The Breakup Mix (14 page)

I caught him before he got there and planted my body in front of the door as I stared at him with my maniacal eyes and air stuck in my throat. “Do you lie around trying to figure out what kind of asshole things you can say to make me feel worse about myself?”

“Nope, it just comes so easily. Excuse me.” He moved me out of the way and opened the door. “Your kitchen awaits you. I’m tired of your pity party, and the kids are hungry.”

And like that, it was over. The moment was gone, and the truth had been revealed. I was insignificant.

Chapter Nineteen

These Days

Chance

I tapped my pen on my notebook and stared at the clock while hearing Tony say, “I just missed you, Chance” on repeat in my head. I shoved the notebook on the dashboard and put my head on the steering wheel. “I don’t have time for this. I don’t have time for this,” I chanted. It was nearly eleven o’clock, and I had no story to report to my team. “
It’s a dead story, Chance; we’ve checked into it
.”

“We” . . . as in he and the redheaded slut-for-brains who probably never had an original thought a day in her life. Judging by her outfit, she has nothing better to do than study Pinterest and starve herself to death. I sighed and got out of my car to stare at the growing crowd waiting for the president to make an appearance. If I was an honest woman, I would admit that I was looking for Tony, but I’m not.

“Any luck?” I asked my cameraman, Eddie.

He crushed out his cigarette under his boot and shook his head. “Nah, there’s nothing going on, Chance.”

I frowned and looked back at the crowd. “This seems like a waste of a beautiful day to me. I could be home and feel equally as bored.”

Eddie chuckled. “Yeah, but tonight should be a helluva party.” He grinned. “I even brought my ‘kill-em-dead’ suit.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “There’s too much stud in that body, kiddo. Go easy on the ladies tonight, okay? Don’t let the big story of the night be something stupid you did.”

“Aww, now, you don’t give me enough credit.

I scanned the crowd again and mumbled, “I still can’t believe there’s no scuttle-butt about the president’s visit.”

“No luck at the coffee shop?”

“Oh I found something, all right, but nothing that will help me with my career.” I waved off Eddie’s questioning look. “Nothing, never mind. Okay, let’s figure out what we’re going to say at the twelve-o’clock and help me try not to look bored for the lovely folks in Columbia.”

I checked my phone and found two new texts from Dani and Alissa. Dani’s version of gushing relayed the events with a smiley face. Alissa’s said,
Yep. Still knocked up
.

I replied to Alissa and was about to toss my phone in the car when a text from Tony came across the screen. I tried to convince myself a year ago that I was done with him, so I changed his name in my phone to Do Not Answer. I looked toward the crowd again then slid the message open.

Still on the prowl for a story?

I smirked and replied:
I’ve got a few things to check on, yes. You?

Look up
.

He stood on the other side of my car grinning at me, looking like he was freshly released from the sexy farm. He cocked his head to the side and gave me “the look” that always sent the blood rushing through my body and my butterflies into a sheer panic. I considered walking toward him but was afraid my wobbly legs would make my intended sexy strut look like a newborn calf, so I played it cool and let him come to me. Which he did.

I cleared my throat and waited for my saliva glands to start working again, but my tongue was adhered to the roof of my mouth. I turned to the media van and slid the door open to retrieve a bottle of water from the cooler. My shaking hands betrayed me; Eddie smirked and grabbed the bottle from me to open it. I mouthed,
Thank you
before I turned toward Tony.

“Shouldn’t you be chasing a story, Sir Tony?”

He grinned. “What makes you think I’m not?”

I laughed. “I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t be caught dead in front of a media van if you were on the hunt.”

He took a deep breath. “Touché. You’re in front of the same van, Ms. Bradley.”

Shit
. “I’m getting ready to head back out. I’ve got to meet with someone in about an hour.”

He looked at me sympathetically. “Chance, you’re such a terrible liar. How do you even sleep at night knowing what an awful liar you are?”

I shrugged. “All right, I call. What’s your hand?”

He folded his arms across his chest. “What makes you think I’m going to tell you and let you scoop me?”

“Because I can tell by that shit-eating grin on your face that you’re dying to tell me, so you might as well come out with it.”

He shook his head and bit his lip. “Nope. I’m not telling you.” He looked at Eddie and extended his hand. “I’m Tony.”

I felt my cheeks turning red as I fumbled over the words, “Oh yes, of course. Eddie, this is Tony; Tony, this is Eddie.”

As they exchanged niceties, I studied Tony’s face. I didn’t think it was possible for men to anti-age, but the man standing before me looked younger than he did a year ago when I last saw him. His eyes twinkled as he shop-talked with Eddie and sized up the young man on my crew. I had to put my ego in check as my chest puffed up and a grin tickled my lips.

Tony whispered in my ear, “Walk with me for a minute.”

I glanced at Eddie. “Are we on at noon?”

He checked the schedule. “I don’t see that we’re cutting live at twelve, but I’ll call Stuart and see.”

I nodded and walked after Tony. “Whatcha got?”

He sniffed. “There’s really no story here, Chance.”

I frowned. “Are you sure?”

He scratched his head. “Yes and no. Yes is what I’ve found, but no, I’m not convinced.”

“None of this makes sense. Why would Stuart send me out here for three days if there’s no story?”

Tony grinned and bit his lip. “Well, I may have kind of called Stuart and given him the idea that there was something brewing up here.”

I gaped at him. “What? Why on earth would you do that?”

He leveled his eyes at me and chuckled. “Why do you think?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to stop the spinning in my head. “This is a bit extreme, even for you.” I panted and took a swig on my water before whispering, “Why didn’t you just call me?”

He grinned. “I couldn’t. See?” He showed me his phone—the last text was sent to “Do Not Call.”

I snickered and showed him my phone. “You’re ‘Do Not Answer.’”

He laughed. “There ya go. That’s why I didn’t call. I . . . I should have called,” he finished with a groan. “Okay, well, I’m done humiliating myself. I’ll catch up with you later.”

I smiled. “You should have called.”

“Yes, but would you have answered?” he teased.

“Oh hell no, not the first time.” I winked.

Tony laughed and shook his finger at me. “I’ll see you very soon, Ms. Bradley.”

“I look forward to it, Sir Tony.”

What the hell just happened? I stood there watching Tony walk away and had the same urge I did a year ago to take off running after him when I watched him leave the courtyard with his shredded heart in his hands. I felt his name clawing at the back of my throat begging to be yelled and knew the feeling was mutual when he turned to look at me.

By the time I made it back to the van, I felt I’d run a marathon through wet sand uphill in a hail storm, but I’d only walked half a block. Eddie sauntered over to me and gave me another bottle of water after taking my nearly empty one. “You wanna tell me what that was all about?”

“Ever make such a gargantuan mistake in your life and have it stand before you on the beat?”

He chuckled. “I’m twenty-six, so the answer is no, but I had a few awkward moments on campus a time or two. Come on, Chance. Let’s get you ready for a live broadcast. Stuart wants your pretty face on at noon.”

“What the hell am I supposed to say? There’s no story here, Eddie.”

“We’re going to be boring and welcoming to the president. Here. I’ve already written something up for you. You, uh, looked like you could use some help.”

“Oh I could kiss your young face right now, Eddie. Thank you.”

He laughed. “Please don’t. I don’t want to get my ass beat by that dude that’s
still
staring at you. Don’t look.”

I trained my eyes on Eddie’s face and fought every urge to find Tony’s face and tell him I felt the same way. “Where?”

“Don’t do it. Be cool. You’ll get your chance to dazzle him tonight, but right now you keep your eyes right here on my face. Trust me on this one. It will drive him crazy.”

I laughed. “Because you’re a man—well almost—I’ll listen.”

“Oh thanks a lot. I’m trying to help you, and you insult me.” He faked a dagger to the heart and stumbled backward.

“Stop it.” I laughed. “Okay, let’s get this shit out of the way and head back to the hotel. I see no point in staying out here frying in the sun if there’s no real story to scoop.”

After the broadcast, Eddie and I helped the other crew members pack up the van then headed toward the hotel. We parted ways after a quick lunch in the hotel restaurant and agreed to meet downstairs at five. That left me with four hours and eight hundred and sixty nerves to kill before I saw Tony again.

One of the worst things about staying in a hotel room by yourself is the complete lack of interesting things to do in a hotel room by yourself. There are no books, no pictures of interest, no comforts of home, and no furry critters to occupy the time. I threw myself on the bed and stared at the ceiling while trying
not
to think about Tony. I should call Alissa and ask how the appointment went, but she knows my voice all-too-well and would probably be up here in less than two hours if she wasn’t already on her way. That girl doesn’t know how to be still.

And right now, I get why she’s like that. Sometimes the best thing one can do is stay moving to avoid all of the insanity running amuck in the old noggin. I ran a hot bath and found myself doing the exact same thing while lying in the substandard bath bubbles that I was doing in bed—trying not to think about Tony—trying not to dissect every moment with him to see if I was being a complete idiot, or worse, getting played.

I managed to kill an hour talking myself out of thinking about Tony. Only three more hours until I see him again and knock him dead in my new red dress and heels. Visions of me walking into the event pretending to be bored and accidentally running into him plagued my psyche. The way his eyes grew wide, the little dab of drool that formed at the corner of his mouth, the way he trembled with desire to wrap me in his arms and declare his love for me. I groaned and belly-flopped onto the bed while pulling the pillow over my head. When did my head turn into a B-rated movie?

A knock at the door sent me bolting straight up in bed. I gathered my robe and padded to the door. My heart and lungs were in a race to see which would kill me first—my heart slamming against my ribs was about to win. I stared through the peep hole but couldn’t see anything. The black cover of Alissa’s thumb moved as she said, “Open this door or I’ll set off the fire alarm.”

I breathed a sigh of relief mixed with disappointment as I opened the door and chuckled. “Girl, what on earth are you doing here?”

Alissa sashayed into the room and threw her purse on the floor. “I’m bored. I knew you were here probably not doing anything, so I thought I’d come hang out with you.” She flashed her pearly-whites at me and looked around the room. “Not bad.”

“How was your appointment?” I sat on the bed and fluffed my pillows.

She sighed and shrugged. “It was all right. Dani’s face was priceless, but overall yeah, things are going good. I’m five weeks along and due in May.” She turned toward me. “Okay, so I’ve been thinking about Florida, and I think I want to stay in Naples. It’s beautiful and lots of snowbirds will be there during that time, so we’d blend in perfectly.”

I laughed. “Alissa, it’s not like we’re famous or on magazine covers. No one is going to give a shit about us being in Naples, Florida.”

“No, but I think it will be a lot more fun because so many people will be there, and there will be tons of stuff to do.”

I bit my lip. “I’ve been thinking . . .”

“Ugh, why? You know that always backfires on you.”

“Very funny. I really don’t know how I’m going to be able to just pick up my life and relocate to Florida for six months. What about my career? I’m the ‘face of the station’ as they call me.”

“Can’t you just go on assignment or something?”

“It doesn’t work that way, honey. I’ve got my apartment and Chubs to think about, too.”

“Well I just figured you’d bring the little feller with you. As for the apartment, just pay up your rent before you leave and it will be there when you get back.”

“That doesn’t solve the career problem, though.”

“You’ve wanted to freelance again—maybe you could try that.”

“But I like my job, Lis. That’s what I’m getting at. I’ve worked really hard to make co-anchor.”

“Chance,
I can’t do this without you
! You’re my best friend and my only real family!” Alissa’s lip trembled.

“Okay, okay, stop with the bug-eyed thing. I didn’t say I wasn’t going to go. I just said I don’t know how I’m going to make this work without ruining my career, that’s all.”