Page 60 of The Wedding Hoax

I offered her my hand in return, right before she spoke again. “Even if Harry isn’t going to be there for you, I’m going to be there. I’m with you every step of the way, babe.”

“I know, Taylor.” I smiled again. “Thank you for that.”

“Duh. Anytime.”

23

HARRY

Five days.

It’d been five days since Simone and I had a full-length conversation. Everything between us lately seemed to be exchanging greetings before I left for work or short chitchat if we happened to bump into each other around the house.

But there hadn’t been anything more than that.

It felt like I’d been reduced somehow, like I’d gone from being her temporary husband to just another coworker.

Maybe even less than a coworker.

Hell, maybe I was just some guy she knew from work.

“Uh, sir? Are you doing okay?” Paul was seated beside me in the conference room. “You seem a little distracted.”

“I’m good,” I lied. “I was just reviewing the numbers again in my head.”

“They’re good numbers. Strong. I think everyone’s going to be pretty happy.”

“Let’s hope so. I’m not really in the mood for massive layoffs.”

“Whoa. Did someone say something about massive layoffs?” Paul leaned in close, his tone filled with concern. “Because I kind of thought this was more about showing off the next issue of the magazine—”

“No. Sorry.” I let out a tired sigh. “That was just my fucked-up attempt at being funny.”

“Right. Good one.” Paul shook his head as he looked down at the folder in his hands. There was a proposed layout for the next big issue of LA Now, the pages all set together and glossy.

I’d been working my ass off to get the next issue to the printers, and since early numbers showed that copies would be flying off the shelves, I wanted to do a victory lap in front of our advertisers and digital marketing team. It was half sales pitch and half informative meeting, giving me a chance to show off our numbers while also hopefully inspiring them to recruit more businesses to work with us.

It was how LA Now had stayed alive all this time.

I was a master at building up my own hype.

I smiled to myself, proud of the legacy I’d built for my family’s company. But just as fast as my smile had spread across my face, it faded away.

Simone.

Five days.

She was still in the back of my head, even when I wasn’t thinking about her.

How could she go five days without having a real conversation with me?

“You’re sure you’re okay, boss? Because you look like you’re somewhere else right now.” Paul was still looking at the printed copy of the magazine, but it felt like he was reading my mind. “It might be a good idea to reschedule if there’s something else going on—”

“I’m good. Let’s do this.” I put my game face on before I reached for the remote for the oversized TV screen in the center of the conference room.

A few seconds later, I started the virtual meeting, with faces joining in from around the world.

I’d have to figure out things with Simone later.

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