Page 46 of Saving Mr. Bell

Arlo’s eyes were pure sex as he hooked his fingers in my waistband and tugged. “I’m going to blow you and make you come, and then I’m going to fuck you. Any objections?”

“Not a single one.”

We both frowned as a noise came from the bedroom. I’d been here eleven days and I could categorize every single sound in our private space. Washing machine. Kettle. Piano. Snow falling off the roof. Laughter. Moans. Running water. Wind through the trees. And this was none of those. It was tinny. Artificial. Like something from another world.

Arlo frowned, his fingers tightening on my hips. “What is that?”

“My phone.” Could he hear the dread in my voice? I’d barely looked at it since Arlo had returned my SIM card and I’d reunited the two things. It had held its charge because I hadn’t used it. Why would I listen to music when I had Arlo to talk to? Why would I look at photos when he was infinitely more attractive than anything I’d photographed? Why would I reread messages when none were from him?

“How long have we had reception?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea.” I’d bet everything I owned the answer was not long, though, or it would have rung before.

“You should probably answer it.”

The sound cut out. “Too late.” The relief that cut through me as sharp as a knife was short-lived, the phone starting up again only a few seconds after stopping. The same person? Someone different? I’d never set it up so I had different ring tones for different people. Now, I wished I had, because while I couldn’t think of anyone I wanted to talk to, there were varying degrees ranging from Clint, the guy who did my hair who I’d missed an appointment with at the bottom of the scale, to Jade or my father at the top.

“Maybe don’t answer it,” Arlo said in a complete turnaround from him being the one to suggest I did exactly that.

“I have to. Things don’t disappear just because you ignore them.” I knew that from experience. It took more. Like enough alcohol to tranquilize a horse. Arlo’s fingers clung to my hips for a second before he peeled them away. I reached my phone just before it stopped ringing for the second time, snatching it off the top of the chest of drawers and bringing it to my ear without looking to see who it was. “Hello.”

A sharp intake of breath. “So you do still answer your phone?”

Jade. “Apparently so.”

“Do you know how much damage control we’ve had to do?”

Her phrasing was interesting. All business. Nothing about people being concerned about my welfare. Which I guess I shouldn’t surprise me considering she was my manager, but some expression of concern at me having disappeared off the face of the earth for eleven days would have been nice. Or something about my father being worried. Perhaps I was being unfair and that would come.

She didn’t wait for an answer to her question, which was just as well because I didn’t have a clue how much damage control they’d had to do. A lot judging from the tone of her voice. “You’ve missed six public appearances, Rudolf.”

“Have I? That’s a lot in the space of eleven days. Who came up with that schedule?”

“You’ve had flu, by the way. Terrible flu that meant we had to call for a doctor and you couldn’t get out of bed. It was the best excuse we could think of that wouldn’t damage your reputation. Of course, the media didn’t believe a word of it. They’ve had you on a weeklong bender.”

“Of course they have.” I wandered back out into the main part of the cabin, the bedroom feeling too claustrophobic. Arlo wasexactly where I’d left him, his expression too carefully blank to be natural. When I mouthed “Jade” at him, he nodded.

“It’s cost us an awful lot of money.”

“Us?” I questioned.

“You.”

I stopped by the window, staring at Arlo’s rental car parked outside. Where the snow had previously reached the top of the Volkswagen’s tires, now it was less than halfway. On some level I’d registered the snow becoming easier to get through, but I’d become an expert at ignoring it, and Arlo hadn’t mentioned it either.

“The magazine interview would have been incredibly lucrative. Not to mention the reach they have across several countries.”

“You just mentioned it.”

“Don’t give me shit, Rudolf. I’ll be billing you for the overtime I’ve had to do over the past few days.”

I tuned out and let her words wash over me without listening to most of them, only the odd one getting through. “… percentages… had to promise them you would reschedule and do it for free.” I raised an eyebrow at that one. “… written apology signed by you…”

“Signed by me? Who signed it?”

Jade let out a frustrated sigh, like she didn’t want to be bothered with such questions. “I don’t know. It’s hardly important.”

“If someone’s forging my name, I think it’s incredibly important. I’d quite like to know whether it was the publicist or the cleaner.”

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