Page 71 of Plot Twist
“You used to make some truly terrible pieces. That giraffe mug, specifically.”
And he laughed, so loudly that it hurt his chest. “I had to start somewhere, didn’t I?”
“Yes, at the bottom, apparently.” Sophie softly smiled at her own joke, which made a flutter of relief fill him. “You’ve been commenting on all of my posts.”
“I have,” he quietly said.
“And saying these very insightful, helpful, and sweet things.”
He smirked in acknowledgment. “Yes.”
“I thought it was just some very random but wise TikTok teenager living in their parents’ house,” she quickly said.
“I’m thirty-six.” Dash stood and extended a hand to her, which she took and pulled herself up. “Can we go talk?”
Sophie smoothed her dress down and looked toward her place. “I need to check on Rain Boots. He hates earthquakes.”
Dash knew when Sophie was avoiding something, and she clearly wanted to avoid this conversation. “I need to tell you about Cindy. She’s not who you think she is.”
“I’ll give you five minutes.” She put her hands on her hips and eyed him, then beckoned for Dash to follow her. He tried to fight back the urge to reach for her hand.
Rain Boots was, as Sophie had promised, a bit of a hard-ass. The fish stared indignantly back as Dash waved to him with a warm smile.
“He’s really playing hardball today.” Sophie held her hand up to the fish’s bowl, and Rain Boots seemed to touch his nose to the glass. “Or maybe he can sense my unease.”
Dash turned to face Sophie and reached for her hand. She reluctantly let him take it. He knew she was mad, but he just had to explain the situation. “I don’t know exactly what Cindy told you, but she’s got a warped perception of me, to say the least. She’s been stalking me and figured out who I was just by watching my videos.”
Sophie’s hand dropped from his, and he instantly burned to reach for her again. “She had all these screenshots of flirty messages back and forth. I don’t want to sound jealous, but you told me you hadn’t been with anyone else.”
“I haven’t.” Dash suddenly felt like the tables had completely turned, and he now understood the fervor from Cindy as she tried to explain that she hadn’t sold him out to the press. How could he make Sophie believe him? “I did flirt with her online for a long time before you and I got together. But as soon as you and I kissed, I stopped. I told her I was with someone.”
“Why does she have a photo of you?” Sophie turned her phone screen to him, and he saw a shot from the restaurant where he’d met Cindy. He bit his lip and looked up to the ceiling. He hadn’t known she’d taken a photo at all, but here it was.
“I met up with her a few days ago for the first time,” he admitted. “But it’s only because I needed to confront her. I think she told the press that I was in recovery.”
Sophie frowned, and she rubbed a spot at her temple. “The press knows about...about the drinking?”
Dash exhaled as he realized just how much hehadn’ttold Sophie. “When I went to my brother’s premiere the other day, a journalist asked if I’d been seeking treatment for drug abuse.”
“Oh, my God, Dash.” Sophie stepped toward him and took his hand. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” He squeezed her hand back. “I had to confront Cindy and make sure she doesn’t leak anything else before my dad’s big event. But I don’t know that I’ll ever fully recover from the handmade doll of me that she’d crafted—that was a real surprise to see.”
He nodded toward Sophie’s phone, and she zoomed in on the object on the table. “She even got the eyebrow scar.” Sophie cocked her head. “She’s talented.”
“Yes, she is.” Dash dug his heel into Sophie’s plush rug.
“I think you need to get a restraining order.” A little shiver ran through Sophie, and she shook it off. “She said part of how she found me was because she recognized our yard from my videos.”
His jaw clenched. Yes, he would absolutely need to file a restraining order. He couldn’t have Cindy anywhere near Sophie. He waited for Sophie to say more, but all she did was lick her lips as she stared down at their joined hands.
“Soph?” His pulse pounded in his ears. What was going through her thoughts right now? Had he completely ruined everything once again?
“I believe you. I do. But...” She scratched at her forehead, then looked up at him. “I don’t know why I feel so hurt. I know you didn’t mean to, but it just feels like I don’t even know you. You kept all these big secrets from me and...”
He waited to see if she’d say more, but when she didn’t, he quickly jumped in. “I didn’t tell you about her, because having a stalker is scary, and Cindy seemed harmless enough at first. I didn’t want you to freak out.”
“I’m more freaked out that I didn’t know any of this was going on. Like, you were probably so terrified, and I didn’t even realize it.” Sophie exhaled and rolled out her shoulders. “I don’t want to sound mean or make you feel bad. But, like, what else don’t I know about? Why didn’t you just tell me about her?”
