by Emerson Rose
Jacob enters the bathroom looking like a billion bucks in a perfectly fitted gray suit that he must have been gifted at his shoot. His eyes narrow, and he takes a seat on the toilet lid. “What’s going on? You have a headache? You only get headaches when something is really bothering you.”
Leave it to Jacob to know I have a headache after taking one look at me. “I need to go away for a few days.”
He tilts his head to the side looking at me with suspicion. “That doesn’t sound good, honey. Why are we running?”
I groan. “Don’t call it that, please.”
“Then tell me what is happening so I can call it something else.”
I want to take a deep breath and slide underwater to avoid this, but it has to be told. “The guy Alex hired to take over at the shop is a snitch. Alex told me he trusted him completely. He asked why I would hand over my life’s work to a stranger, and I told him. Then, for reasons I can’t figure out, he turned around and told the media that Alex and Lilly were trying to rekindle their relationship for Faye’s sake, and I came along and wrecked it all causing her to commit suicide.”
“What the fuck? Why would he make all that shit up?”
“I have no idea. Alex isn’t convinced it was him. He was going to check into it.”
“And you are here, why?”
“I watched the news. It’s like they’re sacrificing me to the gods or something. Home-wrecking whore tries to steal Seattle’s most eligible bachelor and causes fiancé’s suicide. I couldn’t take it. I had to get out of there.”
“Does he know you’re gone?” I raise my eyebrows in answer. “From what I can tell, this is still considered running, honey.”
“Maybe so, but with good reason. There’s no way he would let me leave that house when all this is going on.”
“Because he cares about you.”
“I know, Jacob, you don’t have to remind me. I love him, too, but this is going to ruin my life. People won’t want to shop at my store, I’ll go bankrupt, and my mother is going to think I’m a failure.”
“Wait, wait, your mother would never in a million years think of you as a failure, and nobody’s going bankrupt. I think you should call Alex and let him know you’re okay. This isn’t his fault either, and I’m sure he’s going out of his mind trying to fix it.”
“Can I tell you something?”
He rolls his eyes. “Yes, always, dummy.”
“The way I feel about him scares me. Sometimes it’s more than I know how to handle. Does that make sense?”
“I can’t say I’ve felt that way myself, no.”
“I don’t want to run, but he overwhelms me on a regular day. This… this is so not regular, Jacob. What do I do?”
“I think you should text him that you need some space. You don’t have to tell him where you’re going but let him know you’re safe and there’s no need to worry.”
I snort and scoop up some bubbles blowing them over the edge of the tub. “He will worry. If something is out of his control, he worries about it.”
“What’s with him anyway?”
“I think it has something to do with his mother. She’s a horrible monster. When his father died, she abused him, and I think being in control and prepared for anything is his way of coping.”
“Is she still around?”
“His mom? Yeah, I think so. I mean she isn’t dead, but I’m not sure if she lives in Seattle or not.”
“I hope not, for his sake anyway. That explains his possessiveness and the way he’s moved so fast in this relationship.”
“It does? How so?”
“He told you he loves you, right?” I nod. “My guess is he never thought he would find love if his mother abused him. Your parents are supposed to love you no matter what, and his didn’t, or at least his mother didn’t. That’s got to do something to your self-esteem, don’t you think?”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, I guess. What about Lilly, though? Clearly, she adored him. She wanted to marry him and refused to give up their baby. If he needed to be loved so badly, why didn’t he just accept hers?”
“He needed to be loved by someone he loved. Love doesn’t feel valid unless it’s reciprocal.”
“Since when did you get so smart about love?”
He shrugs and smiles a lopsided boyish smile. “It’s just a theory.”
“A pretty good one. Okay, I’ll let him know I’m leaving town for a few days. Where are we going?”
“Denver sound good to you? My friend has a chalet in Beaver Creek, and he’s taking some friends for a week. He asked me to go, but I thought I was moving into a billionaire’s cottage so…”
“I’m sorry, I feel like an ass about that.”
“It’s okay, honey, you couldn’t have known what was going to happen.”
“Well, at least now you don’t have to pack. I know how much you hate moving.”
“I do, you’re right about that.”
“Do you think your friend will mind me coming along? I don’t want to be any trouble.”
He waves his hand dismissively, “No, he invited practically everyone at the shoot today. I don’t think he will care about one more.”
“Everybody? That must be some chalet.”
“He’s loaded. He’s a photographer, and he’s been snagging some epic jobs lately.”
For the first time all day, I feel a little better. Some of the tension in my neck is gone, and I have a plan. Escape for a few days and ride out the storm. Hopefully, when I come home, things will be calm, and Alex and I can discuss why our relationship has been running at warp speed.
I slide my hand out from under the bubbles and reach for my friend, and he takes it. “Thanks for always knowing what I need.”
“You’re welcome. Now get out of that tub and text your crazy, hot boyfriend before he comes over here and breaks down our door.”
“I told the doorman to stop anyone coming up. You’re not expecting anybody are you?”
“Nope. You do know that poor old doorman wouldn’t stand a chance against Alex, though, right?”
“Yes, but I think he could handle the press, and if he can’t, he will call the police.”
“You think they’ll show up here?”
I lift one shoulder in a shrug. “They sounded like a wild pack of headhunters with pitchforks on the news.” He squeezes my hand and releases it to stand up.
“They will have to take my head, too, then.” He starts to open the bathroom door.
“Jacob?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too, bunny rabbit. Now get out of there. The sooner you’re packed, the sooner we will be swooshing down the slopes.” He closes the door, and I press the lever to drain the bath with my foot.
When I’m dry and dressed, I sit on my bed and choose my words to Alex carefully before I text them.
Me – Hey there, if you haven’t noticed yet, I left the house a while ago. Please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. I’m fine, safe, and with Jacob, but I need some space. I’m going out of town for a few days. I’ll call you when I’m home. Love, O.
I wait for him to respond, but for the first time, it’s not immediate, and that scares me almost as much as being called a homewrecker by the entire country.
“Jacob!” I yell down the hall, and seconds later he appears in my doorway.
“What’s wrong?”
“I did what you said, and he’s not responding.”
He crosses the room and reaches out his hand for my phone. I hand it to him and watch him read the message. “You sent this one minute ago, honey. Give him a chance to respond.”
“He always texts me back right away, like sometimes I wonder how he even read my message.”
“He’s dealing with a lot, maybe he hasn’t even seen it. He said he was going to find who leaked this fake story, right?”
“Yes.”
“And he was going to look for a lega
l way to fix everything?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s probably what he’s doing. And if he read it and didn’t respond, maybe he’s giving you the space you told him you need.”
“That doesn’t sound like him.”
“I think you’re reading too much into his lack of response.”
I look down at the screen on my phone and the words I wrote. He’s right. He might not even know I left the house yet. He has Faye to take care of thanks to me ditching him in his time of need. And he’s stressed out about the funeral and the press. He’s not worried about me.
I hand my phone to Jacob. “Shut it off and keep it for me, will you?”
He jerks his head back. “You sure? Don’t you need to call Marissa?”
“Oh my gosh, yes. How could I forget about that? Okay, when I’m done with that, will you take it?”
“Sure, we can unplug for a few days. It’ll be good for us.”
“You’ll do it, too?”
“Absolutely. I get tired of being chained to this thing, believe it or not.”
“Not.”
“I’m serious, that damn thing is addictive. It’s time to take drastic measures.”
“When are we leaving?”
“I got us on the red-eye tonight. Do you think you can be ready soon?”
“I already am. I packed most of my stuff before you got home. I’ll just throw in some sweaters, jeans, and socks.”
“Great, so call Marissa, and we will leave in thirty minutes, sound good?”
“Yep.”
I make my call to Marissa and inform her not to tell the press that I’m out of town. She agrees to watch the shop and wishes me good luck in a sad voice. I thank her profusely and make another call to Kevin.
He doesn’t answer. In fact, the call goes straight to voicemail where I leave him a message that he has been fired. I don’t leave an explanation because I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. He has to be the one.
When I’m done, I power off my phone and hand it over to Jacob. “I’m going to need it back tomorrow to call and check on my mom. I begged her nurse to keep her away from the TV, but I know that’s nearly impossible.”
“Of course.”
Unplugged from the world, we leave for our impromptu trip, and once again, a bit of stress leaves my body. I start to hum Lenny Kravitz’s song Fly Away, and Jacob laughs. By the time we are in the car, we are both belting out the lyrics, and I am feeling hopeful.
I should have known better.
23
We boarded at eleven o’clock Seattle time and landed at the Eagle County Airport at two-thirty Denver time. We slept the whole flight after a long, busy, and stressful day, but I was still more than ready to fall into bed and sleep until noon the next day.
Jacob’s friend’s chalet is fabulous. I can’t get over how some people live. This place could easily house a dozen people comfortably, but Blaine’s parents only use it once or twice a year at best, what a waste.
“You two are upstairs and to the right. There are four bedrooms on that side just choose the room you want,” Blaine says pointing up the grand staircase to the second floor.
“Thanks, man,” Jacob answers, and we make our way upstairs.
The house is buzzing with energy from Blaine’s late-night guests. Music is playing somewhere downstairs, and I can hear the occasional burst of laughter. I imagine a room full of gorgeous models from pretentious families sitting around flipping their hair and talking about their next trip to Paris or Milan.
And then I remember that my Jacob is one of those gorgeous models, and he is not from a pretentious family, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him flip his hair. The thought of it makes me chuckle.
“What are you laughing about, honey?” he asks opening all the doors to pick the best bedroom.
“Just imagining you flipping your hair, that’s all.”
He stops to put his suitcase on the floor. “You feeling all right? I’m not a hair flipper, you know that.”
“I’m fine, never mind. I’m just being silly. Is this the room you’re taking?” I look around at the inviting traditional alpine and contemporary décor wondering what made him pick this room. It’s gorgeous but almost identical to the other three.
“Yep,” he smiles and pulls a cord on one side of the outside wall opening the drapes to show me the floor-to-ceiling windows. “The view from my bed is unbelievable in the morning.”
I raise my chin understanding. “Oh, so you’ve had this room before.”
“Well, no, not me. A sexy Italian had it the last time I was here, but I spent a lot of time in here. The room right next door has the same view, better snatch it up before somebody else does.”
“Oh, okay I’ll hurry and claim it. Are you going to bed or downstairs to join the party?”
“I’ll probably go down and say hello to everyone.”
“All right, I’m going to drag myself into bed. Will you let me sleep tomorrow? I never get to sleep in.”
“Sure honey, I don’t think you can do it, though. Your body is conditioned to wake up at the crack of dawn, always has been.”
“I’ll give it my best shot.”
He crosses the room and kisses me on the forehead. “You want your phone back?”
I do, but I’m afraid of Alex’s response or lack of response. If it’s something terrible, I’ll never get any sleep. “No, keep it.”
“Okay. Get some sleep, sweetheart. We will do fun things tomorrow.” He smiles, and we walk out into the hall. He points at the room next to his, and I nod. Inside I find an identical room to Jacob’s and lock the door, strip down to my bra and panties and crawl into bed exhausted from a day of harsh and false accusations and travel.
After thirty minutes, I flop onto my back and sigh. I can’t stop thinking about Faye and her sweet smile, and Alex’s commanding eyes, the way he rules the space he occupies without a word, how he knows what I’m thinking before I do, and the incredibly passionate way we fell in love so fast.
Can it all be real? Is what we have mere fascination or lust? How can we be in love in such a short time? These questions have plagued me from the beginning, and suddenly I find myself needing to talk to my mother.
I look at the clock on the bedside table. It’s three forty-five in the morning, two forty-five her time. She’d be in bed but not necessarily sleeping, and her nurse would be able to check for me. I pick up the cordless phone from the bedside table and dial my mother’s nursing home.
“This is Marla.”
“Hi, Marla, I’m sorry to call so late. Is my mother awake?”
“As a matter of fact, she is. She’s having a hard night. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I mean no, the press is still awful, but I’m with Jacob in Colorado. Do you think she’s up for talking, or should I let her try to rest?”
“Oh, she’s always up for talking to you, just a second.”
I listen as she shuffles around my mom’s small room to the bed where I know she is positioned on her side so she can watch the sunrise in a couple of hours. “Livy? What’s wrong, baby? Why are you calling so late?” she asks, her voice full of concern.
“Hi, Mom, I’m sorry to call at this hour. I’m fine, I just needed to talk to you.”
She pauses before she speaks. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s difficult for her to speak or if she’s thinking about what to say next. “Say what’s on your mind, Livy.”
“Marla said you’re having a hard night, are you in pain?”
“Yes, but that’s not what you called about.”
“Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t stay longer at Christmas.”
“It’s okay, baby, I know you have a business to run.”
“I know, but it was Christmas, and I should have spent more time with you. Work can wait. I promise to put you first from now on. How would you feel about moving to Seattle?”
“How would you feel about moving back to California?”
&
nbsp; “Touché.” She knows how much I hate my home state.
“Why don’t you get to the point of your call and stop procrastinating, Livy. It’s not like you.”
“Okay,” I take a deep breath and blow it out. “I met someone.”
“I knew it. My girl doesn’t call in the middle of the night unless it’s important. Tell me about him. Where’s he from? What does he do? Is he tall, dark chocolaty, and handsome?”
She would consider me meeting a man middle-of-the-night phone call worthy. She’s been on my ass about finding a man since I graduated college. She wants grandbabies before she dies, and she reminds me of that shamelessly every time I visit.
“I met him in the shop. He brought his dogs in to be groomed and bought some treats.”
“One point for being smart and shopping in your store. What does he do?”
“He’s a lawyer, a medical malpractice attorney.”
“Another point for being smart, and then another for helping people. I like him already.”
“Yeah, he’s kind of perfect.”
“So why are you calling me instead of him in the middle of the night from far away.”
“How do you know I’m far away?”
“You sound like you’re talking to me through a tin can. Your cell phone doesn’t sound that way.”
“Oh,” I forgot she’s hyper-aware of sounds. Her disease has made her a much better listener and facial-expression reader. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, get on with your problem.”
I decide to do just that, and I spill everything, how we met, our first date, love at first sight, Faye, Lilly, and the nanny arrangement. I end with the press coverage and my belief that Kevin was the one who leaked the story to the press. I didn’t want to stress her, but she’s going to find out about it eventually. It’s better if it comes from me.
“Why would he do that? What’s he got to gain?”
“I don’t know, maybe he has a grudge or something. That’s the problem, I don’t know a lot of things, Mom. This whole relationship just happened out of nowhere. Like I was living my life as I have been for years, and bam, I have a boyfriend. Then five minutes later, I have a boyfriend with a kid and a dead ex-girlfriend. This isn’t normal, is it?”