Page 27 of Played By my Grumpy Boss

“Cool,” said Kayla. “And – have you thought about an eco-feature? I mean, upcycling is eco in itself, but you could do something specific, I don’t know, like – something about chemical-free paint, or re-using old drawers and crates as garden planters or…” she trailed off. “That’s probably stupid.”

“No, it’s not. Both those ideas are brilliant,” said Mary-Beth. “And you’re right, we should have more environmental stuff in the magazine. It’s so important.”

My heart melted as Kayla beamed, then hid behind her curtain of hair again. It worried me that she’d said her ideas were stupid. That wasn’t like her. Was she losing her confidence?

“Sounds great,” I said, wanting to encourage her too.

By the time we were eating, the ice was well and truly broken. Maddy sat in her highchair and had a small, mashed up portion of what we were having. Kayla offered to feed her, so Mary-Beth got to sit down and enjoy the meal she’d cooked. It was delicious.

My phone beeped with a message a while later, and I picked it up automatically. Mary-Beth gave me a really, at the dinner table? look. I put it down, but not before I’d seen Jason’s message. “What’s this about you and my daughter?” No Hi, Alex. No All the best. No nothing.

Mary-Beth caught my change in energy. “Jason saw us in the press,” I explained. “I guess I should have forewarned him.”

Elaine bristled at the mention of Jason. “It’s so funny,” Kayla told her, “Dad and Mary-Beth went on this fake date to make the media think they’re an item, to keep them off his back because he’s not interested in meeting anyone.”

Elaine’s eyes widened. “And Jason thinks it was real,” she said, smiling. “That is so funny. I’ll best he’s spitting bricks right now. Ha! Lucky it wasn’t a real date, Alex! He’d have your guts for garters!” As the merlot was going down, all the colorful phrases were coming out, clearly. “Oh, my God, they’d never even find the body!”

“Ha ha,” I said, focusing on my dinner.

Kayla, now the one holding Maddy, put her hand on Elaine’s arm. “How can anyone think that’s true!” she cried gleefully. “I mean, Dad’s so old and past it. To think he could get someone like Mary-Beth!”

“Excuse me, I’m right here,” I grumbled, shooting her a killer look.

“Yes, and we’d better enjoy you while you’re still with us, old man,” said Kayla.

“Hey, any more of that and the Ubers go,” I said. I grinned at her, though. I loved that she was bantering with me. Was she right, though? Was it all so funny and impossible to believe that Mary-Beth and I could be together? And how would Kayla feel when she found out that that was the truth?

15

MARY-BETH

“Well, obviously, telling no one means telling no one except you.”

“Does Alex know that?”

“I’m sure he does. It’s the women’s best friend code, after all. That’s, like, a thing the world over that everyone knows.”

Clare beamed at me. We were strolling along by the canal, ice creams in hand, a few days after Alex and I had gotten together.

“So, you haven’t had any time alone since the two of you got down and dirty on the rug in one of his apartments?”

I laughed. “Ha! Best friend code or not, I bet Alex would be horrified if he realized exactly how much women tell each other about their relationships. Well, this woman, anyway.”

Clare sighed dramatically. “Thanks for the blow-by-blow account…,“ she laughed again, “literally – of the photo shoot episode. It’s the closest I get to hot sex these days, apart from watching Love and Lust on Netflix.”

I wrinkled up my nose. “That’s the one with the island and they eat bugs to win dates, right? Or is it the one where they’re trapped in a house together blindfolded and don’t get see each other until they’ve proposed?”

Clare laughed. “Neither. You made both those up. But close. Anyway…” She stopped still, fixed me with an intense stare and said, “You and Alex, is it love or is it lust?”

I felt suddenly shy and vulnerable, and busied myself with checking on Maddy in the stroller, even though she was perfectly fine. Obviously, as we were walking along the canal tow path, she was safely strapped in. She’d been perfectly fine a lot recently, I noticed. Maybe she was just naturally coming out of a tricky phase, or maybe she could sense that I was happier, and more relaxed, and that was making her happier and more relaxed too.

“Mary-Beth?” Clare prompted.

I looked up. “Definitely lust, that’s for sure,” I told her. “And as for love, it’s early, but…” I sighed. Time to come clean. “I don’t think I’ve ever been properly in love,” I admitted, “so how do I know? There was this moment of incredible, deep, intense connection between us right as I…” I glanced towards Maddy, “arrived on the couch.”

Clare smirked. “I don’t think she understands, hon,” she said.

“Just in case,” I told her. “And, it hasn’t gone away. It’s, like, this glow inside my heart. Is that love?”

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