Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Babies have dimples.” I clear my throat and drop my voice as low as I can. “Not men.”
She laughs and without thinking, I bring our linked hands to my mouth and kiss the back of her palm through my smile.
“Hey Vivian,” someone calls from ahead of us. “Who’s your new boyfriend?”
“Shit,” Vivian hisses under her breath and stops walking. “Shit, shit, shit.”
I lift my head, trying to figure out who spoke. A man with a camera comes into focus.
“Don’t look at him,” she says. Her head is dipped and she turns away. I turn with her. “I’ve got to get out of here. Where’s the nearest exit?”
“Back where we came.”
“Vivian!” the voice calls. He’s clearly following us. “How are you enjoying being in Britain?” I hear the snap of the shutter as the man points his camera.
“Where are we headed?” I ask.
“I just need to get out of here.”
“Come on,” I say. “I know what we can do.”
We head straight out of the park, not looking behind us, and luckily there’s a cab just ahead with its light on. I hold my hand out and it pulls in. I open the door and usher Vivian inside.
I pull the door closed. “Just drive, please,” I say to the cabbie, and then I turn to Vivian. “Where are we going? What’s your address?”
She glances over her shoulder and I follow her gaze. I can’t see the photographer.
“I’ll drop you off,” she says. “Where do you work?”
“No, I want to see you home safely, Vivian. Where are we headed?”
She folds her arms in front of her chest. “Go to your work,” she snaps.
“Oi, where are we going?” the driver asks.
What choice do I have? “Twenty-three Welbeck Street,” I say. “You’re coming in with me. I’m not leaving you to go home alone.”
She doesn’t argue and I’m grateful. There’s no way I can leave her. Being caught by a paparazzi photographer is her worst-case scenario. I thought she was being paranoid, but I can see how it must be distressing for her. It was like that guy had been lying in wait. Like he was hunting her.
We’re at my building in just a few minutes and silently exit the cab. I unlock the large black front door. She goes inside, and I look up and down the street, checking to see if I can see anything unusual before I follow her.
“Just head up the stairs,” I say.
She doesn’t answer but follows my instructions.
We head into my practicing room and I pull out a chair.
“You okay?” I ask as she takes a seat. She’s worrying her bottom lip with her teeth and squeezing her hands together.
She nods her head. “I doubt he followed us here. But now people know I’m in London. And now they’ve seen me with you.”
I want to pull her into my arms, but she’s like a spooked animal. I don’t want to make her feel more uncomfortable.
“You’re safe.” I sit on the desk next to her, careful not to touch her.
She presses her fingers against her forehead. “I need to call Tommy. And Felicity. She needs to get in front of this. The pictures might be live within the hour.”
I check my watch. I have a patient in ten minutes, but I want to help her. “Do you need to be at home or can you make the calls you need to from here? There’s a free office next door—the accounts manager is on holiday.”
She stands. “Yeah, is that okay? I can’t go back to the house.”
“For how long?”
She shrugs. “It’s too close the park. I don’t think I can go back there ever. It would have been fine six months ago—maybe they would have found me and taken my picture, whatever. But now? Since I split with Matt, the paparazzi attention has just been off the charts. When I was in New York, my building’s doorman said he found someone trying to hide in my car’s trunk. I’ll move into a hotel.”
No wonder’s she’s scared.
“You can stay with me,” I offer. “And my brother and his wife.”
She glances up at me. “That’s very sweet of you. First an offer to be my fake boyfriend, now you’re suggesting we live together. What’s next, a ring?” She laughs nervously, and I smile, but I’m serious. She can stay with me; Nathan and Madison wouldn’t mind. “Can you show me where the office is?”
I drag my fingers through my hair. “Of course. This way.” The office is right next door to mine. “You can use the phone or…if you need anything, message me. You have my number, right? If I’m in with a patient, I won’t be able to answer, but I’ll come and find you as soon as I’m done.”
“Thanks, Beau,” she says and slips into the small office.
“Don’t leave before you say goodbye.”