The next morning, Dane hadn’t forgotten Fallon’s advice to tell Iris and he intended to tell her Dr. Lee’s suspicion when he landed. His plans, however, didn’t fall into place like he wished. When he’d arrived home, Morgan filled him in on his new schedule and he’d been annoyed. Instead of time to meet with Iris, Dane found himself the following day at a photo shoot in downtown Los Angeles warehouse.
“Don’t be mad,” Whitney said as a stylist trimmed Dane’s perpetual five o’clock shadow early that afternoon. “We have to take advantage of every opportunity to plug your movie. You want a blockbuster, right?”
Dane stared at her crystal-blue eyes in the mirror. “I wouldn’t make it a habit of going against my wishes, especially when I give you a directive to clear my schedule.”
“Of course. I’ll get with Morgan and make sure your schedule is clear for the next couple of days.”
“Thank you.”
Dane was desperate to talk to Iris about Jayden. His son. The words still sounded foreign. Probably because he hadn’t gone through the normal process like most people where you had nine months to prepare for becoming a parent. Dane was being thrown in the deep end of the ocean without a life jacket. On the jet ride home last night, he’d downloaded several books on parenthood and was reading them voraciously. He understood he had a lot of catching up to do.
Jayden might even be angry at him for not being there and Dane would have to accept that, even though it would hurt. When he’d signed up to be a sperm donor, he hadn’t thought about the consequences. If he could go back, Dane was certain he’d make a different choice, but he couldn’t regret he had a son. Someone with his genes. His DNA coursing through his veins. He would do anything to help him, even putting aside promotion of his new movie, which had been his baby from the moment he’d signed on to play the role. Because Jayden’s health now took precedence over everything else.
When the photographer signaled he was ready, Dane walked over to the set. He was in the same attire he usually wore, except this time the jeans and T-shirt were supplied by the stylists. He went through the motions, striking the requisite poses.
When Dane finished an hour later, Morgan was waiting for him with her tablet in hand. “I have the car to take you to the beach house.”
Dane smiled. Morgan was a saint. She knew exactly what Dane needed after a long day trip to Austin. “Thanks, Morgan. I’ll check in with you later.” He waved at the photographer, thanked the stylists and left.
Within minutes, he slid inside the Bentley waiting for him outside in the alley. Thankfully, security had surrounded the warehouse, preventing the press from getting in. Several paparazzi shouted his name as he did, but Dane was weary and quickly closed the door. Within seconds the vehicle took off blessedly toward home.
They arrived at his Venice Beach house nearly an hour later because of traffic. After punching in the code, Dane closed the door and sagged against it. He was dog-tired. Plopping down, he drifted asleep. It was nearly 5:00 p.m. when the ringing of his cell phone woke him up. “Hello?” he said without looking at the caller ID.
“I’m sorry. You sound like you were taking a nap. I must have woken you up. I’ll call back later.”
Instantly, Dane bolted upright. “Iris?”
“Yes.”
“Is everything okay? How’s Jayden?” Dane was surprised how quick he was to think about the boy.
“I’m fine. He’s fine. It’s just… I—”
“You what?” He could tell she was hesitating.
“I made a rather large pan of baked ziti and… I don’t know, it’s silly, but I thought you might like to join us for dinner if you weren’t too busy.”
Dane felt the broad grin spreading across his face. “It’s not silly at all. I can’t remember the last time I was invited for a home-cooked meal. I would love to come, but it’ll take a minute to talk to my security detail so they can help me lose the paparazzi. I’ll take my bike, but I’ll be there within the hour.”
She let out what sounded like a sigh of relief. Did she think he would turn her down? “Okay, great. We’ll see you then. I’ll text you my address.”
Dane stared down at his phone. He was actually going to get to spend time with his son. This was beyond great, but it was also an excellent segue for him to talk to Iris. He hoped he could find the words.
Iris smoothed down the one-piece V-necked jumpsuit she’d changed into. It was casual enough to wear around the house on a Wednesday evening, but was nice enough to entertain in. She didn’t want Dane to think she was trying too hard.
She’d been surprised when he’d accepted her invitation to dinner. Since their talk, she hadn’t been able to forget him. Despite his fame and obvious good looks, he was approachable and she’d found the connection between them wasn’t one-sided. Dane could have said no, he was too busy, but instead, he was coming to her humble abode.
The roar of the motorcycle engine brought Iris over to the window in time to catch Dane swinging one muscled leg over the bike and onto the sidewalk. Iris’s heart thumped loudly in her chest. Dane Stewart was about to walk over the threshold of her house. It was almost too much to process. Almost. Instead, she took a deep fortifying breath and opened the door. Dane stood on the other side, looking hot and holding up flowers and a bottle of wine.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course.” She motioned him inside and blatantly stared at him. “It’s kind of surreal having you in my living room.”
“I couldn’t turn down a home-cooked meal from a beautiful woman.”
“Dane…” She blushed. He was a charmer.
“You’re nervous,” Dane observed, taking off his leather jacket and throwing it over the arm of her sofa. “Don’t be. I wanted to come.” He handed her the flowers, an assortment of peonies. “I brought these for you.” He placed the bottle of wine on the cocktail table.
“Thank you.” And she was nervous. It had been years since she’d been on a date, much less had a man in her home. It was nice to feel young and carefree and revel in the fact she was with a gorgeous man like Dane. “I’ll put these in water.”
She made for the kitchen and once there, leaned against the sink trying to regain her composure. “Get it together, Iris.” She placed the flowers in a vase and brought them into the dining room. On her way, she grabbed two wineglasses from her cupboard and the corkscrew from the drawer.
She found Dane standing by the fireplace, looking intently at the pictures on the mantel. There were various photos of Jayden and a family portrait of the Turner clan. There were none of Iris before her accident; she couldn’t bear to see how she used to look because she would never look like that again.
“Would you like to open the wine?” Iris inquired and noticed he jumped as if she’d caught him doing something he shouldn’t.
“Uh, yeah, I can do that.” Dane accepted the corkscrew and set about opening the bottle. “Where is the little