Because I Can (Necklace Trilogy 2)

“He’s not like him,” I promise her, a knot forming in my belly just thinking of how badly my father hurt her.

“No,” she agrees. “I don’t believe he is, but both of you need to earn each other’s trust.”

“Wise advice from a wise woman.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she says. “I’ll make your pot pie. Bring him on over here. I’m going to inspect him with a keener eye this time. Feel free to warn him. Be here at six.”

I’m laughing when we hang up. I’m happy, I realize. I’ve been challenged, engaged, motivated, angry, inspired, and the list goes on, but I don’t remember the last time I was happy. I reach inside my desk where I’ve stashed the journal and pick it up, thinking about how many times and ways I’ve compared myself to Allison. I’ve been curious why she would leave a dream job, but I suddenly understand. It’s about a bigger picture, about where you feel you are and where you belong. Anyone looking in on me would wonder why I would leave Riptide. The answer is happiness. The people we love are the sunshine on even the rainiest day. We need them. They are bonds that hold us together in the stormiest of days.

I wonder if anywhere in the writing on these pages, Allison ever said she was happy. I slide the journal back into my purse without looking at it. I already know the answer. She wasn’t happy. And right now, I really want to believe she chose to leave to find her sunshine.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

It’s five-thirty when Dash calls my phone. “I’m in the parking garage.”

“I’m coming right down,” I say and I waste no time doing just that.

I step off the elevator expecting him and his M4 to greet me. Instead, Dash is leaning on a burgundy car I’ve never seen, one booted foot over the other. It’s Dash I’m focused on though and not the car. How can I not notice him first? He’s in faded jeans, a brown sweater, and a brown leather jacket and he is sin and hot sex in bakery bathrooms.

I close the space between us and he pushes off the car, pulling me close, and kissing me. “This is why I went shopping. I get to look at you in all the new clothes.”

“You, Mr. Black, know all the right things to say. I guess that’s why you’re a writer.”

“Depends on which critic you ask, baby. Some say I should have stuck to the FBI.” He holds up a key. “Your car.”

“You didn’t have to rent me a car. It is a rental, right?”

“Something like that,” he says, noncommittally. “Check it out.” He grabs my bag and I bring the car fully into focus. “It’s a BMW. That’s an expensive rental, Dash.”

“I have a thing for BMW,” he says. “A bit like you do Chanel.”

“It’s beautiful, but how much is this costing?”

“That means the dealership likes me. A lot. I worked out a deal. You drive us to your mom’s. Make sure you like it.”

“I already love it. It’s gorgeous,” I say. “And the color is very me.” I push to my toes and kiss his cheek. “I’d tell you it’s too much, but I know how you’d reply.” I soften my voice. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, cupcake.” He gives me one of his most charming smiles and opens the driver’s door for me.

It’s right then that Tyler steps off the elevator and walks right for us, or rather, Dash. Tyler stops right in front of him. “I hear Ghost is going to a streaming service.”

“We’ll see,” Dash replies. “Negotiations are ongoing.”

“They want you. They’ll pay what it takes. You’re about to be an even richer man than you already are.” He eyes me. “Don’t get lost in the fireworks, Ms. Wright.” With that, he steps around us and heads to his car.

In other words, don’t lose my identity. “What did that mean?” Dash asks, facing me now, and me him.

“He warned me about you. He said you have demons.”

“And you said?”

“Now they’re my demons, too.”

He catches the top of the open door with his hand. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing, Allie. Maybe that makes me a selfish fuck.”

I press my hand to his cheek, his light brown, one-day stubble, teasing my palm. “No. It makes you human. And I love that about you.”

It’s as close to telling him I love him as I’ve come. If he notices, he doesn’t show it. He covers my hands with his and kisses my knuckles. “Climb in, baby. We need to get to your mom’s.”

It’s not what he wants to say to me. I feel that. But I don’t know that right here, in the Hawk Legal parking lot, he can say much more. I slide into the leather seat, and then to my surprise, Dash kneels beside me. “One day you’re going to leave me. And just know this, I don’t want you to leave, Allie.”