Eighteen

 

Dakota tried to blink back the tears as she hurried to her car. It didn't work. They streamed down her face. She'd never been so hurt or humiliated in her life. Once inside, it took three tries to get her keys in the ignition. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

The phone rang. She dug it out of her purse, but dropped it. It bounced underneath the brake pedal. She fished it out with her feet and grabbed it just as the ringing stopped.

It was Charlotte. Of course. Dakota didn't care what she wanted. She couldn't deal with Charlotte or anyone else. It didn't matter that there were four weddings this weekend—all on Saturday.

She tried to take a deep breath. Marina and Aria needed her. They were all already running around in a crazed frenzy.

In the rear view mirror, Dakota saw the door of the jewelry store open. She jammed the phone back into her purse and pulled out of the spot, tires squealing. So much for leaving without being noticed.

A horn blared behind. She gave an embarrassed wave of apology and sped away, tears still flowing uncontrollably.

"I should've listened to my gut and just taken a break from men," she muttered. What she needed was to start collecting cats. Lots of them. Then she could focus on them rather than her pitiful dating life.

Her heart squeezed, and she turned the opposite way of The Chateau. Despite how much they needed her, she couldn't face work right now. Not a bunch of happy couples. It had never felt like such a slap in the face before.

Before she knew it, Dakota found herself in the parking lot of Dad and Sullivan's real estate building. She found a spot in the back corner and gave into her tears.

The image of Clay holding the diamond ring wouldn't leave her mind. The tears wouldn't stop. She leaned her head against the steering wheel and sobbed.

Her phone rang again. She reached into her handbag, turned it on silent, and continued wailing.

After a while, someone knocked on the window next to her. Dakota jumped and looked up. It was Dad. His expression saddened when he saw her.

She sighed and unlocked the doors.

He opened it. "I thought that was your car. What's wrong, honey?"

Dakota sniffled. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, come on inside. Take a load off, at least."

"I shouldn't. Not like this."

"Sure you should." He rubbed her shoulder. "We're family, and you ended up here for a reason. Right?" He sniffed the air. "Did you bring us lunch?"

"Yeah." She certainly wasn't giving it to Clay. Someone may as well eat it. "It's in the back seat. You can grab it."

He opened the back door, and she blew her nose, managing to keep from crying anymore. She looked in the mirror and wiped the smeared makeup—not that it helped much. Her mascara was smudged and her eyeshadow was a mess. Plus, there was nothing she could do about her red, puffy eyes.

She grabbed her purse, locked the car, and walked inside with Dad.

Nancy's eyes widened in surprise when she saw Dakota. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

There was no point in pretending. She shook her head.

"Nothing good ol' Dad can't help with, right honey?" He put his arm around her shoulders and led her into his office.

"Are you sure I'm not interrupting?" Dakota asked.

"Nonsense." He closed the office door and set the food on his desk. "Have a seat."

She sat in a plush chair and sighed. It did help to have a distraction. She looked around the office. Not much had changed since she was a little girl. The computer was new and sleek, the chairs had been reupholstered, and one poster had been replaced. Otherwise, if she didn't know better, she could be sitting there in pigtails and a backpack full of toys, like she had so many times before. Unfortunately, life had grown a lot more complicated.

"You hungry?" Dad asked.

Dakota shook her head. She didn't care if she ever ate again.

"What did you bring for me?" He pulled the contents out of the bag. "Soup, crackers, and popsicles? Do you know something I don't? Am I coming down with something?"

"No."

"I'm just trying to lighten your mood, honey. I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Tears blurred her vision. "I thought someone else was sick, but he wasn't. I'm sorry I said it was for you. I just really don't want to talk about it."

He sat in the chair next to her and put his hand on her arm. "Well, if it helps, that stomach virus has really been going around. Mom and Logan had it really bad. Shale even had it for a day. I took so much vitamin C, it didn't stand a chance."

She sniffled and blinked back her tears. "I'm glad you didn't get it. You can have the food if you want. I'm probably messing up your lunch break."

"You could never mess up anything." Dad gave her a reassuring smile. "I might have to take you up on the offer to eat, though. But only if you talk to me."

"Dad, just eat."

"Not unless you tell me what's going on. You wouldn't be here if everything was okay. Freya told me about your wedding disaster this weekend. I'm surprised you're not sleeping in your office."

Her face burned. Dad knew her too well. "I just needed a break."

He went over to his desk and pulled the lid off the soup. "So, you're in tears over work?"

"Kind of." Considering it was her assistant that had her so upset.

"Nothing else?" He crumbled the crackers into the bowl.

She shrugged.

"I'm all ears."

Dakota sighed. "I just have bad luck with guys. Like always." Images of past relationships gone bad ran through her head.

"It can't be worse than prom, can it?"

"Dad," she exclaimed. "I thought we agreed never to bring that up again."

"At least you have the best brothers in the world."

Her face heated. "Da-ad. I don't want to talk about that."

"Well, you still got to go, and I didn't have to worry about your date taking advantage of you. I happen to know Sullivan was the perfect gentleman."

Dakota hid her face in her hands. The night of her senior prom, Doug Silver broke up with her for some other girl. Dakota had already gotten her hair done and had just slid on her dress when her best friend saw the news on social media. Sully had stepped in, putting on his suit, refusing to let Dakota miss her big day.

She would never forget that moment…

 

"Hey, get the zipper, would you?" Dakota held her hair out of the way.

Elise didn't budge. She was staring at her phone's screen.

"Elise!"

"What?" She glanced up at Dakota, her face pale.

"My zipper. Doug's supposed to be here in fifteen minutes."

Elise bit her lip. "I don't think he's coming."

Dakota's already-nervous stomach tightened. "What do you mean?"

"I'm really sorry." Elise frowned and then showed her the phone's screen. It had a picture of Doug in a tux kissing a girl from Dakota's math class, who was wearing a skin-tight blue strapless dress.

"That… that's from t-tonight?" Dakota sputtered.

"Look in the background. They're in front of a prom banner."

"But he…" Her voice trailed off and she sat, unable to finish her thought.

"Hold on." Elise ran from the room as Dakota stared at a blank wall. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when Elise returned with Sullivan. Her older brother was wearing his suit.

"What's going on?" Dakota asked.

"You're going to prom, that's what." Sullivan handed her a flower from Mom's garden. "Will you go to the prom with me, Dakota?"

 

Knock, knock.

Dakota shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.

"At least I got your mind off your problems for a couple minutes," Dad said. He looked up at the door. "Come in."

Sullivan walked in, focused on Dad. "Wilkinson just called about the mansion. He wants to know if he can view it early."

Dad tilted his head toward Dakota.

Sully turned toward her, his eyes widening. "Dakota, what's wrong?"

It was prom all over again. Except that he couldn't fix this. No one could. "Just brought dad some lunch."

"Really?" Sullivan sat next to her. "Is that why you look like you've been crying?"

Dad rose with the empty soup bowl. "I'm going to call Wilkinson back."

"We'll get out of your way." Sully helped Dakota up. "Come into my office." He led her into his office and sat next to her on his couch. "What's going on?"

Dakota sighed. "Remember prom?"

He arched a brow. "You need me to take you to a dance?"

"I thought things were going so well with Doug, but then… they weren't."

Sullivan scrunched his face as though deep in thought. "I'm afraid I don't follow. Although, he did just get divorced—if that makes you feel any better."

She shook her head.

"What's going on?" Sully asked. "I hate to rush you, but I have a house to show soon."

Dakota sniffled. "I thought things were going well with Clay, but they weren't."

Confusion washed over his face. "Clay? But he's with Lauryn. And you don't mix business with pleasure."

Tears threatened again. "He broke up with her, and I'm stupid."

His eyes widened. "Dakota…"

"And he's back with her. I saw him with an engagement ring."

Sully looked like he was trying to process it all. "You… Wait. Did he give you reason to think things were going well with him?"

"He—" Dakota couldn't finish. Images of Clay kissing her so sweetly in the snow flashed before her eyes. Had he just been using her? That was the only answer. She buried her face into her hands a second time.

"Dakota?"

She glanced over at him, tears spilling onto her cheeks. "He said they broke up. We… But he got back together with her."

Sullivan jumped up and punched his palm. "That jerk! I'm going to—"

"Don't." Dakota shook her head. "Please. I probably read too much into my time with him. It was my fault for breaking my own rule."

"I'm so sorry," Sullivan said, sitting. "This is all my fault. I never thought anything like this would happen. If I thought for a moment he would hurt you…" His face tensed. "Are you sure you don't want me to punch him?"

She shook her head. As hurt as she was, she didn't wish him any ill will.

"I can give him a bloody nose. A black eye. Or both. Do you want me to give him both? Throw in a sore jaw for good measure?"

"No. Like I said, it's my fault for breaking my rule. I really should get back to work. Oh, and I need to call Freya. We've got an especially busy weekend coming up."

"Need any extra help?" Sullivan asked.

"You're busy on the weekends."

"Not if you need me. But I can't promise not to knock Clay into next week if he shows up."

"Please don't." Dakota rose from the couch. "Thanks for talking, Sully. I feel better, but I really need to get back to work. My phone's probably been ringing nonstop."

"Okay, but I'm going to check in on you. If you don't answer, Clay's going to get it."

"Sully." She groaned.

"Hey, I'm your big brother. It's my job to fight for your honor."

She gave him a big hug. "And it means the world to me."