Chapter 42 Twice the Like
KATIE
I hadn’t spoken to Dylan for three whole days.
Three. Whole. Days.
Which, apparently, was enough time for me to be a mess. I missed him so much it physically hurt, but I also knew I couldn’t just let myself slide back into his arms without sorting through the disaster at work.
So, I did what I always did when I felt like a mess. I journaled. Pages and pages about my feelings, Justin being a dickhead, Dylan’s temper, and how all of it somehow tangled together until my brain felt like it was stuffed with marshmallows.
Between journaling and working from home, I locked myself in my home studio. My workbench was littered with scraps of silver, half-set stones, and sketches of designs that had nothing to do with Opulence’s official projects.
They were mine.
The necklace I was piecing together was bold, and I couldn’t wait to finish it. But halfway through polishing a pendant, I found myself sketching a ring.
A masculine one, strong and simple, with a deep green stone at the center. Dylan’s eyes. I carved and soldered until I had something perfect for him, and just holding it made my chest ache with longing.
I missed his morning hoarse voice, his mischievous grin, his pouting and whining. I missed the warmth of his solid body and how silly he was, his lame jokes making me laugh.
I couldn’t even remember the last time I smiled.
The doorbell rang, and I wasn’t surprised to see Amanda storm in. At least she had learned how to ring a bell before rushing in. I scrambled to hide the ring under a pile of papers.
“You’re working,” she said, her eyebrows raised. “Good. Because Dylan’s turned into a zombie, and apparently, that’s my problem—now yours.”
I walked out of the home studio and went to the fridge. “Beer?”
She froze. “I thought you didn’t drink.”
“Turns out,” I said, handing her a chilled bottle and cracking one open for myself. “I like it when I’m a mess.”
Amanda took a sip. “You’re not a mess.”
I gave her a look and glanced at myself. I was wearing a decade-old t-shirt with holes in the neck, but it was the most comfortable clothing I owned.
“Fine.” She sighed. “You’re a bit of a mess—a hot mess, though.”
“Thank you.”
She leaned back against the counter, bottle dangling from her hand. “So, can you tell me why my brother hasn’t eaten properly in days? He didn’t even go for a run this morning. Do you know what it takes to keep Dylan off his running schedule? The apocalypse. Or, apparently, you.”
My chest tightened. “I… don’t know.”
“Of course you don’t.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s been moping around my apartment, watching Cars on repeat. Cars, Katie. Not even Fast and Furious. He is a fucking mess.”
I looked down at the beer. “It might be because I said something to him,” I confessed.
Amanda narrowed her eyes and raised her bottle as if she were about to make a toast. “Enlighten me.”
So I told her everything. The hallway commotion, Dylan blowing up, my fear of losing control of my professional life, and how I had asked him to leave.
When I finished, she sighed. “Wow. Straight people are weird. Why don’t you just talk to him?”
I fiddled with the rim of my bottle. “I want to fix everything at work first, before I… talk to him.”
“Sure, that’s gonna work out really well.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, not everything needs to be perfect and go according to your to-do lists, Katie! Dylan screwed up. He shouldn’t have lost his temper like that, but he’s not exactly the king of subtle emotions. Give him a chance to apologize and to make it right. That’s part of being in a relationship.”
Her words made my stomach knot.
“You’re right,” I whispered.
“I’m always right.”
“I’ll talk to him soon. I promise.”
“Good.” She tipped her bottle toward me. “Do it before he starts watching Frozen on repeat. Because I swear if I hear Let it Go blasting at two in the morning interrupting mine and Tina’s beauty sleep, I’m blaming you.”
* * *
The next day, I went to work with my chin held high. I had even sent a text to Dylan, letting him know I was ready to talk to him.
My team, who were usually too nervous to say much, pulled me aside with wide eyes and shaky voices. They told me that Justin’s latest designs looked eerily similar to mine.
That piece of shit.
I stormed into the conference room during Justin’s presentation. My heart was pounding so loudly it echoed in my ears. I ignored his snarky look and the others’ judgmental eyes for interrupting their meeting. I didn’t care.
“These,” I said, holding up sketches from his presentation. “Are my designs. The one Justin claimed as his own.”
Justin’s face went pale and then flushed bright red when everyone started whispering to each other. “That’s ridiculous. You don’t have proof.”
“Actually, I do.” I always saved my files on my iPad and in the cloud.
Before I could show him the proof, Justin’s smug voice filled the speakers as if it were a recording.
“I’m stringing her along—yeah, the one who is uptight. She’s buying me an expensive lunch on her birthday, can you believe that?”
“No, no, if she’s lucky, I might even sleep with her. Hell, I don’t even have to try. I’m sure she’d come crawling if I asked her to.”
The room went silent as I stared at him. What? He just wanted to sleep with me?
Dylan was right. Justin is a fuckface.
Justin shouted, lunging toward the laptop. “Turn that off! Right now!”
He swung toward me, his eyes wild. “It’s your fault!”
But before he could reach me, a familiar voice made me relax.
“If you dare touch my girlfriend, you will regret it.”
I turned around, and there he was. Dylan. Walking into the conference room in a suit, as if he owned the place, with his green eyes gleaming. Hearing him call me his girlfriend made my heart stutter.
Relief surged through me, even as my heart stuttered at his intensity. He held out a pen drive to me as Justin argued with one of the investors. I didn’t even care how and why Dylan was there. I was just glad to see him.
“Give this to HR,” he said.
I nodded, taking the pen drive. “Will you wait for me in my office?”
His jaw clenched, but he nodded. He didn’t want to leave me alone in Justin’s vicinity, but I was glad he trusted me to take care of myself.
He squeezed my shoulder and whispered, “Go break a leg, darling.”
I smiled.
My boyfriend was with me.
* * *
When I finally returned to my office after talking to HR, Dylan was there. Asleep in my chair with his head tilted back, the light dim.
My chest tightened when I realized he spent days gathering proof with detailed records of Justin’s stolen designs, contracts, even emails that showed he had sold ideas to rival firms. It would have taken me months to put all of that information together.
I didn’t ask for details on how he managed it so quickly. Some things were better left unknown.
Justin’s career was over, and it was all thanks to Dylan. My cute and handsome boyfriend.
I poked his cheek gently. “Hey.”
He stirred, blinking groggily before his face softened into a smile. With a sigh, he tugged me closer and rested his head against my stomach. The weight of him warmed me.
“I need to tell you something,” I whispered, running my hand through his soft hair. I wanted to take him home and cuddle him.
His voice was rough with sleep. “What’s that?”
“I think I like you.”
“Yeah? Me too. I think I like you too.”
“Maybe more than that.”
His head finally lifted, green eyes meeting mine. “More?”
“Yes. Twice the like?”
“Twice?” He gaped. “That’s a lot of like.”
I giggled and pinched his cheek. “Yeah. Maybe it’s love.”
The humor faded from his face, replaced by something tender and intimate.
“I don’t know what that word means, but I…” I swallowed and continued, “I know I don’t want to wake up alone. I want to hear you baby-talk to Pollux, make me breakfast, and have filthy sex with me.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “Yeah… I can do that.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
He stood up and leaned closer with his breath warm against my lips. “I love you too, you know?”
My heart pounded in my ears, and I whispered, “I know.”
Then his mouth was on mine, capturing my lips in a sweet kiss.
I finally felt whole again.
The End
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“I am asking you to marry me.”
“Are you asking or ordering, Sultan?”
“I am asking, Princess.” I smiled at her.
“For now.”
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