CHAPTER NINETEEN
I was two blocks from work when I saw Reece walking toward me through the early morning crowd. His face was set in hard lines. Five minutes late. Five. Okay, seven (max) and he came looking for me? I’d even skipped my morning coffee fix to hurry things along. Excuses ran through my mind, backed up by all the times I’d stayed late to close because he had a date. I should have kept actual figures. They would have been so helpful right now.
“Reece, I–”
“About-face.” He hooked my arm with his and spun me around to face the way I’d come. “Keep walking. You don’t want to go to the shop.”
“What’s going on?” My cell buzzed in my handbag. Mal’s name flashed up on screen. “Mal?”
“Ah, hey. Got good news and bad news. What do you want first?”
“Does this have to do with Reece keeping me from my place of employment?”
“Yeah, he called here a few minutes ago.” He made a pained noise. “Listen, photos of us at the restaurant last night got around. Someone recognized you and told a reporter who is currently hanging around the shop waiting to get the inside scoop on our lurve.”
“Right.” Mind officially boggled. Reece rushed me across a road and down another block. “What’s the good news?”
“Everyone knows about us now. We don’t have to hide.”
“We weren’t hiding anyway.”
“Good point. Sorry, pumpkin, there is no good news. Things are going to be painful for a while.”
“You’re lucky I’m extremely fond of you. What happens next?” We turned into the entry of a café. A table was available in the corner and Reece and I walked toward it.
“Reporters will probably just scrounge whatever information they can on you or make shit up, enough to have a story to run with. They’ll wanna get it out fast, news’ll spread, and there’ll be more people digging into your life. It shouldn’t be anything like what happened with Ev ‘cause we haven’t done anything crazy stupid like getting married in Vegas.” He took a breath. “You don’t do anything else too newsworthy, they’ll lose interest. Meanwhile, how do you feel about us staying at a hotel?”
“What about work?” I asked him, then shook my head and turned to Reece. It was really a question for the boss. I turned to Reece. “What about work?”
Reece raised his eyebrows in question while Mal cleared his throat. “Well, I figured you’d want to talk to him about that,” said Mal.
“Yes, I do.”
“But, Anne, for once don’t worry about the money, okay? I’ve got you covered.”
Hmm. I didn’t know about that. Realistically, though, if I was with Mal, I’d be crashing in his hotel room. My rent was paid up. Apart from the occasional meal, I shouldn’t need much.
“Okay. Just give me a minute please, Mal.” I moved the cell back a bit. “Sorry. Reece?”
“We talked,” Reece said. “He said it’ll probably be crazy for the next week or so, but then it should calm down.”
“I’m sorry about the reporter. But I was hoping to ask if I could take some time off anyway? I realize this is short notice, but given the circumstances … ”
Reece flinched and panic rose up like a tidal wave. He didn’t seem angry last night, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t holding a grudge, or he might well decide he’d had enough and fire me. Things could get screwed up pretty fast here.
But he sighed and relaxed once more. “You’re going on tour with him?”
“I’d like to. Just for a while. It would give this a chance to blow over.”
“I guess it makes sense. Though if you stick with him, this shit could be ongoing. Have you thought of that?”
“Are you asking for my resignation?”
“Of course not.”
“I’m not giving him up, Reece.”
He looked away. “I can cover you for a week, Anne. With such short notice, I don’t think I can do more.”
“No, a week would be great. Thank you.”
“You’re overdue for vacation. And I can’t have reporters hanging around, scaring the customers. I’ll rearrange the shifts with Tara and Alex.”
“I really appreciate it.”
He grimaced.
“You’re an awesome friend.”
“I’m awesome,” said Mal in my ear. “I’m so much more awesome than him, I can’t even … there’s no comparison. Why would you even use that word in reference to him?”
“Hush,” I told him.
“Be back in time for your birthday, okay?” asked Reece with a hesitant smile. “We’re still going to dinner, right?”
“God, I hadn’t even thought about it. I’ll be back then.” We always went out to dinner on each other’s birthdays. It was our tradition. Mal would still be on the road, so I could celebrate with him early. This would be a nice chance to mend bridges with Reece, going out as just friends. “I’d like that.”
“What?” asked Mal. “When’s your birthday? Pumpkin?”
“Take care,” said Reece. “You need anything, call me.”
“Thanks. Really, I … you’re a great friend.”
“A great friend … right,” he said dryly. Then he leaned in, kissing me on the cheek. “Bye.”
“Did he just kiss you?” Mal yelled in my ear, making it ring.
I winced, pulling the cell back. “Whoa. Noise levels, buddy.”
Reece moved through the crowd and out the door. Maybe we were going to survive this after all. Last night, I hadn’t been so sure.
“When is your birthday?” Mal asked.
“Twenty-eighth of October.”
“A week and a half away. I’ll have to get something sorted for you.”
“Just you will do. We’ll have to celebrate it early, though. I’ve only got a week and I was probably damn lucky to get that what with the giving five minutes’ notice.”
“Can’t believe he kissed you. Ballsy, but still, he’s dead.” He mumbled some more of what I presumed to be idle threats. “Don’t come back here, just in case. I’ll ask Lauren to help me pack a couple of bags for you. You head to The Benson, okay? There’ll be a room ready by the time you get there.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re not mad about me turning your life upside down?”
“I’m a big girl, Mal. I knew who you were going into this and I saw what went down with Ev. There was always a chance this could happen.”
“And if it keeps happening, you gonna get sick of it and leave me?”
My heart rebelled at the thought. “No. We’ll work something out.”
“Yeah, we will,” he agreed. “You’re pretty mellow after a night of hot sex. I’m keeping a note of that.”
“You do that, my friend.”
He chuckled. “See you in an hour or two. We’ll break in the hotel mattress, order some room service, and hang out, okay?”
“Sounds great.” With a grin, I slumped down in the chair. I was officially on vacation. The last vacation I went on was to Florida with Mom, Dad, and Lizzy. I’d been fourteen years old, the year before everything went to shit. And no way did I need to be dwelling on the past.
Life here and now with Mal was a roller coaster. Scary and elating. No matter how strange the circumstances, I was going to enjoy this time.