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CHAPTER TWO
God, God, William had aged well. Lucy Campbell’s whole body had tingled when he helped her up, but damned if she was going there. All these years later, and his presence still managed to override all her brain circuits dedicated to reason. The ones that turned her into a stammering idiot, high on lusty intoxication, were still on alert.
Sure, it was only a broken window. And a bruised knee. With a side of throwing-herself-on-the-ground embarrassment. The years melted away, the clock struck twelve, her coach fizzled into a pumpkin, and she turned back into the mess-of-a-girl Lulu. On cue, her stomach somersaulted and begged for a bag of potato chips. She ignored the plea.
True to his word, Chief Lawson had arranged for a replacement window. It had taken hours, and she was exhausted.
She clicked on the speakerphone and drove away from the gas station.
Her best friend Katie chirped at her. “Lulu, where the hell are you?”
“A kid threw a rock at my car. I had to get my window fixed.”
“Omigosh, are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Are you at the house yet?”
“Nope, headed there now.”
“Okay, I’m glad I caught you before you got there.” Best friends since they were roommates in college, Katie Edwards was the only person in the world Lucy trusted. Katie had left Confluence two weeks ago when she received a promotion to Denver. She arranged for Lucy’s transfer to KDVX, the local television station, and promised the house she’d arranged for Lucy would be perfect.
Lucy was done taking handouts from her parents. Done with relying on them. They had the best intentions. Wanted her to realize her dreams without the struggle, but she was ready to do things on her own. They’d encouraged her to rent a luxury three-bedroom condo on their dime. She’d decided to rent a place she could afford instead—baby steps to releasing herself from their grip.
“Listen, promise me you’ll give the place a chance,” Katie continued.
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s a place to live,” Lucy said.
“It’s just not your usual house. But the people are great, and you’ll be safe there.”
The town provided a refuge for Lucy until the police caught the creep who had hurt her, but she should be anchoring the evening news in Cleveland, her next step to the national stage, not driving into a phony life in Nowhere, Colorado.
Lucy resolved to stop ruminating over the turn her life had taken. She gripped the steering wheel. “I hate hiding.”
More than that, she hated giving up her dream of being a national news reporter.
The minute she stepped into her first journalism class; a spark had lit inside her. She was born to expose the truth.
“You’ll never guess who I saw.” Heck, she couldn’t even believe she’d seen William again after all of these years.
“Who?”
“William. The ‘next, please’ guy from Florida.”
That was the thing he used to say for the cameras in Florida. When they showed a clip of him in a lip-lock they’d cut to his interview where he always said, “Next, please.”
“Get. Ouuut.” Katie’s words were filled with disbelief. “Did he remember you?”
“Nope.” And why would he? The last time she saw William, she’d been a gawky, uncomfortable seventeen-year-old with horrible acne, braces, and ridiculously thick eyebrows that merged together. He’d known Lulu, intern on the Beach Nights reality show.
Eight years had been plenty of time for her to transform into a who she dreamed of becoming. She now sported clear skin, straight teeth, and two distinct well-groomed brows.
“Did he grow warts all over and turn into a toad?” Katie asked.
“Not even a little bit of a toad.”
“Damn.”
