Page 62 of Breaking the Ice

“I did say that …” Yolanda begins. “But what I meant is that he’s just gone out to get supper for us.”

“I’ll wait,” Melinda tells her.

That’s clearly not what Yolanda wants to hear. “Why don’t I have him call you when he gets back? He might be awhile.”

Melinda momentarily glances at the camera before saying, “But he was just here, right?”

“We were taking a nap only thirty minutes ago,” Yolanda answers. Her emphasis on the word “nap” clearly suggests anything but sleeping was going on.

Turning fully toward the camera, the reporter from American Wrap intones, “That’s interesting, Yolanda, because I have it on good authority that Mr. Hart is currently at his beach house in Malibu.”

Yolanda’s eyes shift from side-to-side nervously. “I assure you Zach is here in Maple Falls.”

A knock at my front door causes me to practically hit the ceiling in surprise. Looking at my brother, I tell him, “Our food has arrived.”

“I didn’t order it yet.”

Getting up, I hurry to open the door only to be met by a camera. A local reporter named Henry Hanks is standing there as well. Shoving a microphone in my face, he announces, “Hello, Mr. Hart. I’m just here to prove that you’re not in Maple Falls, Washington, right now.”

Holy heck. Tony didn’t give me any indication this was going to happen. “As you can see, I’m not,” I tell him.

“Then I’m guessing you didn’t just take a nap with Yolanda Simms?”

“Yolanda and I are not a couple. We’ve never been a couple.”

“I think you’re telling the truth, Zach,” Henry says. “As such, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’re not her baby daddy.”

Pretending I have no idea what he’s talking about, I ask, “What baby?”

Henry faces the camera. “And there you have it, folks. It looks like Yolanda Simms has been lying about her relationship with Zachary Hart.” He turns to me and asks, “Is there anything you’d like to say to America, Zach?”

Leaning toward his microphone, I tell him, “Only that I’ve never lied about what’s occurred between Yolanda and me. We went out on three dates, but that’s all.”

“Are you dating anyone else?” Henry wants to know.

I can’t stop the grin from forming on my mouth. “I’ve recently met a very special woman. We’ve been on one date, but I hope there will be many more to come.”

Henry looks startled by my answer, but he still manages to ask. “Would you like to tell us who that person is?”

“Her name is Ellie Butler,” I say. “She’s a skating instructor in Maple Falls and she’s the loveliest woman in the world.” I have no idea how Ellie is going to feel about such a public announcement, but I hope she’s good with it. These big romantic gestures always seem to work well in the movies.

Henry nods his head. “Thanks for talking to us, Zach. We’re happy to finally have the record set straight.”

Even though I’m equally pleased, I feel the need to add, “I’m glad the press has finally seen fit to hear both sides of the story.”

Henry’s face flushes slightly before he tells the camera, “This has been a good lesson for us all. Back to you, Melinda …”

I walk back into my living room to see Mac still watching the TV. “You looked a bit pale,” he says, “But I think your problems with Yolanda are over.”

“Thank goodness for that.” Picking up my phone, I call Ellie.

Her first words are, “You told everyone about me!”

“Are you mad?” I suddenly worry I might have done the wrong thing.

“No,” she says. “I thought it was sweet. Do you mean it? You know, about hoping we’re going to become a couple.”

“Of course I mean it. Isn’t that what you want too?”

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