It wasn’t my favorite, though. My favorite was the one where he’d been grinning at me. That one looked like Ward to me, the Ward I knew. My best friend.
He still was. I’d been thinking about it since he first said it on the way to his cabin, and now I was sure it was true. Not just from his perspective, but from mine.
There’d never been anyone else like Ward. Not even anyone who came close.
I sent my favorite one off to his dad and got a response seconds later.
Mr. H:look at that! My boy scrubs up nice after all
Mr. H:I hope he’s taking care of you
Ryder:always
“Who’re you texting with that smile on your face?”
“Second most attractive man in the world,” I said, tucking my phone into my pocket again. Ward and I were only going out to dinner because we were supposed to be seen together, so I didn’t mind walking a few inches closer than I might have otherwise. I definitely didn’t mind feeling the warmth of his body next to me or smelling my soap on his skin, still lingering from the shower he’d taken earlier.
“I was trying to guess,” Ward said after a pause. “But I give up.”
“Your dad,” I said, beaming up at him. “He wanted to make sure you were taking care of me.”
“Am I?” Ward asked.
“You’re here, aren’t you?”
The second Ward opened his mouth to respond, a dogwalker with no less than six furry little clients ran right into him like he wasn’t even there.
I tugged him out of the way as he offered an apology that was already being ignored, taking a firm hold of his hand this time.
“There’s no missing you,” I said. “He doesn’t want an apology, he just wanted you to move.”
Ward looked at me like I’d been the first to tell him Santa wasn’t real and he hadn’t suspected a thing before then.
“LA.” I shrugged. “You’ll get used to it.”
“Not sure I wanna,” Ward mumbled. He didn’t let go of my hand, though.
That wasn’t especially LA-like, but I told myself it was just in case someone recognized me and decided to take a picture. The whole point of this was to make people think Ward was my boyfriend.
Astrid was sending us to a restaurant where no one could get a table because she wanted us to be seen together, and she wanted to give us the best chance of that.
Just as I’d finished the thought, I caught a glimpse of what I’d been waiting for out of the corner of my eye.
Normally the sight of a roaming telephoto lens anywhere but in a wildlife reserve made me uncomfortable, but it was exactly what I needed right now. I squeezed Ward’s hand as we got to the end of the line that stretched three or four doors down from the restaurant, and then turned to him.
“What’s up?” he asked, and I barely got my hand on his jaw in time to stop him spotting the photographer across the street.
“Don’t look,” I said, plastering my best affectionate smile on my face, letting my gaze wander Ward’s features as though I was seeing him for the first time.
I knew I did this look well, thisyou’re the only person in the universelook. I’d been told enough times.
It was easier than it ever had been to do it with Ward.
“Oh,” Ward said. “Camera?”
“Yeah,” I beamed up at him, stroking my thumb along his jaw. It was hard to keep smiling when I could feel the sudden nervous tension making his whole body tight, but I had to. This was all for nothing if it didn’t look like we were obsessively in love with each other. “You could, uh. Kiss me, if you want.”
“Could I?” Ward asked, glancing ahead of us at the rest of the line. “In front of all these people?”
