“She’s threatened your life here, your reputation. She said she’ll write another book,Nice Girls Get Dumped, and it would be all about how you heartlessly stole me away from her. We’d get hate mail and strange looks while Lucy would get rich and famous. She just wants the money, and whether she gets it as a love guru or through a tell-all memoir, she doesn’t care. It’s up to us.” He cringed. “Up to you, I guess.”
“Whether to wait? And stay away from each other?”
“Yeah.”
Elinor in book form. Edgy Elinor, scandalous Elinor. It was impossible to imagine, but stranger things had happened before. She was here in Datefield, wasn’t she?
“Take some time to think about it.” Edward was back to looking uncertain. “She might write the book anyway unless I marry her, and I’m not going to do that. I’m sorry I brought this on you.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Elinor smoothed her hands over his white shirt and fixed his tie, needing the physical connection to him while her mind whirled. There were too many whens and hows and ifs, but just knowing Lucy wouldn’t win the big prize, the one that mattered, was enough for now.
Edward’s phone rang, and then his cell phone chimed from his desk with a message. It was a work day, and they had things to do. She was surprised Rosa hadn’t already ducked her head in just to hurry them up. “I do need time to think. And you knew me well enough to know that. Thank you, for that.” She let him go and walked out, though her mind was back with him. It was hard to focus on anything else.
Rosa immediately crossed her arms, looking suspicious. “Since when am I left out of company meetings?”
“You were right about Lucy. I should have listened to you.”
“Oh.” Rosa’s irritation immediately melted into concern. “Oh dear. What happened? Wait, don’t tell me. I haven’t had my coffee yet.”
“Nothing’s happened, but it will, and when I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know.” Or maybe the second or third, but no one wanted to be assured of that.You’re fourth on my list. Just wanted you to know.Elinor gripped her head. She was officially losing it.
After finishing her morning assignments, Elinor popped over to Instagram. Her account had pretty much been abandoned without access to a smart phone, but she wasn’t there to update it. She was there to snoop. It didn’t take much to find Lucy, and from there, all the gossip and speculation about Edward. He was shy, he had government ties that didn’t allow him to publicly post about himself, he was such a nice guy, he probably didn’t even own a phone. All positive. All glowing. All so happy that Lucy was finally getting her happy ending after such a messy, public relationship with the bad boy who broke her heart. No wonder nobody bothered Edward about the upcoming book.
But that would all change if he didn’t keep it up. Playing the sweet fiancé. It must be exhausting. And sickening. And… all for her? For the first time, his confession really sunk in. Edward wasn’t doing it to save Lucy’s advance money. He was doing it for Elinor.
Elinor didn’t make snap decisions. But this one was charging up the hill of her mind like an army on the attack. It was all she could do to stay in her chair and work. Her fingers typed mechanically, going through emails, typing up responses, filing, printing, mailing.
Her brain was on autopilot until the bell over the door rang at lunch time and Lucy waltzed in.
“I’m stealing Edward away for lunch. Sorry, ladies.”
She’d see who was sorry. Elinor popped out of her chair and stood, her back rigid as a board.
“Are you okay?” Lucy asked, the picture of concern. The two-faced liar.
Edward walked out and looked between the two of them. “What’s going on?”
“We’re going to lunch, darling.” Lucy tossed her blonde locks over one shoulder.
“Nope. No.” Elinor couldn’t get her limbs to work right, and she knocked over a file and a cup full of pens on her way over to stand between them. Rosa protectively clutched her coffee cup to her chest, but her eyes told Elinor,bring it on.
Oh, she would. If she could just stop shaking for five seconds.
“Edward, you said it was my choice. Does that mean, that you want…” Oh, crap. Now her voice had stopped working. “That you want… me?”
“Yeah. All day, every day.”
He pulled her shaking and trembling the rest of the way to him and wrapped her up in an embrace, burying his face in her hair. She was home. Right here.
“I love you,” Edward whispered. “I love you so much.”
“Stop that!” Lucy spat out. “What are you doing?”
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Edward lifted his head and kissed Elinor with so much passion she thought she really might faint. But thankfully, she didn’t. She just kissed him right back, and kept on kissing him while Lucy circled them with her phone. Probably taking pictures. Maybe Elinor could get a copy and frame it for the office wall.
