Page 126 of Unmasking Mr. Crown

"I know a little place not far from here," she whispered, her eyes dark with longing.

"Any chance we could get those to go?" Dash pointed to their drinks.

"I'm afraid not, sir," the bartender answered.

He turned back to Natalie. "You know what that means, right?"

"If we must, we must," she said with a shrug.

Together they reached for their respective glasses, drained them in seconds, and completed the Cowboy Treatment in full synchronization. Empties slammed on the bar, Dash stole another kiss, settled the tab, and reached for her hand.

"What's the rest of the plan?" he asked.

"I'm supposed to text Cecil and let him know when we're on our way back to Anton's. They're holding dinner for us."

"And if we don't show?"

She walked her fingers up his arm. "I think they’d love nothing more than to know we’re having a private party, just the two of us. We can treat them to brunch tomorrow.”

“Speaking of treats.” Dash dipped into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out an envelope.

Her eyes narrowed with intrigue. “What’s this?”

Dash gave an innocent little shrug. Natalie broke the seal with her fingernail and removed a check made out to her—one with more zeros than she ever imagined. The curiosity in her eyes transformed to equal parts shock and joy. She shook her head, then looked up at Dash, a look of total mystification on her face.

“This is⁠—”

“Natalie Powell, may I present Miranda Everett, your not-so-silent partner for Natalie & Co,” he said.

One tear fell, then another, then another. She leaned against Dash and he wrapped her in a tight hug. As he soothed her, whispering soft words of affirmation and congratulations, reality hit her like a Mack truck. All at once, she had everything she could possibly want.

“She added a little extra, in case insurance doesn’t cover what the Vanderbilt students lost.”

“She knows about that?”

“She knows everything and she couldn’t be more proud. Miranda fell in love with you from the jump … the same way I did.”

“Dash, I honestly don’t know what to say.”

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Say it’s way too peopley in here and demand that I take you away from all this.”

Outside, Dash waved down a cab. Impatience grew on the ride to her apartment, marked with little touches of warmth and anticipation. He rubbed his hand across the silky fabric draped over her legs. Her head rested against his shoulder, and she breathed in the tempting scent of his cologne. In minutes, they'd be locked up tight behind her door, with nothing but the magic of a Chicago night and each other.

"Question. What's the S stand for?" Natalie asked, breaking the silence.

"What S?"

She slipped her hand into her clutch for his wrinkled and stained handkerchief. "In your monogram?"

"Sexy," he whispered.

"I was gonna guess Smart-Ass."

"Actually, it's Shane. I'm Dalton-Shane, with a hyphen, same as my grandfather. Hence the nickname, Dash."

"All this time I thought Dash was your real name. I'm Natalie after my mom's favorite actress, Natalie Wood. Kate was named after my father's favorite, Katharine Hepburn."

"Speaking of Kate, be honest. Did she tip you off about the dinner party?”