the spark of absolute electricity she’d had with Carla when they were together, but as she kissed her back, and harder this time, she didn’t feel the same jolt. She reached a hand behind Carla’s neck and pulled her close, willing the chemistry between them to show up.
But then Carla pulled away as she said, “Guess you missed me, huh?”
“Of course,” Sophie said. And she had missed Carla, so why wasn’t her body reacting the way her mind had? She forced a warm smile.
“See you soon?” Carla asked.
Sophie nodded, then she opened the car door and stepped out. The night air had turned everything cool, and she shivered as she watched Carla drive off.
When she got into her house, she had no intention of going to bed. She felt wired as several thoughts crossed her mind.
That was a lackluster kiss.
Dash’s lips taste like honey.
Nina might murder me.
What she suddenly wanted to do more than anything else was write—a feeling she’d had for months but hadn’t been able to act upon. Only now, there were words swirling around her and the only way to silence them was to put them onto the page.
She sat at her work desk and cracked open her laptop. An open document was already waiting, and without overthinking what she was going to type, she started to write.
Hello, my name is Dash Montrose, and I am absolutely thrilled to be standing on Hollywood Boulevard in the summer heat and wearing a three-piece suit...
18
DASH
When the car came, it was ninety degrees out, but Dash was still in a suit because it was something his mother had insisted on. A driver opened the back door and, as he stepped in, he heard his brother before he saw him.
“Which outlets will be there?” Reece gazed out the window.
“All of them.” His publicist, Justine, didn’t look up from her phone.
Dash raised his eyebrows as he sat next to Reece, and Reece nodded back. Dash’s phone pinged.
Luna and I are going to a meeting later. Free to join?
He ignored the text from Chris and quickly pocketed the phone. He should be at a meeting instead of going to a premiere—he knew that—but he wanted to be there to support his brother, and his mom had insisted he go.
“Who will I be talking to?” Reece pressed.
“All of them,” Justine said again.
“Are you actually listening to my questions, Justine, or just saying all of them for everything because you think I’m annoying?” Reece had a smile on his face that suggested he knew what was coming and was excited for it.
“It’s called multitasking, Reece. Some of us don’t always need to hear the sound of our own voice.”
Dash let out a chuckle at his brother’s expense, and Reece frowned back.
“I deserved the spanking, but I didn’t know it would sting that much,” Reece said to Dash. Then he turned to his publicist. “Justine, I’m obsessed with you. You know that, right?”