Plot Twist(19)

The back of Dash’s neck turned hot, and he rubbed a palm across it. “Are you telling me you not only named the squirrel, but you chose Richard as its name?”

“My mom used to love watching Richard Gere movies, and they both have kind eyes.” She nudged a fallen avocado leaf with her sandal.

“We’ll I’m going to call him Dick for short, because he absolutely is one.” Dash crossed his arms, hoping the little dig got under her skin a bit.

Sophie’s mouth dropped open in shock, and he was pleased by her reaction. “Dash Montrose, you will do no such thing!”

“You clearly don’t know me all that well, Soph.” He liked the feel of her shortened name in his mouth, like they’d known each other long enough for him to use it. “I’m not afraid to call squirrels out for the dicks they are.”

She let out a laugh but rolled her eyes. Maybe she was liking their unexpected exchange just as much as he was.

“Getting some yoga in?” Of course he’d watched her video from the day before and knew how the meeting with her yogi ex had gone, but he didn’t want her to know that.

“I used to do yoga a lot and haven’t done it in a while. I’m just trying to remember if I actually liked it or just did it because my ex did.” A slight breeze lifted the hem of her dress just enough for Dash to see a further smattering of charming little freckles. “They say you can’t change without making changes, right?”

So she’d read his comment on TikTok, and it had meant something to her. That was...interesting. “They do say that.” Dash kept a knowing smirk from crossing his lips. “My mom wants a draft of the speech in, like, two weeks. Do you think that’s doable?” He could bring their conversation back to business, and that way he wouldn’t think about tracing lines across her shoulders with his teeth.

Sophie gnawed on her lip. “I can make that work. I just kind of need to go back to Ojai this weekend to see another one of my exes. But I can outline the speech on the bus ride up, if that’s okay?”

Sophie didn’t have a car, one of the appeals of having her as a tenant, seeing as he only had space for his in their driveway. But Dash did have a car, and there was an incredible crafting community in the downtown Ojai area he’d really like to visit. He could imagine making a video there would be a nice change on the channel and a value incentive to his followers. Not that Sophie would need to know that, but he could drive her there, go to the shops while she made her connection, and then drive them home.

“Would you prefer a ride? We could talk about my dad and the speech on the way? I need to take my girl for a drive anyway.” He realized how that might sound and pointed to his car. “My car, I mean.”

“It’s kinda far.” She crossed her arms and studied him. He worked hard to keep his gaze above her neck.

“Hour and a half, tops.” Dash didn’t know why he was pushing this so much. He hated asking for her help, and really, he could call her and have this conversation on her bus ride to Ojai. But something about being near her made him want more time.

He was just lonely. After all, even Chris had called him out for being antisocial. So maybe Sophie scratched some deep itch he had to be around another person or something. He wasn’t totally sure, but he kept going. “If you want to work on this with me, we have to do it quickly. A drive is the perfect way for me to tell you about my dad, and then you can help translate that onto the page.”

He waited for her to respond, knowing that there was a strong possibility she wouldn’t want to be trapped in a car with him. But he hoped she would agree to this, and the fact that he was hopeful about something was...new.

“Okay.” A smile crossed her lips. “Let’s do it.”



7

SOPHIE

When Sophie stepped out of her house it was just after ten, but the sun was already blasting down warm and bright rays. She had to hold a hand above her eyes to see Dash by his car.

And, well, a few things came to mind as she gazed at him.

First, there was something quite surreal about the fact that she was taking a day trip with Dash—someone who, only a week ago, she’d spoken all of a dozen words to. Second, that she definitely did not want to spill her matcha tea on those cream seats. She took a massive gulp, then another, and finished the drink off. And third, Dash was attractive. Especially as he leaned back against the car in his dark blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up just enough to reveal glimpses of the tattoos that wrapped around his forearms. There was a workman’s jacket slung over his shoulder and he wore faded jeans and aviator sunglasses that made him look like a classic Hollywood movie star.

And maybe it was okay to objectively know that he was sexy, right? He was, after all, an actor, or had been, or whatever, and it was his actual job to look good. So what if Sophie happened to notice his confident stance as he leaned back against the car? Or the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed? Or how he lowered his sunglasses and smiled a genuine, warm look, just for her?

All those things would’ve been okay, she thought, except that the smile he’d given her had, in turn, caused a swarm of nerves to erupt. Yes, a swirling, unexpected, jittery sensation in her stomach that was either butterflies or a result of chugging her matcha within the span of a minute.

Either way, neither of those options were great. Butterflies were reserved for people she had crushes on, not a person named Dash who was her best friend’s brother and had enlisted her to do a job. Though, if she was being honest, she’d worn a dress that cinched at the waist specifically because she knew it made her ass look amazing. And hadn’t she known she’d done that for Dash?