Page 84 of Exclusive

“You close?” Rory asked, his voice coming through my new car’s speakers. A pretty black Infiniti. “Dogs make me nervous.”

“Then you have no soul.”

“That’s what my ex says.”

“Oh, Rory.” I sighed. He meant well, but Rory was Rory. Good-lookingbut relatively simple. I had his back, though, as my partner behind that desk. “Give me five.” I paused, stared, my jaw falling open. “What the hell?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Rory. I’m fine, but I gotta go.” I didn’t wait for his response before ending the call. My attention had been yanked to the billboard looming to my right. A giant ad. Carrie holding a glass of white wine and smiling knowingly at me.Soon, San Diego.Then she was gone. The speed limit had not afforded me a long enough study.

Soon, San Diego? What in the world didSoon, San Diegomean?

The drive took on a new mood—befuddlement. My shock dominated everything, my curiosity was in overdrive, and I had a million questions for my empty car. Why was Carrie on a San Diego billboard? Was this a new project? Because it looked very much like the old project, the show she’d been tapped to host. Right here. In town. I took a deep breath, but it didn’t settle me at all. Maybe she was planning to shoot a few episodes here and there on a spare weekend, in between her workweeks in Seattle. It seemed overly ambitious to tackle both, but if anyone could do it, Carrie could.

At the fundraiser, I turned on the charm as best I could but was decidedly un-moose-like. My mind was a jumble, and I bit the inside of my lip far too often.

“You do that a lot.”

“Do what?” I asked Rory.

“Right before we go on air, or if you’re nervous about something, you chew on your lip. Telltale sign.” He laughed.

“Sue me,” I said absently. “Hey. Have you heard anything about Carrie’s new show?”

“As in your ex? Shouldn’t you know more about that than me?” I’d yet to think of Carrie as my ex, but I guess she technically was. We didn’t speak. We weren’t together anymore. “But yeah, I’ve heard about it.”

I squinted at him. His hair was too perfect tonight, slicked back like a Ken doll. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

He shrugged and looked off into the distance, adjusting his cuff links. “Romance. Touchy subject. Not my territory.”

I ignored the stupid take. “Tell me what you know, or I will kill you right here.”

He sighed. “The show is calledThe Secret Sauce, and it’s a localtake on food and wine and shit. Carrie’s hosting and acts as a tour guide. They shot the pilot this weekend at that new seafood restaurant, The Ark. Something like that.”

“You know a lot.”

“I pay attention when people talk.”

Interesting that they’d strategically not been talking around me. I felt myself get excited and then shut it the hell down. Even if Carrie was back in town, so what? It didn’t necessarily mean that she was back for any reason other than she didn’t like the weather up there. No. I would not let this affect me the way it had the potential to. I also needed to prepare myself for the very real possibility that she was dating. She had every right to be. Did I drive by that billboard one more time on my way home? Maybe it was twice. But I had time to spare, and it meant nothing. She did look beautiful up there, though. Her hair was a lot more like her everyday look, different from her news hairstyles, softer with the wavy curls I knew were natural. Pretty.

My phone hadn’t so much as pinged with a text from her, though, so there was really nothing for me to battle anyway. It was up to me to just live my life and remember to breathe. That’s all I had to do.

* * *

It got harder when, like a ghost, Caroline McNamara walked through our newsroom that following Thursday, causing my world to skid to a stop like a needle on a scratched record. My lips parted as I watched her walk down the hallway across from my desk. What in the hell was happening?

I didn’t delay. “What the hell is happening?” I asked Carlos, spinning around in my chair to face his desk, three over.

He followed my gaze and his eyebrows shot up. “Oh, right, right. Her new food show is partnering with our parent company. An offshoot.”

“Get out. Sylvan is a producer?”

“That’s what I heard. That gives them access to resources here. My guess is they’re shooting some sort of promo spot this afternoon.”

Hence her presence, which was clearly felt by all. There were waves, hugs, excited exclamations. I stood as she approached my desk wearing white pants and a white denim jacket over a strappy pink top. Whoever had styled her for the shoot had hit it out of the park.

“Hey, Skyler,” she said. I easily picked up on her trepidation. Couldn’t blame her.

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