Page 30 of The Cowboy and His Beauty
Chapter 18
Dash
Sky: I'm leaving now.
The text comes in and a few minutes later, her car passes the park. I pull up behind her and follow her home. There's no hint of how the dinner went, and I'm interested to find out.
Once home, Sky gets out of the car and heads into the house without waiting for me. When I walk inside after her, she pours herself a glass of whiskey and then hands me one.
"That bad?" I ask.
She glares at me. "They asked what happened to my job in Dallas. Were upset that I didn't have another one lined up, even though my boss sabotaged any interview I tried to take. They don't know who you are, but because we had dinner at the diner and I'm working for you, they would like to meet you and have dinner with you."
Of course they would. Part of me wondered if this was going to be the outcome from this meal. They want to meet me, not out of curiosity about who I am, but to know the best way they can spin me to make themselves look good.
"Do you want me to go?" I ask hesitantly. I never got along with her parents and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
"It would probably be best to get it out of the way. But they don't know who you are. They knew you as The Beast, and I corrected them to Dash. So, it could be a shit show when we get there. I have no idea." Sky chugs down the rest of her whiskey.
I know exactly how this will go down. They won’t be thrilled to see me in any capacity. There will be no more hiding. I know her parents will find out the truth when they realize who I am. Maybe that will be enough to push Sky to figure out what she wants.
That's probably for the best.
"When do they want to meet me?" I ask, tossing back the rest of my whiskey and enjoying the burn.
"Tomorrow."
That means I may only have tonight with her. I plan to take full advantage of it. I walk over to her, my eyes never leaving hers. She backs up against the wall, and I pin her there.
"Go get on my bed. We have a long night ahead of us, sweetheart."
If I'm going to lose her, I want one last night to remember.
I step out of the car and take a deep breath. Sky's parents' home is beautiful, but it always looked a bit like a prison to me, without the bars on the windows.
"The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home and forget this night ever happened," Sky says, holding her hand out to me.
I think we have very different ideas about how this night's going to end. I want it to go her way, but I know it won't.
She rings the doorbell, and her mom opens the door with a fake smile. It’s clear to see the moment she recognizes me.
"What's he doing here?" she demands.
"Mom, this is Dash."
"No, that's Corey," she says, dropping the smile altogether.
"He goes by Dash now," Sky says.
Her mom moves aside, and Sky pulls me into the house. If looks could kill, the one her mom is giving me would put me six feet under.
I walk into the living room, and her dad stands to greet us. When he sees me, he looks at Sky. "I thought we were meeting Dash, the man you're working for," he says, his distaste evident.
"This is who I'm working for. He goes by Dash now."
"I thought we were rid of you when we made you join the military." Sky’s dad doesn't even try to hide what happened with his daughter standing right here.
"What do you mean, made him join the military?" she asks, dropping my hand and looking between the two of us.
