“I’ll take that as confirmation. Any chance of something happening between the two of you now?”
Jay shook his head. “Nope. I think that ship has sunk.”
“Do you mean sailed?”
He thought of Rebecca’s frozen reaction to his lips grazing her ear, the panic in her eyes. “Nope, I mean sunk.”
***
Rebecca got to the office before Jay, which meant she was the one bombarded with questions about his emergency. Having not considered this possibility, she tried to say as little as possible, just that Bridger had gone missing but they found him and he was fine.
Felicity’s bright cornflower eyes filled with concern. “Oh, I’m so glad he’s okay. I bet Bridger is so big now. The last time I saw him he was a toddler with these adorable chubby cheeks. He called me Fissy.”
Clarissa looked annoyed, and Rebecca got the sense Clarissa had never had the pleasure of meeting anyone in Jay’s family, except for Marlise.
Jay walked in, and Felicity flew at him, giving him no choice but to awkwardly hug her back. “Rebecca said Bridger went missing. That’s so scary, Jay.” Her palms stayed pressed up against his chest, and he looked largely uncomfortable.
Marlise cleared her throat. “I have a memo I’ve written up, now that we’re fully staffed. I’ll send it digitally, but Dorothy, do you have the hard copies?”
Dorothy was staring at Felicity and Jay like her favorite soap opera, but snapped back to attention and picked up some sheets off her desk. “They’re right here, Marlise.”
She handed them around, and Jay’s face turned tomato red the second he looked at it. Rebecca took a sheet and realized why. It was an inter-office dating policy they’d need to sign, basically saying they needed to disclose any romantic relationships to Marlise, and professional behavior in the office and at all events was required at all times.
Marlise smiled at Felicity. “Nobody should be hugging on Jay. Except maybe me, because I’m his aunt.”
“Can we add an over sixty-five clause in there?” Dorothy asked, winking at Jay.
Jay’s eyes met Rebecca’s for half a second, and she thought she might melt to the floor right there.
Marlise shook her head. “I’m not trying to be a tyrant, but the only drama coming from this office should be the anxious brides we aim to please. Understood?”
“Understood,” they echoed.
“Great, now sign this and hand it back.”
“Of course. I’m so sorry. Just, the thought of Bridger going missing like that…” Felicity’s nervous talking was not helping with the tension in the room.
Clarissa was still studying her copy when Rebecca followed Jay to their office.
“You would think Clarissa would be happy about this,” Rebecca murmured. “She looked like she was ready to murder someone.”
Jay gestured for Rebecca to come closer. “That’s because she knows it will probably be used as leverage to fire her at some point.”
“That’s what initiated the memo?” Rebecca stared into his eyes, her face growing hotter by the second. “So, you didn’t tell Marlise about our …” She moved her hand back and forth between them, their unspoken signal of the incident that could not be named.
Jay’s face turned as red as hers felt. “No, I didn’t tell her. Should I? If you feel like you need to report it, I’ll understand.”
Rebecca put her fingers over his mouth. “Just stop right there. We’re friends.” Though the tension running between them felt a lot different than friendship. She could feel every contour of his lips under her fingers, and she forced her hand to drop. “I’m not some intern you took advantage of, and we’re both single.” She thought of Felicity. “Though that might not always be the case, so the memo thing is a good idea.”
***
That might not always be the case.She was gently letting him know she planned on dating. And if he wanted to keep her as a friend and an assistant, which he did on both counts, he’d have to just deal with it. He couldn’t have what he wanted. He couldn’t punish her for it, and he couldn’t change it. Maybe it would be better if they both dated other people. He swallowed his pride and did what they always did, went back to the schedule and put them to work.
What he’d said was true. The memo was their insurance against Clarissa’s shenanigans, but it was also the best way to let Felicity know to back off, without him actually having to say it. She’d always been affectionate. And he’d loved it while they were dating. But now … he’d be happy if she’d keep even her eyeballs off of him. It was like she was waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on him and see if they could pick up where they’d left off. He’d do everything in his power to prevent having to tell her that was never going to happen. When he dated again, it would be someone who had nothing to do with his job. He would be friends with Rebecca, nothing more.
He emailed a contract to the band Winnie had finally decided on, and then they drove to meet with a bride and her photographer for a practice shoot.
“How is Shannon?” Rebecca asked, twisting her hands in her lap.
Jay resisted the urge to still her hands, but at least he could calm her fears that she’d somehow hurt Shannon. “She’s fine. Better than fine. Bridger is usually such an obedient kid, but I think it’s good for her to realize he’s not perfect and neither is she.”
“Moms are hard on themselves.”
“They are. I think all women are.” He turned to look at her as they reached a red light. “You were a help to us yesterday. To all of us. And Shannon likes you. She remembered you from her visits to me in college.”
“She did?”
“Yeah.”You’re kind of hard to forget.
