25. Dash
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
DASH
Miranda’s right. The universe isn't screwing around.
As Dash turned into his driveway, he glanced between a car parked on the street and a person sitting on his porch steps. Kate in silhouette, backlit by porch lights.
He parked, his heart kicking into overdrive.
He sucked in a breath and eyed the rearview mirror, taking a moment to silently reassure himself.
He exited the car and made his way toward her, hoping for the best but mentally preparing for the worst. Kate stood and they shared a quick, noticeably tepid embrace.
“Your crew made great time. I thought you wouldn’t touch down until midnight.”
“I was able to get on an earlier flight.”
"Ah, good. Are you okay?" he asked.
Based on her closed body language, she was anything but.
"Can we go inside and talk? I know it's late, but this can't wait," she said.
Dash's heart caved at the sound of her tone, both sad and resolute.
Well, so much for me breaking the news to her. Kate knows all about the one-night stand. Natalie probably told her everything the very first opportunity she had.
"Of course, certainly. I haven’t been inside yet, so my apologies if the place is a wreck."
He led her up the front steps. She stopped and retrieved a paper bag near the front door as they made their way inside.
"Whatcha got in there?" he asked.
"Remember the chile rellenos? The Mexican food fiesta that never was? I stopped and picked some up on my way over."
Seems to be the popular play today.
Dash poked his nose into the bag. "Smells like heaven."
"No, it doesn't." Kate looked him square in the eye. "It smells like tension, lies, and guilt. But my mother always said that bad news is better with good food."
She turned away and he followed her to the kitchen, his heart revving like an engine.
Well, this is it. She's gonna beat me to the punch.
Shit, meet Fan.
He watched as she removed several containers from the bag, bracing himself for the inevitable burst of anger. But she remained the picture of calm as she moved around him, gathering items from his cabinets and pantry as though in her own home.
"Can I get you a beer or wine or anything?" Dash asked.
"Beer would be great. You're okay to eat this late? Sorry, I didn't even ask. You probably came from dinner."
"No, I was over at Miranda and Cecil’s place. We had some barbeque, but that was a while ago.”
Kate loaded up two plates while Dash slipped out to the beer fridge in the garage. He returned with two frosty mugs and a couple of bottles of Pacifico. Kate sat waiting on a stool at the island. With one look, Dash could see she had a lot to say.
He settled onto the seat beside her and inhaled deeply, bracing himself. He looked down and inspected his plate. "I bet Jesus dreamed of a Last Supper this tasty. Of course, I happen to be Judas in this version, so … "
Kate covered his hand with her own. "I didn't come here to stage some huge jealous outburst. I came here to tell you a story … about Natalie."
"Oh, God." He moaned and wiped his hand across his face.
"I promise that when all is said and done, we'll both feel a lot better about the recent turn of events."
"Kate, I—” Dash started.
Kate held up a hand. "Please. I’ve got to get this out in one breath. I told you about the man Nat met the night before she moved back to Chicago. How he’s been the center of her thoughts for months. They spent only one night together but it changed her.
“He'd begged her to give them more time together in London. Said he was falling for her, but she'd made a commitment to herself and her dream. Anyway, she didn't realize how much she regretted her decision until fate brought them together again."
The kitchen fell silent for a moment. Dash waited, not wanting to interrupt. He searched Kate’s face, which appeared poised for a serious poker tournament. It gave nothing away. When she reached for her beer, he took the opportunity to speak.
"I don't know what to say. Sorry doesn't even begin to make a dent. I’ve picked up the phone a hundred times to call you, but I didn't know where to begin. When did Natalie tell you?"
"Natalie didn't tell me," Kate confessed.
"But then how did you figure all this out?"
“I got in touch with her assistant, Noah."
Kate held out her phone. Dash looked at her, his expression wary.
“Go ahead, read for yourself,” she encouraged.
He read the exchange, his guilt amped up full blast.
Kate: Are you still at Nat’s?
Noah: How do you know I was at Nat’s?
Kate: I know everything. About Dash and what happened in Nashville. I sent Nat our secret code to call me, but she never hung up her phone. I heard your whole conversation.
Noah:
Noah:
Kate: Yeah, that pretty much sums up my feelings ATM.
Noah: That’s 100% my bad. I took the phone from Nat and guess I didn’t hang it up.
Noah: Nat is one of my best friends but we also work together. I’m sorry, but I’m not comfortable discussing this.
Kate: I understand. And I salute your loyalty. Not just professionally, but to her personally.
Kate: I just need to know one thing: is Nat okay?
Noah: Honestly (and off the record!) she’s a wreck.
Kate: What about Hart?
Noah: She broke up with him at the showcase.
Dash read the whole text thread twice, then handed the phone back to Kate. “I bet this Noah guy crapped his pants when he read your text.”
“Oh, he was pretty upset with himself. I called him immediately. We’ve never really talked.
I only have his number for emergencies. It took some prying, but I got a few things out of him.
He was very apprehensive about saying anything to betray Natalie’s trust, but he’s worried about her.
He did say she was in better spirits when he left. "
Dash digested these facts while his food remained largely untouched.
"Kate, I am so sorry. I lied to both of you, and to your father. I feel like shit, but at the time, I didn't know what to do. It was your father's birthday party. I couldn't let the bomb drop right there in front of everyone."
A bomb that would blow up the party, our relationship, and my heart.
"I understand why you did what you did. I'm sure it wasn't easy. You were trying to protect all of us. And it wasn't only on you at that point. Natalie could have said something."
"I should have come clean to you first. I went behind your back and talked to Natalie. That was wrong. That's the real reason I went to see Miranda. I needed outside counsel. Of course, she told me the one thing I've known all along—that I had to tell you the truth at the first opportunity."
"Well, you haven't been the only one to withhold the truth." Kate dropped her eyes for a moment.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean if we're competing for Liar of the Year, I think I might have you beat."
"I don't get it," Dash said, shaking his head.
"The last few months with my late husband were pretty bad and I was in a dark place for a long time after his death. In the last year, I've been pressured by everyone I know to start dating again.”
“Colt went through the same thing after his fiancée died. Everyone wanted to set him up, as if that would magically make the pain go away.”
“Right? Cookie forced me to go with him that night we met at the gallery. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He was determined to dress me up and get me back in the ring, as it were. I kinda latched on to you to get him off my back.”
“Oh. I see.”
Wait a minute. Is she feeling exactly what I’ve been feeling?
“But then you turned out to be this really nice guy.
These past few weeks with you have been wonderful, Dash.
You've helped me remember that I'm allowed to go out and live and smile and have fun and bring new people into my life.
Malcolm would want that for me. I want that for me.
But if I'm being totally honest with myself, something is missing here.
" She motioned back and forth between them.
"You mean like real, honest-to-goodness chemistry?" he suggested.
Kate's eyes widened, his reply taking her by surprise, but she continued.
"I've been trying to make this into something it's not, lying to you and myself and everyone else in the process.
My dad and Nat are so happy for me that I played up our relationship to be way more than it is because I didn't want to disappoint them.”
Dash nodded and spun his metal beer cap on the countertop.
“Remember when I snapped at you at the barn? The thought of you becoming Natalie’s investor scared me. I thought it would complicate things even more. I've lied to everyone close to me. But worst of all, I've lied to you, Dash … and for that I am truly sorry."
They talked at length about the unbelievable course of events that brought them together. Dash told her his side of the Mr. Crown saga—from searching for Natalie's autumn eyes everywhere he went to the agonizing minutes inside her bedroom Sunday night.
Kate shared her love story with Malcolm, one which had come to a painful end much too soon.
The look in her eyes as she spoke of her deceased husband conveyed way more than her words.
She longed for a connection that would never exist between them.
Friends? Yes. Good friends, in fact. But never anything more.
"We're both white-hot love people, Dash. We want the unexpected. Something that starts with a bang, not something we have to make work. You and Nat were white-hot from the word go, and if I know my sister, you still can be. Give her a little time for the dust to settle."
"I want you to know that after everything that happened with me and Natalie, I think the world of you and would never, ever, do anything to intentionally hurt you."
"And I want you to know something, Dash Benning.
" She reached out and took both his hands.
"Even if we'd been going great guns, if Malcolm Fitzpatrick walked through that door and I knew I had one more chance to be with him, I'd take it, even if it meant hurting a guy as nice as you in the process—which is why you can't give up on Natalie. "
The words had barely left her mouth when they heard a key in the front door.
"Hello?" a deep voice called out.
"In the kitchen," Dash called back.
"The infamous stepbrother, I presume?" Kate inquired, biting back a grin.
"He wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow." Dash eyed his watch with a puzzled look. "Either the business meetings were a slam dunk or he got dusted."
A man sauntered into the kitchen, dressed in a dark suit that fit him like a glove, looking like he'd stepped off the cover of GQ. He had a bottle of Veuve Clicquot in one hand and two boxes from House of Pies balanced in the other.
"What the hell, Dash? Did you run out of gas or—" he asked, stopping short when he realized they had a guest.
Dash shot him a look. "Colt, I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Kate."
"Oh, my apologies, ma'am." He gave a slight nod. "Nice to meet you."
Dash grinned and took the bottle from Colt's hand. "Are we celebrating?"
"We are. Had the deal signed before we finished our first drink. No need to drag it out on a golf course tomorrow, so I flew right back," Colt said.
"Colt is the best closer in the business," Dash announced with pride.
"And you can pay me back by moving your car. You left it smack in the middle of the driveway, and I can’t get mine in the garage."
"Pop the cork then. I'll be right back.”
Dash scooped up his keys from the counter and headed out, leaving Kate and Colt alone. He paused for a beat at the back door, straining to hear their conversation.
"I didn't mean to bust in here like that. If I'd known he’d had a date here, I—" Colt began.
"Oh, Dash and I aren't dating," Kate gently corrected. "But who knows … maybe one day we'll be in-laws."
Dash smiled. From your lips to God’s ears, woman.
Dash and Kate shared a long hug before she left. He waved, watching until he could no longer see the taillights of her car. He spent a few minutes outside, staring up at the sky while trying to clear his head.
Go talk to Colt. He’ll know what to do.
The front door had no more closed when he turned and called out to his stepbrother.
"I’m officially screwed!" Dash hollered.
“What are you talking about?” Colt called back.
Dash returned to the kitchen and rehashed the entire soap opera—every crazy and sometimes painful thing he and Kate discussed. Colt listened without a single interruption as he polished off the last of the chile rellenos. Dash ended his monologue by posing a question—one short but complex question.
“What the hell am I supposed to do?”
Colt remained silent as Dash cut himself a hefty slice of pecan pie. He then drained his glass of champagne. After wiping his mouth on a kitchen towel, he looked Dash in the eye.
"Kate’s right. You’ve gotta go after Natalie with everything you've got. Show her she can have it all—the career and the romance."
“And how exactly do you propose I do that?”
“She’s an event planner, right?”
“Yeah.”
Without missing a beat, Colt said, "So hire her to create the fanciest shindig Chicago has ever seen. Have all your family and friends there—a Win Her Back party."