Page 54 of Breaking News

Was he crazy? He didn’t understand everything we did behind the scenes to prepare for each show. He couldn’t have known how much work I’d been doing just to plan for the two days I’d be in NYC in a couple weeks. “Graham. I can’t go home.”

“You must,” he said, his eyebrows pulling together. “I’m insisting on it.”

I scowled at him, but I was losing hope I’d be able to talk him out of forcing me to take a day off. “What if everything goes wrong?”

“Yeah, what if? What if everything goes wrong for just one day on the local news in Woodvale, Indiana? I think the world will keep turning.”

There was no use in arguing with him. And maybe, just maybe, he was right about this. It might not be the end of the world. “You’re not giving me a choice, are you?”

The corners of his lips tugged upward as he raked his fingers through my hair along my forehead. His eyes were concentrated on mine. “No.”

“Are you doing this because you’re my boss or because of… another reason?”

That smile grew. “Can’t have my morning anchor crying on TV. It’s bad for our ratings,” he teased, those crinkles in the corners of his eyes becoming more prominent. I wanted to protest more and tell him he didn’t understand the requirements of the job. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. But something made me give in.

Because maybe I really did just need a day to breathe.

I exhaled, feeling his fingers slide once more across my hairline. He was looking at me again—reallylooking at me, like he was memorizing the details of my irises. I couldn't remember the last time someone stared at me like that.

I knew I shouldn’t have, but I stretched upward to kiss him anyway, smiling against his mouth when he kissed back. His hands found my waist again, and for a moment, we got lost in each other’s worlds.

Until he groaned softly and rested his forehead against mine for a second before turning slightly away. “Okay,” he said with a soft laugh. “You have to go home. Now.”

I laughed, too, backing toward the door as I wiped my eyes with the collar of my dress. I still needed a second to reset myself before I returned to the studio, where everyone would undoubtedly circle around me and demand to know what was wrong.

“Let me hold you together for a little bit.”

I wanted to let Graham hold me forever.

chapter twenty

Graham

The next morning, the news went on without Jill.

Barely.

I managed to convince a very reluctant Chase to fill in as the morning news anchor. It was a far cry from his usual rogue field-reporting gig, where he worked alone, set up his own camera, and delivered the news wearing jeans.

Olivia spent the previous afternoon gathering up all of Jill’s resources and material, working closely with Marco and Chase to put together a rundown of the show.

Bernard was the real MVP, stretching his weather segment like he was filibustering before Congress. He even broke into a personal commentary about the National Weather Service’s decision to classify the Woodvale tornado an EF2. It was like a mini science lesson, making me wonder why we didn’t let him do this kind of thing more often.

And we were saved by Simone, our part-time sports anchor who usually gave us a wrap-up of the weekend’s games on Monday mornings. She regularly handled the evening sportsreports in a neighboring town, which meant she was available for an extra appearance for WWTV.

Somehow, by the grace of God, we pulled it off.

Sure, it was all a little disjointed. Transitions were clumsy. Chase missed some of his cues and stumbled over the words on the teleprompter a few times, making me hold my breath every time he hesitated.

“Wait, no, I’m sorry,” he said at one point, glancing from his notes to the teleprompter. “Hold on.”

Olivia squeezed my elbow and whispered, “We are so cooked.”

“It’s fine,” I said, nodding like I believed myself. I knew I’d never watch this playback. Ever. “He’s doing great.”

Jill made this look so easy.

At the end of the hour, when the cameras shut off and lights went dim, the studio breathed a collective sigh of relief. Chase ripped off his blazer like it offended him and ran his fingers through his sweaty hair.

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