Page 59 of Breaking the Ice

“The food is great,” I assure her.

Without looking at the menu, she demands, “What’s your plan?”

Before I answer, I wave to Shirley May and order two strawberry milkshakes and a basket of onion rings. Once she’s gone, Yolanda announces, “I can’t eat that. I’m about to become a blimp. I don’t want to get there ahead of schedule.” Her comment is so distasteful it makes me wonder how I ever believed anything she said.

“You’re about to get big with a child,” I tell her. “That’s not the same as getting fat.”

“Pregnant fat or real fat, it’s all the same on television,” she complains. “Now, what’s your idea?”

“You want to make sure that when you tell the world you’re pregnant, Zach is there. That way, if he denies it, it will make him look bad.”

Sounding skeptical, she says, “He hasn’t seemed to have minded looking bad up to now.”

I call on all my high school acting skills—I played Mercutio in my tenth-grade production of Romeo and Juliet—and lie. “Kelly Hart said that Zach is eaten up by all the bad press, and that he’ll do anything to end it.”

Yolanda looks intrigued. “So, your whole plan is that I have Zach there? That doesn’t seem like much of a plan.”

I shake my head. “There’s more. I think you should be waiting for him in the cottage he’s renting with a cameraman. In that setting, it’ll look like you’re staying with him and that you’ve reconciled.”

Yolanda’s expression shifts from suspicion to pure joy. “I like this idea, but I’ll need you to let me inside so I can surprise Zach when he shows up.”

“Of course,” I tell her. “I think you should do it tomorrow.”

“Do you know when Zach will be gone?”

“I don’t, so you’ll have to be flexible,” I tell her.

Her head starts moving like a bobble head on a dashboard. “I can do that.”

Shirley May comes back with both milkshakes and the basket of rings. As soon as she drops them at the table, Yolanda stands up. “I need to go. I’ll call you in the morning.” I’m relieved she’s leaving. I don’t need anyone judging me for the delicious food I’m about to enjoy.

Once she’s gone, I pick up the phone and call Zach. “Yolanda is going to announce she’s pregnant tomorrow. She’s going to do it from your cabin.” I explain how she’ll have a cameraman with her so she can film Zach’s reaction.

“This won’t work unless she’s filming live,” he says. “We can’t risk her editing the footage.” He pauses for a second before adding, “Let me see if Tony can get another reporter there. One that will make sure the tape airs. The timing might be tight though.”

“Let me know and I’ll get Yolanda there,” I tell him.

“You have to make sure she doesn’t suspect anything. We need the element of surprise on our side,” he says.

“Whatever reporter your guy finds can stay in my house until Yolanda is in your cabin,” I tell him. While I really do think this is a brilliant plan, I realize there are a lot of moving parts and I start to get nervous. Even though I’m trying to figure out how things could backfire, I tell Zach, “With any luck, we might actually pull this off.”

“We sure might, Ellie. Let me call Tony. I’ll call you back when I have news.”

“Okay,” I say, but I don’t hang up the phone.

“Good night, Ellie,” Zach says sweetly.

“Good night.”

“Would you have let me kiss you if I was there?”

I release a groan deep in my throat before answering, “Yes.”

“Good. I want you to think about that.”

I guarantee that will now be the only image in my mind, but I don’t tell him that. Instead, I challenge, “Only if you think about me kissing you.”

“I haven’t been able to think of anything else, and with any luck I’ll be able to do it for real in a couple of days.”

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