AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Of course. I’d love to meet your family.’
‘I’ve got to have a quick meeting with Ellen tonight. I’m being interviewed first thing tomorrow so she wants to make sure I say what I’m supposed to. I’ve told Mum we can only make it for an hour or so. She’s eager to meet you.’ He holds out his phone and Chloe stares at a picture.
‘Oh my God, that’s us! Where did you get that?’
‘Internet. There’s quite a few on there.’
Chloe takes his phone and scrolls through the photos. ‘I guess we’re out.’
‘Yep. I guess we are. Any regrets?’
‘Absolutely not. You look amazing in these.’
‘You look pretty fucking hot yourself, Ms Quinn.’
Chloe reads the headline aloud. ‘Is heartthrob Tate Archer off the market?’
He makes a face. ‘Yeah, I really fucking hate that word. The rest of the caption is right though. I’m off the market.’
‘Does that mean I’m going to have hordes of fans coming after me looking for blood?’
He gathers her in his arms and reads the menu over her shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.’ He points to the chicken burger and sweet potato fries. ‘That’s the one for me.’
23
Tate unlocks his frontdoor and dumps his bag in the hall. He’s exhausted but happier than he remembers being for a hell of a long time. The weekend went better than he could have imagined. Winning the awards was great but spending that time with Chloe is what made the weekend so good. He’s going to miss her tonight, but he’s meeting Ellen then getting an early night.
The intercom on his gate sounds. Ellen mentioned she had a few congratulations presents for him and would be sending a driver around so he opens the gates, a little surprised when two men come in. They deposit the flowers and baskets of other goodies on the counter in his kitchen.
He never got the point of being sent flowers as a congrats present. He couldn’t keep the ones planted outside alive without paying someone to do it. Cut flowers didn’t have a hope in hell. He’ll rehome them to his mum, Bria, and Chloe tomorrow. At least that way they may have a chance at surviving longer than a day.
After sticking the flowers in a sink full of water, he makes himself a coffee then pulls the cards off the plastic holders.
He’d been so worried about stepping back into public after what he did. Downright terrified in fact. He was sure no one would want to have anything to do with him. The support he received on Saturday night shocked him. Reading some of these cards has that feeling coming back tenfold. Some of the biggest names in the industry have congratulated him. That means as much as the awards themselves.
He slides a glossy black gift box nearer and peels the card from the front before lifting the lid. He sweeps aside the brightly coloured shredded paper, and his hand drops to the counter as he stares at the gift.
