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“You don’t deserve the name Hosking!”
“Unlucky for you then that I have it.”
She stormed away from him, and he turned to find several of his staff pretending they had not overheard the entire conversation.
“You don’t take any of her crap,” he said. “In fact, come and find me if any of my family start in on you.”
They nodded, smiled. Then Lena answered the phone. Ted listened as he wandered behind the desk and looked through the computer bookings.
“Yes, Mandy Robbins, that’s right.”
Ted waited until Lena finished the call before speaking.
“Who was asking after Mandy?”
“Some press guy, but it’s the second call I’ve taken. The first was a few days after the photographer was here. Both times they’ve just wanted the names of the people in the photo.” She looked a bit nervous now. “Shouldn’t I have given them?”
“Which photos are they talking about?” Ted moved looked over her shoulder at the computer she was on.
“Well, I mean we weren’t being nosey, but the guy said it was in the paper, and we looked it up.”
“I’m not angry, I just want to see the photo.”
She brought it up, and Ted felt his stomach drop and wasn’t entirely sure why. It was one taken outside here the day he’d told Mandy the photographers were doing a Lodge promo. She was looking at him, and he her. You could see her face clearly. The second one wasn’t as clear.
Shit.
“No problem, Lena. Just don’t give out any more names in the future.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll have my phone if anyone needs me. I need to head out.”
For some reason, Ted thought he should tell Mandy that her face was out there.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t dislodge Mandy from inside his head. He found himself thinking about her at random moments. Wondering what she was doing. He could close his eyes and feel her body and taste her lips.
It was getting really annoying.
And now her aunts suspected there was something between them. He’d denied it… yet, he wasn’t sure he could continue to do so. Sure, he’d told Mandy that there could be nothing between them, but since that day something had been nagging at him. Change, he’d begun to realize, was not something that only Mandy needed to do. But could he change? Ted had always believed he was who he was and nothing was going to alter that.
Was he wrong?
Main Street was busy, but he found a park outside the pharmacy further up the street from Tea Total.
“You never told us you were Senator Hosking’s son.”
He’d just locked his car when that voice reached him.
“It’s not really anyone’s business but mine, Mrs. Howard. And from what I heard, you were quite happy to speak with the press as if I was one of Ryker Falls’ favorite sons.”
She stood before him, arms braced, her mouth in a line.
“Well what else was I supposed to do!”
“Say nothing?”
“Leave him alone, Mom.” Dylan was holding Gracie’s hand as he reached them.
