That last message got a chuckle out of Luke.
And to be honest, I was a bit relieved to get that out in the open with the people who matter most in my life.
Even though I know what Luke and I have is true, a small part of me couldn’t help but worry about what they’d say.
I’m technically supposed to be on my honeymoon, and here I am falling in love with my colleague.
And while I know that thought lacks more than an encyclopedia’s worth of context, I still can’t help but feel like I’m going to be judged once everything is out in the open.
My relationship with Damien was tailor made for public consumption, and now I want to hide and protect myself and Luke from whatever onslaught may come our way. He’s had a rough go at it, and while I know the things people will say about me are inevitable, I am much more worried about how he will handle being on the dark side of the press once again.
But for now, I have bigger issues to tend to.
Like where the hell am I going to live once I get back to the city?
Every time we’ve turned the cell booster back on, I’ve half expected a barrage of messages from Damien or my father’s assistant since he’s still blocked.
But there has been nothing.
Radio silence.
And it’s terrifying.
I’d rather know exactly where the boogeyman is hiding than wonder when he’s going to pop up.
I allowed myself to google my name once before I wisely closed out of the tab.
So far, there is a lot of chatter about the wedding that wasn’t, but everyone seems to be waiting on a statement that Damien has promised to give “in due time.”
So far, the running assumptions are that I was a runaway bride.Ding, ding, ding.
Or that he cheated. Which is also true, but not the reason there wasn’t a wedding, since he informed me of that morbid tidbit after the fact.
And finally, there is talk of me being silenced by some political mastermind behind the scenes, and we’re all staying quiet until I get a payout.
While that last one is way off, all this attention seems to be paying off for Damien’s campaign since everyone seems to be tuning into what is going on in his personal life.
I shake my head as I open the rental app on my phone and try to focus on the task at hand.
After thirty minutes, I give up and shut off the cell booster abruptly. My mind won’t let me focus on square footage and rental agreements when it’s too busy thinking about how the hell I’m supposed to leave this perfect bubble I’ve been living in and deal with the outside world.
Luke looks up from the cutting board where he’s finished slicing a perfectly toasted grilled cheese.
“What’s wrong? Did he text you?” He pulls down the tea towel that was resting on his shoulder and throws it onto the island, eyes lasering in on my phone.
I place a hand on his chest as I shake my head. “No, I’m just trying to figure out where I’m going to live after we leave this magical place. All the apartments I like are too far from the stadium, and the ones that are close by are way too sterile looking and pretentious. I want something warm and inviting like Nick and Luisa’s brownstone. But I don’t want a place that massive just for me.”
He places a hand on the kitchen island, standing abnormally still. He clears his throat. “So, uh, you’re not going to move in with your brother and Luisa while you figure out where to go next?”
I scrunch my face. “I love them to pieces, but I would rather run up an astronomical bill at the Ritz than be around the couple that I swear will never slip out of the honeymoon phase. I’ve caught them on more than one occasion getting frisky in the middle of dinner parties at their place. Piece of advice, always stick to the main floor bathrooms. Anything on the second floor is apparently fair game for them.”
He nods along, looking contemplative. “I see.”
“Luke.”
“Hmm.”
“Spit it out.”
