Twenty-One

 

Dakota continued pacing her office. She would wear a path in the carpeting if she kept it up much longer.

She also needed to get ahold of herself. Marina would run screaming from The Chateau if Dakota couldn't pull herself together. She'd nearly lost it when she looked outside and saw the blonde riding away on Clay's bike with him.

It shouldn't have bothered her—she knew he was planning to propose to Lauryn—but something inside of her had snapped. She'd never been so furious in all her life. Poor Marina had taken the brunt of it. Dakota had snapped over some minor issue—she couldn't even remember what now.

Later, she had put two and two together that the blonde riding away with Clay had been Charlotte's body double.

She received a text. Part of her hoped it was from Clay, but part of her also wanted to hit him. How dare he get her hopes up, kissing her and saying how much he liked her?

The text was from Sullivan.

Ru OK?

Not really.

Her phone rang. She answered. "That was fast."

"You answered." It was Clay.

Dakota's heart raced. "I… I… Did everything go well with the fitting?"

He didn't say anything for a moment. "It seemed to. I sent pictures to Marina and Sarah. Would you like some?"

"No. I'm sure Marina already forwarded them to my email."

"Okay."

Awkward silence.

Dakota's mind spun out of control. Part of her wanted to demand he explain everything, but another part wanted to hang up on him and run to the pet store and bring home a box of kittens—a crazy cat-lady starter kit.

"Are you at The Chateau?" Clay finally asked.

She bit her lip. On one hand, she didn't want to lie, but on the other, she didn't want to tell him she was there. "I'm just getting ready to leave."

"Don't. Please."

Dakota sighed. She did want to know what was going on. "You'd better hurry. I have important plans."

"I'm just around the corner."

Splendid. "Okay. See you in a minute." She ended the call and slid on her coat and scarf. That way, Clay would know how much of a hurry she was in.

Her phone buzzed with a text. It was Sully again.

Can I get u anything?

I'll let u no.

Just say the word.

OK. Thx.

A couple minutes later, she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

Dakota grabbed her phone and slid her finger around the dark screen, pretending to be wrapped up in something urgent.

Clay cleared his throat.

She lowered her phone and glanced up at him. He leaned against the doorway. Her heart skipped a beat. More than anything, she wanted to run up to him and wrap her arms around him.

But then she remembered the diamond ring he held in the jewelry store. She held a neutral expression and slid her phone into her jacket's pocket. "What's up?"

He held her gaze for a moment without saying anything. Finally, he spoke. "I think we need to talk."

Dakota shrugged. "About what?"

Clay arched a brow.

That just made her want to run into his arms all the more. If only Charlotte didn't like him so much, she could just send him to work under Marina and never have to see him again.

They stared each other down.

"Okay, speak," she said.

"Mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead."

He sat on the loveseat and gave her a hopeful expression.

She didn't budge. In fact, she tightened her scarf.

Clay frowned. "I really enjoyed our time the other night. I'm confused, though."

"About what, exactly?"

He took a deep breath and pulled some hair behind his ears. "Well, why you're mad at me."

"I told you. I'm not mad."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You seem upset to me."

Dakota sighed. Maybe it would be best to tell him the truth. "Okay, I'm mad. Are you happy?"

"Of course not. Will you tell me what I did?"

"I saw you at the jeweler," she spit out.

His eyes widened. "You did?"

Her anger burned that he wasn't explaining himself. He was probably just upset that he'd been caught. "Yeah. I can't believe you were kissing me and saying that you'd broken up with Lauryn when in fact you're planning to propose." She grabbed her purse and stormed out of the room before he could see her tears.

"Wait," he called. "That's what you think? Dakota, stop!"

She ran down the hall. Footsteps sounded as he chased her.

"Leave me alone!"

"You need to hear me out."

Dakota stopped and spun around, tears spilling.

He nearly crashed into her.

"This ought to be good."

Clay took her hand.

She tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her go.

"I wasn't buying a ring."

Her eyes narrowed. "I saw you holding an engagement ring."

His expression softened and he wiped away one of her tears. "I was selling the stupid thing."

Dakota froze. "What?"

Clay led her over to a set of chairs and sat next to her, still holding her hand. "I bought it when a jewelry store was going out of business. I basically got it at cost, figuring I'd give it to her one day. Something always held me back, though."

She let his words sink in. "Oh?"

He held her gaze and nodded. "I think I've known, deep down, for a long time that we were no good for each other. But it… it took meeting someone wonderful for me to finally see the light."

Dakota's mouth dropped.

"Those flowers you saw this morning, they were for you."

Heat crept into her cheeks. She'd behaved horribly. So badly that she made some of the bridezillas look like docile puppies. She looked away. "I'm sorry." What else could she say?

"And I'm sorry you saw me in the jeweler. I never intended for that misunderstanding."

"I was actually on my way to check on you since I hadn't heard from you."

"You were?"

She looked back over at him and nodded. "I was worried, but then I saw you with the ring and I thought… It never occurred to me that you'd be selling it."

His expression softened. "Oh, Dakota." He wrapped his arms around her.

It felt so good to be in his arms, and even better knowing he wasn't going to propose to Lauryn.

"I actually spent the weekend—before I got sick—clearing out everything she gave me. It was incredibly freeing. Hold on." He let go of her, went over to the paper bag, and brought the flowers to her. "These are for you. I'm glad that little tube of water held out all day."

She held the flowers, staring at them in disbelief. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I'm just glad to be able to give them to you. And these." He reached into the bag.

Her breath caught. There was more? She deserved the award for the world's biggest jerk.

He pulled out a green, rectangular box. "These are the best chocolates I've ever tasted. I thought you'd enjoy them." He handed the box to her.

Dakota's mouth dropped. "Really, you didn't have to get those for me."

"I wanted to, and also I'd like to take you somewhere nicer than a greasy burger joint."

Happy tears blurred her vision, but she laughed. "Not that there was anything wrong with those."

He beamed and kissed her cheek. "That's what makes you so wonderful. You clearly appreciate nice things, but things like that aren't beneath you." Clay bit his lip, appearing nervous. "So, do you have plans for dinner? I know we have a really busy day tomorrow, so I promise not to keep you out late."

She laughed. "That's no problem. I'd love to."

They went out to the parking lot and she put the flowers and candy in her car before climbing onto the back of his bike. After all the stress and tears, the ride felt especially freeing as she leaned against Clay and the breeze brushed against her skin. They rode by the bay, which reflected the moon especially beautifully that night—or maybe that was her imagination.

He stopped in front of Roosevelt's, one of the nicest restaurants in town. "Are you in the mood for this?"

"This is great. So are greasy burgers." She didn't care as long as Clay was there.

"Perfect." He found a parking spot and they got off the bike.

Dakota ran her fingers through her hair after removing the helmet. He locked everything up and then held out his hand. She took it, and they walked to the entrance together. The waiting area was packed and loud with conversation.

The greeter smiled widely. "Welcome to Roosevelt's," she said. "Two?"

"Yes," Clay said. "How long is the wait?"

"Thirty to forty minutes. What name should I put you down for?"

He turned to Dakota. "Do you want to wait that long?"

She glanced around, seeing nowhere to sit. "Maybe we could grab something a little quicker."

Clay gave a nod and turned back to the greeter. "We'll come back when it's less busy."

Her smile didn't wane. "No problem. Have a nice night."

They hurried back to the bike.

"Next time I'll make reservations," he said.

"I don't mind. We can grab some takeout and eat by the water."

He shivered. "In this weather? Are you sure?"

"We don't have to—not if you're not feeling brave enough," she teased.

"Oh? You think I'm afraid of eating on the beach when there's still snow in places? Clearly you don't know Clay Harper. Climb on—and hold on." He handed her the helmet.

Dakota grinned and secured it into place before climbing on. Clay pulled out of the spot and onto the road, squealing the tires. He tore down the road, flying by all the other cars. She laughed, but at the same time, was glad her brother-in-law was a police lieutenant. A couple of her brothers had gotten out of tickets by pulling out his name.

This time, Clay pulled into the parking lot of a fast food place. "Does this work?"

"I love their burritos," Dakota said and climbed off the bike for the second time.

"Good, 'cause I'm not stopping again." His eyes shone, as he was obviously teasing her.

By the time they sat at a bench on the beach, overlooking the bay, Dakota was starving. She'd barely eaten anything all day, and it had finally caught up to her. Each time Clay looked away, she scarfed down as much food as she could. When he turned back to her, she smiled sweetly and ate slower.

He unwrapped a taco. "I love watching the water."

"Must be nice living so close."

"It is. My deck overlooks the bay."

"You're so lucky. Sullivan keeps trying to talk me into buying something closer to the beach, but I like my house. I can drive to the beach if I want to see it."

"But it is nice to be able to walk over and look at it anytime." Clay sipped his pop, holding her gaze.

Dakota studied his eyes—the intense blue that seemed to be purple.

As nice as the water was, she much preferred this view.

His dimple reappeared, as though he were echoing the same thought.