It's About Time (Blossom Peak #4)(106)

“I told you, I wouldn’t have missed it.”

Fletcher takes her hand and then plants a kiss on my cheek. “So proud of you, Dil. Can’t wait for the awards and auction in the next few days.” I watch them walk away.

My brother steps up to me finally and lowers his voice. “Okay. Real talk. How are you feeling?”

My eyes drift to Elliot who’s talking to Rhonan over to the side of my booth. “Good, actually. I feel confident. I know there are a lot of really impressive restorations here, but I think my work speaks for itself.”

“Good.”

“I just…”

“What?” he asks, his face etched with concern.

“I feel like Elliot is hiding something from me.”

Hen ley darts his gaze over to Elliot and then back to me. “What do you mean?”

I recount what happened in the restaurant last night with Vinnie, and then how he sort of shut down on me. “He says that he doesn’t want to bother me with stuff while we’re here, but…”

“Then believe him,” my brother says, cutting me off.

“I do, but…”

“No, you’re trying to find a reason to doubt him, Dilynne. Elliot is smart, and he doesn’t want to pull your focus from this event. So believe him. He will tell you what’s going on when the time is right.”

“Do—do you know what’s going on?”

My brother clears his throat. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Great. So now my fake fiancé and my brother are both keeping me in the dark.”

My brother leans in. “For your benefit. This week is about you. Everything else can wait, okay? And trust me, Elliot can handle some things on his own.”

When he leans back, I look him straight in the eye. “Fine.”

“And you have nothing to worry about right now except talking yourself up, bragging about your work, and winning some fucking money.” With a wink, he kisses me on the temple and then releases me from his hold. “Good luck. We’ll be back later.”

Vienna comes over to me then. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Girl, you should not have a freaking frown on your face right now. You’re the talk of this show.”

“Thank you,” I say, watching people admire the Porsche. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Of course. Good luck.”

And with a hint of doubt and concern resting deep in my stomach, I plaster on my best smile and head back to the car to talk to my admirers, hoping that my brother is right.

Time passes in a blur, so quickly that the only reason I know it’s after lunchtime is because my stomach starts growling ferociously.

I look around for Elliot, finding him talking to a collector I saw come by earlier today. As I approach them, I can overhear their conversation.

“And all of the gauges are original?”

Elliot nods. “Yup. In fact, I was with her when she picked them up and installed them.”

The man grins over at Elliot. “And you didn’t help her at all with this?”

Elliot laughs. “Look, I’m not ashamed to admit that I don’t know shit about cars, but my fiancée does. She’s incredible, so dedicated to detail and doing everything herself. She is the only person that’s touched this car, and you can give me a freaking lie detector test if you don’t believe me. But trust me, Dilynne Clark, soon-to-be Thorne, is a mastermind and a powerhouse in this industry, and everyone is going to know her name by the end of the week. I guarantee it.”

Soon-to-be Thorne?

I’m fairly certain that my jaw is on the floor, but it’s the tears building in my eyes that should be more concerning.

Elliot is speaking about me the way I’ve always wished a man would.

He’s definitely keeping up his end of the bargain in our arrangement, that’s for sure.

Oh, come on, Dilynne. You know this is more than that.

The pride on his face is so effortless. His words are making my heart beat f aster.

But it’s his actions—the way he’s shown up for me despite whatever else is going on in his life—that I can’t deny any longer.

God, I’ve fallen in love with Elliot Thorne.

Something in my chest takes flight. Maybe it’s years of self-doubt, maybe it’s the trust issues I’ve been battling when it comes to men, or maybe it’s that sliver of hesitation that this thing between us is doomed no matter what I want.

Because right here, right now, Elliot has finally helped me believe that he truly might want me for exactly who I am.

And there’s nothing left for me to do except tell him that I want him too.

***

“Okay, now it’s time for the award for Best Restoration,” Tony Franklin says into his microphone as the crowd simmers down.

Elliot squeezes my hand. “No matter what happens, you should be proud.”

“I am,” I say confidently, even though on the inside, I’m squirming. I dart my eyes to the other side of the room to find Vinnie staring at me, a cocky smirk on his lips because the fucker thinks he’s about to win.

Six weeks ago, the idea of him winning sent me into a tailspin. I thought I’d never be able to live it down, that his views about me back then would be validated.