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“Never heard of him.”
“You have so! I told you that he’s generally camera shy but that he’d grantedmean interview. You and I talked about it for ten minutes.” A pause, then, “But I knew you weren’t paying attention.”
“Give me a break, okay? I’ve been focused on work. This was a high-stakes week for me.”
“For me, too, Calder,” she snapped. “If you’d been listening, you’d know that my getting a one-on-one with Bryce Conrad was a coup. A big one.Entertainment Tonightcalled this afternoon. They’re doing a feature on him over the weekend and may add some sound bites from my interview to it. So, you’re not the only one who had a great day, okay? By the way, thank you for asking.”
If they continued in this vein, the high he was on would crash and burn. He really didn’t want to lose the good buzz he had going to a quarrel over some Johnny-come-lately country singer.
He’d play nice. “Look, I’m sorry. I should have paid closer attention. That’s great aboutET.”
Mollified, she said, “Even if they don’t air any of this interview, I’m at least on their radar.”
“All the more reason for us to celebrate tonight. What’s your ETA at home? I’ll have the champagne chilled.”
“Won’t you please come here as planned?”
“To that fair?” He snorted. “Shauna, get serious.”
“It’s a bit of a drive, but—”
“It’s practically in freakin’ Oklahoma.”
“It’s forty-five minutes if you use the express lanes. Please. It’ll be fun.”
“Compared to what? A colonoscopy? Besides, you’ll be working, which will leave me a hanger-on, standing around and playing pocket pool.”
“By the time you get here, I’ll probably be finished with the interview. Come on. It’s a beautiful evening.”
“Shauna—”
“I’ll leave a pass for you at the north gate. There’s reserved parking there, too. Text when you get here, and I’ll tell you where to find me. We’ll stay through a few songs and then leave. I promise.”
“I can’t think of anything I feel less like doing tonight than going to a county fair. Good luck with the interview. I’ll see you at home. Bye.”
Calder clicked off. Anger and resentment had deflated his buoyant mood. He punched up the volume of his car radio, then, irritated by the song selection, switched it off altogether.
Having felt flush with success, he’d anticipated Shauna’s hot body and cold champagne to be waiting for him between silk sheets when he got home. A crowded, gritty fairground was as far removed from that fantasy as you could get. He had every right to be pissed.
But after covering a mile or two on the freeway, he eased off the accelerator and grudgingly acknowledged that it was his fault he’d forgotten her commitment tonight. Obviously getting this interview was important to the furtherance of her career, and she was all about that escalation.
When she did get home, she would be sulky if not silent. He’d get the deep-freeze treatment. Forget about sex. Out of the question.
On the other hand, what if he showed up at the fairground unexpectedly and surprised her? He would say,I acted like an ass. I’m sorry.Which he wouldn’t mean in the depths of his soul, but the apology would, in all probability, create a thaw sufficient to get him laid tonight, which was a priority.
All things considered…
He whipped in front of an eighteen-wheeler, whose driver blasted him with his horn. Calder gave him the finger, gunned the Jag, and aimed it toward the exit.
“Charlie, Charlie, look here. Look at Mommy.”
Using her cell phone camera, Elle managed to capture a slobbery, toothy grin as her son glided past her on the mini carousel. On the next revolution, she got several seconds of video of him waving to her, coached to do so by her friend Glenda, who had graciously offered to take a turn on the ride since this was Charlie’s fifth time.
When the carousel slowed to a stop, Glenda managed to dismount while maintaining her hold on the squirming two-year-old, who was intent on remaining astride the painted pony. She carried him over to Elle, who relieved her of him.
“Thanks for doing that,” Elle said. “If I’d gone one more round, I think I would have barfed.”
Glenda laughed. “Over the spinning or the music?”
