Warning: Substance abuse issues.
Warning: Deeply dysfunctional family members.
Warning: Former child actor who suffers from massive insecurities.
Sophie deserved perfectly bold love from someone who lit up a room just as easily as she did. But when Dash thought about being with Sophie, it was clear that he was an eclipse of issues threatening to swallow her sunny warmth.
So he would keep his mouth shut. Stay strong. And not let his own feelings derail Sophie’s future. That’s all he could think about when Kitty barged into the room and began to tersely discuss their agreement of a drama-free event. He barely heard her but eventually followed her out the door to meet his handler.
He wanted to get the speech over with. He’d practiced his lines for a week straight, the first time he’d had to memorize a script in years, and he had them down. All he needed to do was step out of his dressing room, make his way to the stage, find Sophie in the crowd, and speak the words to her.
A representative from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce asked for William to come onstage, which was Dash’s cue that he’d be called up shortly. If he could just get through the next twenty minutes, then he’d be okay.
His dad stood next to the podium, and the man at the microphone called on Dash. He took the steps up to the erected stage, and William gave what appeared to be a proud nod, which Dash locked onto. He returned the nod with a practiced hug.
“You all right?” William said into his ear.
Dash frowned at his concern, surprised, but quietly replied, “Yes.”
He was all right. He would be strong. Just as he always had to be.
When Dash got up to the mic, he lowered it to meet his mouth and cracked a joke. “People always think Reece and I are the same height.”
The light chuckles from the audience eased the tension in his shoulders as he settled in behind the podium.
“Where’s Reece?” a voice from the crowd shouted.
“Reece is filming a movie, but he wishes he could be here, because today is a truly important one for our family.” Dash smiled over at his dad, who gave him an encouraging nod. Then he searched the crowd for Sophie, who he knew would be a few rows back, until he landed on her. He sighed in relief as she gave an enthusiastic smile back. He could get through the speech as long as he saw her there. The jittery taps of his fingers stilled as he looked down at his notes, then took in a big breath and began.
“For those of you who don’t know, my name is Dash Montrose, and I am honored to be here today to tell you about how special my dad is. I’m told that the day I was born, he was filming a rock-climbing scene for an action movie called The Devil’s Tongue. Have any of you seen it?” He waited for applause, and some came. “While he was on the edge of a cliff, quite literally, a crew member had my mom on speakerphone as she told him that I was a boy, and she wanted to know what to name me. My dad told her he’d get to the hospital in a dash. But the reception wasn’t great, and all my mom heard was ‘Dash.’ I guess it could’ve been worse—Crag or Rappel could be giving this speech today.”
As laughter trickled up, more of the tension he’d felt began to ease. The speech was going well. He’d been worried for nothing. He glanced back to his notes, which is when he heard a voice from the crowd.
“When did you get out of rehab?”
He kept his eyes on the paper and breathed in, then out, even though his heart pounded in his ears. He wouldn’t let that person, whoever they were, derail him. He just had to find Sophie again and deliver the speech and then he could go home. He searched for her spot, but his gaze landed on his mother instead, whose lips had turned into a thin and seething line. Then he caught Poppy next to her, who looked more confused than anything. Dash’s palms turned clammy, and he glanced down to his notes again.
“I’ve never worked with my dad on a film, but I felt like he brought our family with him to every project. Sometimes, we would travel to set in order to spend time together.” He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead without thinking, then winced as he realized just how nervous he was. As he peered up at the crowd, desperate to see Sophie’s face, he heard another question.
“Dash, are you drunk right now?” the same voice shouted.
Dash’s hands gripped the sides of the podium as the tip of his tongue trailed across his teeth. He felt the heat from the overhead sun so intensely that he wondered if he might pass out. He’d lost his place in the speech but decided to skip ahead. He needed to get this over with. “My dad has always been deeply committed not only to his job as an actor but to being a wonderful father to us. Hollywood is part of him now, despite the British accent you may hear. My father loves this industry, and in awarding him this star, he will continue to be the legend he already is. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this recognition than him.” Dash turned to face his dad, and realized his voice had a tremor to it. He steadied himself as he took a deep breath and said, “Dad, congratulations.”
Then Dash began to clap so hard that his hands ached from pounding them together. There was a ringing in his ears as his father brought him in for a hug and mumbled something. Then he released him and stepped up to the microphone. Dash’s whole body was numb, and a white noise filled him as he walked offstage. He was meant to take a seat next to his mom but walked to the greenroom tent instead. He needed to stop the blaring hum that grew ever louder and get out of the space as quickly as possible.
But as he moved toward the exit, a hand gripped his bicep to stop him. He turned, and there was Kitty, her brows knit tightly together as she said, “Where are you going?”
“I need…” His whole body shook as the words bubbled up within him. “I can’t do this. I told you I couldn’t do this.”
“You are my son. You can do anything. Montroses don’t quit.” His mom stomped her foot, as if calling him to action.
But he had nothing left. “I gave the speech. I did what you asked.”
“How do you think it will look if you just leave in the middle of your father’s speech?” Her voice was hushed but still terse.
But he didn’t care how Kitty felt because he was feeling so much that he couldn’t keep his emotions in any longer. “I don’t care how it will look, Mom. A reporter just asked if I was drunk. A stalker leaked my story—”
“I leaked the story,” Kitty said.
He frowned, and the silence around them was almost as strange as the words she’d just said.
“What?” Dash’s voice was so loud it filled the tent. “You did what?”
Kitty didn’t so much as flinch but kept her gaze trained on Dash as she said, “You needed a push. I’d hoped that the pressure of a story leaking would get you back to work. You think I didn’t know about your stay at a rehab center as soon as it happened? I was hoping you’d tell me in your own time. But then months went by, and nothing. And you have been doing nothing except for passing up perfectly good jobs. You know how secrets are in this town. They always come out. The best thing I could do was get the story out there before someone else did. And then you’d get back to work. Back to filming. And everyone would be able to see that you’d moved past this problem.”