Kenley and I had plans to meet soon in Chattanooga, halfway between Atlanta and Nashville, for a girls’ weekend.
Apparently there was some trouble in paradise for her and Mark. Their wedding date had been set—Mara and I would be bridesmaids—but Kenley was acting awfully strange.
And Mara had accepted a reporting job in Rhode Island, where she’d grown up.
It was the one place she’d always sworn she’d never work, but it was also a news market full of government corruption, severe weather, and apparently a wealth of Irish and Italian himbos. Also, there was some sort of crisis with her mom and younger twin brothers that played a part in her decision.
Whatever reason she’d decided to take the job there, Mara seemed to be in her glory. She was working on a story now that she called a “game changer.”
Aric and I were long-distance dating. God bless the inventor of Facetime.
We each made the drive twice a month, meaning we saw each other once a week. It was grueling but worth it.
Some Aric was better than no Aric at all. And we had hope—his contract was nearing its end. Wewouldeventually end up working in the same market. Somehow.
I knocked lightly on the open door of my news director’s office. “Hi Ken. You wanted to see me?”
He spun his desk chair around. “Heidi—hi, yes, come on in. Nice noon show.”
“Thanks.” I crossed the room and took a seat in front of his desk.
Paused on the monitor behind him was a sports reel. Our main sportscaster had accepted a job with ESPN, and the search was on for his replacement.
Naturally I’d picked up the phone and called Aric the minute I heard about the opening.
“I’ve got a reel here from a guy who works in that little market you left in Georgia. Might even have been the same station.”
My boss clicked his mouse and the video started up again. There, in living color, was my beautiful boyfriend.
“Aric Amore. Talented kid. Know him?”
I grinned a secret smile. “Yes. We worked together.”
“Well, after looking at his reel, I’d put him on my short list, but since you worked in the same market, I wanted to ask you what you thought.”
“What do I think?”
I paused, trying to contain the hope bubbling through my veins like champagne. I looked at my boss, giving him a confident smile.
“I think you should hire him.”
* * *