I checked the mail and, well, Dash the Doll was waiting for me! I told the police that Cindy violated her restraining order, and they’re going to file a report. But, honestly, this thing is adorable. She’s a very talented crafter and stalker!
Dash liked all the texts except the Dash doll one, to which he gave a thumbs-down. He then texted Poppy a middle finger emoji with no other context, and also texted Reece to wish him luck on the film he’d started to shoot. Yes, Dash had some unresolved tension with his brother, but that simmering anger was something his mom had stoked for years. And maybe now that Dash had cut her out, he and Reece could find a way back to just being brothers, rather than competitors.
But there was still no response back from Sophie. Not even a read-receipt confirmation. A knock sounded at the door, and when he answered, Geon was there waiting. “Can I make one quick call? It will only take a minute.”
“Sure.” Geon glanced down the hall. “I’ll go collect someone else’s phone, then circle back. I hate that phrase, circle back, but it really gets the job done.”
Dash closed the door, then hit the Call icon next to Sophie’s name. He waited for a ring, but the call went straight to voice mail. All he left on the message was “Richard Gere and I miss you,” then hung up. Geon came back and Dash handed his phone over.
The next day was Visitor’s Day. If Sophie came, he’d know they were okay, but if she didn’t? Well, he’d have more things to talk about in therapy.
39
SOPHIE
Sophie had never really done a grand, romantic gesture before. She’d read plenty of them and seen loads more in rom-coms. But for Dash, the man she was in love with, she wanted the first time to be special.
“This is not all going to fit into my car.” Nina stood in the driveway, with the trunk of her luxury sedan popped. “Balloons take up a lot of space.”
“You should’ve gone for the biodegradable confetti, like I suggested.” Poppy twirled a piece of her long, blond hair and gave an I-told-you-so look back.
But nothing, not even balloon shame, was going to get Sophie down. Not today, because it was Visitor’s Day with Dash, and she’d finally be able to say the words she’d never told a partner before. She’d missed his phone call, but she was going to give them both the happily-ever-after they deserved, whether he knew it or not.
“You both know this is the most important day of my life, right?” Sophie walked down the porch steps and made her way to the car, carrying a giant cake box.
“Well, you once told me that getting Rain Boots at the state fair was the most important day of your life, so forgive me for being a little dubious.” Poppy hip-checked Sophie, and Sophie stumbled before righting herself. “But I think it’s really sweet that you’re doing all this for Dash. He’s probably going to shit himself.”
“Now, there’s an image I didn’t want.” Nina grimaced and sipped from the to-go coffee cup in her hands.
Sophie managed to fit the cake box between a container of tea lights and a giant bag of sour gummy worms. “Okay!” She clapped her hands. “I’m ready.”
The grin that crossed her face was almost as big as the balloon banner she’d have to close into the trunk.
“You’re forgetting something.” Poppy waved Sophie’s phone at her.
Sophie grabbed the phone with a knowing look. “I just need five minutes.”
Poppy and Nina settled themselves into the front and passenger seats of the car as Sophie made her way to the avocado tree. She was going to record a final TikTok video to close out her romance author who’d never been in love series. Because, as her audience was about to find out, she had fallen in love…
SOPHIE’S TIKTOK
Relationship status: Complicated
Times I’ve fallen in love: 1
Happily-ever-afters written: 1
Sophie stood in front of the bare avocado tree, a bitten and shirtless Richard Gere dangling by a thread next to her. She smiled to the camera as she began to talk.
“It’s been a little while since I’ve posted an update video. Two weeks, if we’re counting. And if you’ve been following along, then you know my book was due a few days ago. And I did turn a book in to my agent! Yay!”
Sophie bit her lip as she shrugged to the camera. “It’s just not the one I was under contract for. So, yeah, I finished a book. And I’m really excited for you to hopefully get to read it someday. It was inspired by my first time falling in love. All of which never would’ve happened if I hadn’t started making these videos in the first place.
“So you might be wondering about why I put my relationship status in the corner there as complicated.” Sophie pointed to the text on the screen. “The truth is that I am in love, but the person I love is dealing with a lot of personal things they have to work out. And as much as I’d like to be with them, I’m giving them the space they need. I don’t know if we’ll be together at the end. But I do know that I have my happily-ever-after, because I love them, and that’s all I need.”
40
DASH
Dash woke up early, as the chiming bells and bright light demanded. He went through the motions and made coffee, drank a cup as he waited for the hot water in the shower to kick in, put on fresh clothes, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair, then finished a final sip of coffee while he stared out the window and watched the sun rise.
He made his way down to the communal snack room and grabbed a handful of blueberries, then walked to the animal pens. He took his basket into the henhouse, fed Heather a blueberry—though she had no new eggs for him—then collected eggs from the others. He had breakfast. He went to individual therapy, then group. But mostly, he was waiting for four o’clock to roll around—visiting hours.
In the late afternoon, Dash typically hit the gym and the occasional art class. They even had a state-of-the-art kiln on site.
But he was really, really hoping to see Sophie. He wanted to know if anything had changed, regardless of what it meant for them as a couple. Not being able to be near her for two weeks had left a dull ache in his core. Reminders of her came in bits and pieces: the sound of her infectious laugh, or the thick strands of wavy hair that fell across her eyes and the black lashes that hid underneath them. When he was struck with a memory, he felt consumed by the need to go see her. But he couldn’t, because he hadn’t been able to control himself and his emotions, and now he was starting over again.
“Dash, there’s a package for you. I left it in your room.” Geon shuffled through a stack of letters and didn’t look up as Dash nodded and headed for the stairs.
When Dash got back to his room, the world’s smallest gift bag was on his bed, matte black and the size of his palm. When he peered inside, there was a single neon gummy worm. He picked up the worm and studied it. Was this a joke? There was a small card next to the bag and, when he opened it, a message.
Want more? Follow the clues. Your first one: karaoke.
Dash looked up. There was a karaoke machine in the game room. He took the stairs down and headed there. When he reached the game room, he walked past two members who were deep in a game of Scrabble and jogged directly to the machine, which had another, but larger, gift bag resting on top. There were two gummy worms this time, and he read the next clue as he chewed one.