“Nice to meet you, Sophie.” Then Chris gave him a pointed look. “Dash, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
They watched as Chris walked toward his car. Sophie nodded as she said, “That’s an excellent vanity plate.”
Dash looked, too, though he already knew the letters on the plate: DADG ERS. “He used to play left field for the Dodgers before Luna was born. His dad jokes came quickly, as you can see.”
“The real role he was born to play.” Sophie gave a tight smile, then flicked the clear bag of candy at his side with her index finger. “So it was an eventful dude-bro outing, then?”
“Very bro-ish. We watched NASCAR while eating raw steak.” Dash raised an eyebrow at her.
She gave him a withering but amused look back. “Dash, please, easy on the dirty talk.”
Her playfulness made the conversation with Chris melt away. His hand instinctively reached for hers. He thought to pull it back, but then her fingertips traced a little line along his thumb.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I bought about three pounds of candy, which should last me through dinner.”
She gave a knowing smile. “That sounds right.”
“Where are you headed?” He didn’t want to lose the feel of her next to him. “I have some free time now, if you wanted any video help?”
She shook her head. “I’m, uh, meeting up with Carla.”
His breath caught, then he cleared his throat. “Oh, okay, cool.” Her grip on his hand loosened, and his hand flexed at the lack of her palm against his.
Sophie was meeting up with her exes. Why should this one be any different? His hands turned clammy, and he rubbed them against his jeans.
Maybe it wasn’t a date? Maybe she was just looking for more closure? Though, Sophie had told him that Carla had been the one ex she’d seen a future and potential second chance with. He couldn’t stand in the way of her finding happiness, even if it was without him.
Still, there was a burning acidity in his throat that had started to bubble up. He couldn’t ignore the fact that he had feelings for Sophie—he absolutely did. But he had no right to act on those, or to lead her on, when the only thing he was looking for was to stay out of trouble. Sophie was complicated: she was his tenant, and Poppy would kill them both, like Sophie said.
He would focus on the future, not on what had happened between them. And besides, if he ever got in another relationship again, he’d need simple, straightforward, and drama-free—the exact opposite of what being with Sophie would entail.
“Okay, well…” Sophie blinked rapidly, but he couldn’t help but feel like there was sadness in her eyes.
She gave a little wave goodbye, and he mumbled a quick response before she turned and walked down the street toward her potential second chance.
Good. She should walk away from him. Without trying, maybe he’d given her the out she needed to save herself from getting hurt. And he should be happy that she didn’t want any part of him, but his jaw still clenched as he watched her vanish.
17
SOPHIE
Sophie wanted to turn around and talk to Dash, because she’d absolutely heard Chris mention that he needed a meeting and she was concerned. But their conversation had been private, and she had no business intervening. Plus, she was sure Dash would go to a meeting—he’d told his best friend he would, after all.
She rolled her shoulders as she attempted to stop thinking about the way Dash’s firm grip on her palm had held her steady. But the fluttery, warm sensation Sophie had grown used to feeling whenever Dash’s name popped into her head returned. She felt enveloped by it, the way she did whenever she reached a particularly emotional scene while reading a book. She could easily be swept away by the idea of him and what they could be—living in the fantasy world she often did. But she knew the truth was they would never move beyond the friends-with-benefits fun they had.
Sophie needed to turn over a new page and focus on Carla. If there was any chance of tonight going well, then she couldn’t think about Dash. So she might as well commit with a video.
SOPHIE’S TIKTOK
Ex number three
Name: Doc
Occupation: Cardiologist
Length of relationship: Eleven and a half months
Reason for breakup: My issues
Weeks until book is due: 4 （and one day）
Sophie continued to walk down the street as she spoke to her phone. “I have a date tonight with my third ex, who we will call Doc. I had a long relationship with Doc, and she was the only person who has ever told me they loved me. But for some reason, I couldn’t say those words back. Well, not for some reason. I kind of know the reason, which is that I never felt good enough for Doc.”
Sophie stumbled as she hip-checked a sign, clutched her chest, and looked back to where she’d tripped. The sign was for valet bike-parking. “Okay, did you see that? Only in LA will you see a sign for someone to valet your bicycle…” Sophie shook off her annoyance and continued to walk.
“Anyway, I’m trying to piece together everything I’ve learned so far, and I’m starting to wonder if in my relationships and life I just kind of lose myself. Like, do I even need to be meeting up with these exes, or should I just be putting in more work and digging deep to find the answers? Because so far, my first ex shut me down and told me to just look ahead. Ex number two totally effed me over. And the ex I’m seeing tonight…well, who knows.
“So how do I fix this? How do I bring more of myself to the table in my next relationship?” Sophie’s head tilted back as she said, “Basically, anytime I think about my situation, just one song comes to mind. DJ, play ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ by Taylor Swift for the people at home.”
Sophie stopped filming, added in the Taylor Swift anthem, and posted her video. She started to walk again and was determined not to think about Dash. But she instinctively glanced at her screen to see if he’d texted. He hadn’t. She inhaled sharply and prepared to put the phone away and bury down her disappointment, but then she saw a new notification of a comment on her video that made her smile.
@tokcrafty2me you are perfect.
Sophie arrived early to dinner—twenty minutes early, to be exact. Tardiness was a pet peeve of Carla’s, so Sophie power-walked the mile to Santa Monica Boulevard and the sushi restaurant where they were meeting.
In doing so, though, she’d rubbed her toes raw against the new slip-on sandals she wore—closed-toe, heavy, and not at all appropriate for Los Angeles in the summer （but they looked too cute not to wear）。 So she limped on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant and watched as a rather angry man shouted into his phone and pointed to an illegally parked Ferrari in the process of being towed.
The air was warm, despite the setting sun, and a thin line of sweat dappled her hairline. Sophie touched a finger to remove it. She wouldn’t be the first one at the table, but she also wouldn’t be late. Her options were hiding between two enormous and overloaded dumpsters in the alley behind the restaurant or… Yup, she was in too much pain to go any farther, so that was her option and the one she took.
She scanned both sides of the alley to make sure no one was watching, then took her left shoe off and instantly sighed. Her pinkie toe was as round and red as a raspberry, and she rested her bare foot on top of her right. Her head fell back against the building’s stucco wall, and she closed her eyes as she wiggled her toes in the hot summer breeze.