“I do,” she said. “When did you sneak it in?”
“This morning.”
“Why didn’t you stop in and say something?” she asked. “I was right there.”
“Your door was closed, and Olivia was away from her desk.”
“You sound funny. Is everything okay?” She braced herself, not wanting one more thing to go wrong.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Then silence. “No. It’s not okay. When I was there to drop off your gift, your friend, Roger, stopped me.”
Roger?“He’s just a colleague.”
“That isn’t exactly how he positioned it.” Matthew’s voice tightened. “According to Roger, there’s quite a history between you two. He said he’s practically family. I didn’t realize you were dating someone else.”
“Matthew, it’s not like that. I can explain.”How could Roger have done that?“Can I come over and talk to you?” she asked. “It has been a troubling day. Troubling couple of weeks, but you have been the best part of all of it. I have no idea if I’m doing theright thing about work, but I do know I’m doing the right thing with you.”
“You don’t really owe me an explanation. I mean, we just met, and you and Roger?—”
“I wasn’t being deceitful. Roger was my plus-one for work events, and yes, some family ones since he knows everyone, but it was never anything more than that.”
“It meant enough to him to approach me about it.” Matthew’s voice grew quiet.
She swallowed back her anger toward Roger at that moment. Calmly, she said, “I really don’t know why he did that.”
“You’ve got a lot on your plate. Let’s not get into this tonight. Things are moving fast, anyway. Let’s slow down a bit. Maybe talk in a couple of weeks. Okay?”
The answer caught in her throat. It wasn’t okay at all. “You really think that’s best?”
“Slowing down is probably a good idea.”
“Matthew, I promise I’ve been completely honest with you. I shared the most important and personal things with you, and you are the first person I’ve ever felt this close to. You’ve opened my eyes. My heart. Please believe me.”
She wasn’t sure if he didn’t believe her or was hurt, or angry. But she hated that it was her fault. “I love the painting.”
“I knew you would. We’ll talk soon. Okay?”
“Matthew, I love the painting,” she repeated. She closed her eyes. In her mind, she screamed,And I’m falling in love with you.But the words didn’t come out.
His silence frightened her.
She willed him to say something. To give her a chance.
“I’m glad. I’ve got to run,” he said. “I’ve got somewhere to be.”
He hung up and her heart felt as if it had been dropped. As angry as she was with Roger, she knew he wasn’t the problem.
With everything falling apart, the only thing she knew to do was to take control. She dialed the contact at the television station.
The producer told her they’d moved the slot from noon to the morning show, but they’d love to have her be a part of the segment.
“I’ll be there,” she said.
At least with the show being moved up, it was a lot less likely Mom and Dad would stumble upon it when they got home. Whitney took that as a good sign. She called and filled William in, not taking a chance on leaving him out of the loop again.
At midnight, Whitney woke from an exhausted sleep when William texted her a picture of her parents on a crowded dance floor, not looking like they planned to stop celebrating anytime soon.
WILLIAM: We won the award. Dad’s over the moon. They’ll sleep until noon with any luck. You’re clear for tomorrow.
