He lets his arms fall to his sides as he stares at me, his anger seemingly dissolving in an instant. “You know you’re not alone, right?”
I nod, my throat feeling suddenly tight. “I know that I…have friends.”
Okay, that was sad. And pathetic. Jesus.
“You have me too, Nancy. You know that, don’t you?”
“You’re my friend.”
Silence again for a long moment. “Yeah, I know that.”
My phone vibrates with an incoming call from Syd.
“Who the hell is that?”
“Your sister, nosey.” I answer the call. “Hey, you.”
“Are you still mad at me?”
“Not really. I’ll even think about the security detail you want me to have.” Grady and she had tried to talk me into one but at the moment, I think it’s overkill. If I were alone, that would be different, but with Travis around, I feel pretty safe. “You know I just hated them when I was younger.”
“They wouldn’t buy us beers, that’s why you didn’t like them.”
I giggle and notice Travis’ mouth curve. Is that because I laughed? Nope. That can’t be it.
“So, why are you calling?”
“Just checking on you and to remind you that we’re coming into town this weekend.”
Since I just talked to her a few hours ago, this seems a little like overkill. “We just talked about that.”
Travis frowns at me and I wave his concern away.
“I hate to ask this.”
“But…”
“You don’t think that asshole your grandmother told you to marry had anything to do with this, do you?”
Travis’ phone rings and he rolls his eyes and pushes it to ignore. I take that moment to walk away from him, back to my bedroom. Thankfully, he doesn’t follow me. Being around him and his intoxicating sawdust/manly smell, along with that amazing body, is starting to get to me.
“No. I don’t think it’s Reggie. I mean, maybe he might hire someone to do it, but the man doesn’t like to do manual labor. At least Josh has been made aware of Reggie. He’s going to run him down.”
“Good. Now, tell me what is going on with you and Travis.”
“Is that as a friend or my boss?”
“Friend always comes first. I know that you will do what’s best for you. Although, I’m thinking you might be rethinking leaving the show.”
I sigh and rub my forehead. “Yeah. I am and firing Garrett Howard goes a long way.”
“That man is trash. He’s threatening a lawsuit.”
“Of course he is.” Men like him always act put out when called on their shit. Thankfully, the Hawthornes don’t put up with that kind of crap.
“So, tell me what else is going on. Travis seems kind of pissed.”
I sink down on my bed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that mad.” Or that sexy. I should be appalled that his anger turned me on, but it wasn’t directed my way for once. It made me want to jump his bones. Okay, let’s be honest, I always want to jump his bones.
“Well, yeah, of course he is. I mean, someone threatened you, Nancy.”
“Like if someone had threatened you. I get it.”
“No.” Then she says nothing else, and I hate when she does that. She knows it and uses it to her advantage. She knows my need to finish everything, even a conversation I don’t want to have.
“What do you mean?’
I can almost hear her smile through the phone. “Nancy, he loves me, but his love for you is different. He…okay, he’s had his head up his ass for a few years, but the panic I saw on his face the other morning was kind of amazing. When he thought he might lose you, he looked like it was the end of the world.”
“Oh, you’re talking about the show.”
“No. Absolutely not,” she says. “He realized you might walk out of his life—not just the show—and I think it knocked something loose. Just keep that in mind.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it. He’s there because he cares about Nancy, his friend. He is not there because of the show. I can promise you that.”
“I get it. Just, let it be for now.”
“Maybe you can finally get laid.” I hear someone comment in the background and feel my face flame. Jesus is she talking in front of Grady? “I can say what I want, Grady.”
Yup, she’s talking to the CEO of the network. This is what happens when your best friend falls for her boss and then they fall in love. It’s all gross. Not really, but I want to feel a little petty. She has it all, and I am lusting after my former co-host, who can get just about any woman he wants.
UGH. All capitals again. It embarrasses me to even think that, but it’s my life right now.
“I have to agree with Grady.”
“Rude.”
“You’re telling me to jump your brother. That’s rude.”
“Not so. At best, it’s gross.”
I laugh. “True.”
“What else is going on?”
I tell her all the gossip I’ve learned over the last twenty-four hours and by the time I get off the phone, I’m more relaxed. I sit there for a few seconds smiling. I have the best bestie in the world. No matter what, we’re always there for each other.
“What’s that smile for?”
I glance over at my doorway and there he is looking sexy. Larger than life, all sexy as can be, and he’s smiling at me. Those dimples, gah! They should be outlawed.
“Nothing. Your sister knows how to get my mind off the bad things.”
“Yeah.”
I look over at the clock. “Hey, we might need to put our order in with Mystical if we want to get our pizza before seven.”
He nods. “Anchovies?”
“Only if you want to lose a nut to a nail gun.”
His smile fades. “Not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.”
“Why are you so fascinated with my nuts?”
I ignore that question. “Meat lovers. Like usual. I’ll get my card.”
“I can cover it.”
“You paid for lunch.”
I stand up and walk toward him, but he doesn’t move. I look up at him and for a second, heat flares in his eyes. I feel it in my core, turning me into an inferno in the blink of an eye. He dips his head as I move closer. His warm scent fills the air around me, and my pussy pulses. I can almost imagine what he will taste like. Dangerous and delicious. We are close enough that our breaths are mingling when his phone goes off. We both jump back, the spell breaking.
I step back and almost stumble over my own feet. My head is spinning, and my body is vibrating.
He frowns at the phone and answers.
“Hello.”
His frown darkens.
“I told you to stop calling me. Seriously.”
More talking and, since I am close enough, I can hear that it’s a woman’s voice. All the warm feelings I had dissolve. It has to be the skank from Amarillo. I turn away from him to keep from letting him see how irritated I am right now.
“Listen, I get it. You had expectations. They didn’t pan out. Has nothing do to with you.”
Ugh, listening to him talk to another woman has my nerves on edge. The truth is that he isn’t being an ass about it either, but I’m sure she still feels cut off from him. His usually warm tone is chillier, and you can tell he’s irritated.