Page 33 of Love Unexpected
“You and Steven would each lead a crew?” Alex said.
“Totally. Steven would love it. And we definitely wouldn’t have to drive everywhere. We could fly to wherever the two people live and then rent cars to drive to the designated meeting spot. It would require some logistics getting it set up, but it wouldn’t be anything the team couldn’t handle.”
Alex nodded, even as Dani stood, her brows furrowed and her mouth taut. “Stop, stop, stop,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re getting way off course.” She stomped toward the kitchen, coming back with an open bag of Cheetos, wielding a Cheeto like a miniature orange-dusted sword. “The whole point of suggesting a road trip was so you could go to Kansas and meet Ana. If this woman is going to be something other than an online pen pal for the rest of your life, I’d appreciate it if you could go ahead and figure that out. Because if she isn’t, you need to kick it into gear and start dating other people. I’d like for my kid to have cousins to grow up with, preferably close in age, which is going to be entirely impossible if you don’t get a move on.” She looked down at the Cheeto in her hand and groaned. “Ugh. I can’t eat this.”
She handed the Cheeto to Alex, who ate it without even flinching, then dropped the bag onto the coffee table. “Why does everything in this house have to smell so gross?” She ran a hand down the front of her stomach. “I hate everything. Especially you and your stupid idea that isn’t going to get you any closer to Kansas so I can have a new sister and this baby can have real friends.” She sniffed. “I’m going to go throw up. And then I’m going to take a bath.”
I watched her disappear down the hallway until the click of her bedroom door sounded at the end of the hall. “Wow,” I said. I looked at Alex; he had the whole bag of Cheetos now and was eating them with apparent nonchalance, but the lines of tension on his forehead told me he was anything but relaxed. “Is she gonna be okay?” I asked.
He sighed, dropping the Cheetos onto the table. “She’s been sick all day. The morning sickness has been more like all-day sickness the past couple of weeks and it’s really messing things up at work. She’s got a couple of custom wedding dresses she’s been working on for months and the deadlines are looming and...I don’t know. If I thought it would actually help, I’d learn how to sew just to feel something besides completely useless.”
“But like, she’s okay, right? Healthwise? Is she really supposed to feel this sick? I just feel like there should be something we could do to help.” I didn’t have a ton of experience with morning-sick pregnant women. Dani looked okay on the outside, but I’d never seen her turn down a Cheeto.
Alex stood up and crossed the room to where I stood, placing a bracing hand on my shoulder. “Dani’s tough. She’ll be fine, and the baby is fine, too. But thereissomething you can do to help.”
I nodded. “Anything.”
“Go to Kansas, man. Give Dani something to be excited about, something to bedistractedby. On the show or not, figure out what Ana means to you and do something about it.”
***
I spent the next forty-eight hours mulling over the problem. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to launch the idea of a road trip segment designed to connect people. I had that tingly reassurance deep in my gut that told me it would be a hit with the viewers. I’d been trusting that creative intuition for years. There was no reason to start doubting it now.
My intuition also told me the very best way to launch it would be to make a connection of my own. A road trip to meet Ana, especially if viewers thought I was romantically interested in her, would be a huge hit with the fans.
But what would Ana think?
Random Iand the public nature of my life wasn’t going to change anytime soon. If she didn’t want to be a part of it, then maybe Dani was right, and I did need to move on. But I couldn’t make that decision until I’d at least tried to meet her. It was time. If there was any chance the connection we felt online could develop into something more than friendship, I had to give it a shot. I had to find out for real.
And I was not a man that ever did anything by halves.
Still, it was a risk. What if saving the show meant losing Ana’s friendship?
I looked up from my desk; Jade was across the warehouse talking to some interns. I stood up and moved to my office door, opening it long enough to call her name. “Hey, Jade? You got a second?”
She met my eye, nodding before saying something else to the interns then turning to head my direction. The nearer she got, the more I motioned for her to hurry.
She eyed me warily as she passed in front of me into my office. “What’s got you all worked up?” she said, her dark eyebrows raised.
I closed the door and dropped onto the sofa that sat in the corner of the office, not wanting to have this conversation across a desk. “I’m ready to meet Ana in person.”
“Well it’s about time,” she said with a smirk. “What’s the plan?”
“I’ve got one, and the whole team will find out about it at our meeting tomorrow morning, but for now, I’m hoping you can show me the picture that Ana sent you.”
“What?”
“She gave you one, right? When you vetted her before we started talking? You told me you confirmed her identity and said she checked out.”
“I did say that,” Jade said hesitantly. “But I can’t show you the picture. I accidentally deleted it.”
I ran a hand across my face. “What? How?”
Jade shifted, her gaze darting sideways before it settled back on me. “Oh, you know. I was just deleting photos I didn’t need, screenshots, documents, that sort of thing and I guess I accidentally selectedthatphoto as well. Sorry, boss.”
I narrowed my eyes. Jade never called me boss. Was she hiding something? It also wasn’t like her to randomly delete pictures. “Don’t call me boss. Did it not back up to the cloud or anything?”
Jade shook her head. “My backup was turned off for a little while. I don’t know how that happened. But I’d already deleted the photo before I turned it back on. Why do you need to see it?”
