Page 14 of Love Unexpected
“I assume you’re going down to the store?” I said, my fingers hovering over the elevator button that would take her to the ground level. The entire first floor of theRandom Iwarehouse was where merchandise was stored and packaged for shipping. Since Rosie handled the merch website, it made sense that’s where she was headed.
“I’m definitely not headed to lunch with all of these,” she said dryly.
I grinned. “You know, I’ve heard they’re pretty comfortable. You should keep a pair. Sleep in them, maybe.”
She looked at me for a long moment, a look of surprise on her face.
Had I said something wrong?
“With all due respect,” she finally said, her tone playful, “I think I’d feel weird about sleeping in boxer shorts featuring my boss’s face. I appreciate the suggestion though.”
“I can definitely respect that position. It’s not so different from the reason I don’t sleep in them either. I mean, I’m a pretty confident guy. But you gotta draw the line somewhere, you know?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “And that line for you is not wearing underwear with your own face on it? How grounded you must be.”
It was only the teasing glint in her eye and the perfectly dry delivery that kept her words from actually sounding critical. I smiled. Rosie wasfunny.
The elevator doors slid open on the second-floor studio, but instead of leaving, I pushed the button that would hold the doors open and turned back to Rosie, following an impulse I hoped didn’t lead me astray. “Hey. Can I ask you a question? Totally not work-related, and actually kinda personal. Which means you can say no, and I wouldn’t hold it against you at all. I just feel like I need a woman’s perspective.”
Her eyes widened, making it easy for me to see their dark blue shade. Like the sky at dusk. Almost navy, but not quite that dark. “Um, sure, I guess. But, wouldn’t you rather ask Dani? Or...Jade?”
I shook my head. “Nah. They’re too close to the situation. And their opinions are already firmly anti-Bridget, so they don’t have the ability to be objective.”
“Ah,” she said. “So we’re talking about Bridget.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Right.”
“Okay, I guess. What did you want to ask?”
“So, I’m breaking up with her tonight, and I just want to make sure I do it in a way that will cause the least amount of damage.”
Rosie stilled. “Oh.” She took a deep breath, visible even from across the elevator. “I, um...okay?” she said.
“So we’re supposed to meet for dinner, right? But I don’t want to pretend like everything is fine through an entire meal, and then break up with her at the end. But I also don’t want to do it at the beginning of the meal, because then she’ll get upset and leave, and she won’t get to eat. I know I have to do one or the other, so which is worse? Or better, I guess. Which way wouldyourather be broken up with?”
She stood silent for a long moment, long enough that I started to feel awkward just standing there holding the elevator doors open.
“I don’t have a ton of experience in this arena,” she finally said, “but I don’t think I’d like either of those options.”
My shoulders dropped. I didn’t want to hurt Bridget. And I’d already promised her dinner.
“Do you know her well enough to order for her? Like, from the restaurant?”
Bridget and I had eaten at Husk together a few times. I could probably guess at what she’d order. “Probably,” I answered. “Why?”
“Order ahead of time, and get it to go,” Rosie said. “Get there early, pick up her dinner, and then meet her in front of the restaurant. If the weather is nice, talk outside somewhere. Not inside, with tons of people watching. Especially since you’re you, which means people will definitely be watching. Then when all is said and done, offer her the meal you picked up for her. She might not take it, but at least you tried.”
It was good advice. The only thing Rosie had gotten wrong was that Bridget probablywouldrather have the break-up happen with people watching. She’d likely get a lot of mileage out of the sympathy it would generate if someone happened to record the entire thing.
I lifted my shoulders, suddenly feeling the weight of all the drama the break-up would cause. I’d have to address it with the fans at some point and deal with the fallout of people emailing and messaging and tweeting how they felt about it. There was some merit in what Dani had suggested—about keeping my next relationship off-screen. But that was so much easier said than done. So little of my life was actually private. “That’s really good advice.”
She shrugged. “I think it’s good you’re trying to be kind about it.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, it’s still going to suck.”
“As break-ups usually do,” she said. “At least you’re on the better side of it this time.”
I wasn’t so sure. No matter who initiated the break-up, we would both have to wade through all the inevitable untangling of our lives, both on and off the show. But none of that was Rosie’s fault. “You’re a good friend, Rosie,” I said. “Thanks for the advice.”
