After ten minutes, he stepped outside, anger rolling off him. He stood near the door, arms crossed over his chest. “My agent has arranged for me to be interviewed on the Good Day Show. I don’t seem to have a choice.”
“How can she force you to go on television?”
“Doing the interview with the Scarlet Gazette just pissed off Extreme Exposure, my major sponsor, who sees it as a potential breach of contract. As long as I wasn’t doing interviews, they were willing to wait. But now they’re insisting I do the TV interview, wear their logo, and smile.”
Okay, thatsucked.
“Can’t you walk away from the contract?
He shook his head, looking beaten down and weary. “They stood by me the whole time I was away. I owe them. Besides, if I ever climb again and need sponsors, I’d be screwed.”
So, he truly hadn’t made up his mind about whether he was done with climbing. Was she surprised? Climbing had been his passion and his livelihood. How could she have expected he would give it up entirely?
“I guess you don’t have a choice, do you? When do you leave?”
“I fly out tomorrow. I’ll be home the day after.” He sat down in the chair beside hers, took her right hand, kissed it. “Do you want to come with me, see a little of New York City? We can fly out tomorrow morning and be home late the day after. You’d be gone two days total.”
Her first impulse was to tell him that she couldn’t go. She’d already missed too many days at the kennel. She would have to cancel her private lesson with little Prince. She’d also have to find someone to take her class on Tuesday evening.
But then she saw the hope in his eyes. “That could be fun.”
Some of the weariness left his face. “Pack that dress—the shiny red one.”
“We won’t make it out of the hotel room if I bring that dress.”
He grinned. “Exactly.”
He handled the plane tickets, ground transportation, and hotel, leaving her time to pack and to arrange for Sasha to watch Gizmo and Gabby.
Early the next morning, they handed the dogs over to a very excited Sasha, who kissed them each on the cheek. “Don’t worry about the dogs. We’re going to have so much fun. And don’t worry about the interview. You’ll crush it.”
Harrison drove them to the airport, parked in the valet parking, and carried her bag and his duffel to the check-in counter. It was the first time Kenzie had traveled without a carry-on, and that made getting through security a breeze.
“You do realize this is the line for first class?” she whispered.
“We’re flying first class.”
“Really?” This was going to be an adventure.
He chuckled. “When you’re my height, traveling economy is hell.”
Kenzie hadn’t traveled a lot, and when she had, it had always been economy. She’d stood there while people with first-class tickets had boarded ahead of everyone else. Now, she was one of those people—and she was boarding with a man who was so good looking that women stared.
Enjoy it while you can.
They found their first-class seats, Kenzie buckling her seatbelt just as a pretty flight attendant offered them glasses of champagne.
“How much did you earn from these sponsorships?” Kenzie meant the question as a joke, so she wasn’t ready for the answer.
“Before my last climb, I was making a combined total of about a million a year pre-tax, not including gear and travel. I set a lot of it aside for retirement—or to help in case I had a catastrophic accident.”
She stared at Harrison, speechless.
An announcement came over the PA system. “Ladies and gentlemen, please stow your carry-on bags in the overhead compartment wheels first. If you’re having trouble finding space, please ask a flight attendant for help.”
Harrison took her hand, caressed it with his thumb. “You seriously had no idea that I made good money?”
“How could I? You live in a small rental house with mint-green appliances that date to the Fifties.”
