Page 74 of Unmasking Mr. Crown

"Big Tex?"

Kate nodded. “He’s coming straight from the airport. Or he plans to. He’s been really sick. Running a fever. Hasn’t left his hotel room all day. Honestly, I doubt he makes it. He sounds awful."

"I wish I weren’t flying back right after the party. I'll barely get any time with you two."

"You could take Monday off."

"I wish. But I have that meeting with Otto. No getting out of it.”

"Can't Noah hold down the fort?"

"Trust me, he's already holding down multiple forts; hence the reason he can’t make the showcase."

Kate smiled. "You know you light up when you talk about him. Maybe the man you're looking for is hiding in plain sight," Kate suggested.

"Noah and I want the same thing: a good man. And even if he didn’t, he's too young for me. Sweetheart, though."

"All the good ones are gay … why?!" Kate threw up her hands.

Natalie laughed, then softened. "You deserve happiness too. How serious are you and Big Tex?"

"No labels. It's mostly a lot of harmless flirting at this point."

"So, you haven't …" Natalie pressed with a sly smile.

"Slept with him? Of course not! Well, not in the biblical sense. We fell asleep watching a movie the other night.”

“All in good time.”

“He’s smart. Funny. Has good taste. I feel like I’ve known him for years.”

“He sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch? Crazy ex-wife? A dozen kids? Weird pets?”

“No baggage. Not even a goldfish.”

“Workaholic? Alcoholic? Strange fetish?” Natalie pressed.

“Nope.”

“Come on, Kate. There has to be a red flag; otherwise this guy would have been snatched up years ago.”

Kate exhaled. “His ex-girlfriend was the problem. They dated for a couple of years. She tried to steal proprietary files from his company. He caught her copying things onto a thumb drive.”

Natalie’s eyes went round. “Shut. Up.”

“I know. Totally insane. Like something out of a movie. Her name’s Alexa—she’s a makeup YouTuber. Two million followers, but she hasn’t posted in over a year.”

“Huh. That’s weird.”

“Right? And even weirder because Dash hates social media. When I asked my Alexa device to give us the weather report, he groaned. That’s when he told me.”

“No wonder he’s still single. What a betrayal.” Natalie nudged her. “But that’s all in the past and it appears his future is all about you.”

Kate’s smile waned. “Sometimes, I feel guilty. Thinking about Malcolm … I wonder if I’m moving on too fast. Or maybe I just want Dash to be in my future because I’m ready for that to happen in general."

Natalie sat down on the bed and took her sister’s hand. "Malcolm loved you fiercely. He’d want you to live again. To love again.”

Kate didn’t reply, but she didn’t have to. The flicker in her eyes said it all.