I probably should have rallied a bit longer. It was a public proposal, after all. I should’ve finished the weekend. But I was exhausted and drained. I needed a friend, not a fight. And the truth was…I did know he was sorry. I knew he would never do anything to intentionally hurt me.
“It’s okay,” I heard myself saying.
And I guessed it was. It was in the past. Time to move on.
Marcus’ eyebrows shot up, giving him an adorable look of surprise. “Okay?” he repeated in disbelief. “This coming from the girl who Maced me?”
“What? It’s really that hard to believe I can be merciful? I do work in the nursing field.”
He laughed shortly. “No, it’s just…I’m surprised. I thought there was no way you would ever be okay with this, especially after…” His voice trailed off at my blank stare and he backpedaled quickly. “Did you happen to get up this morning and go straight to work, without really watching the news or reading the paper?”
That same eerie chill ran all the way up my spine. “You didn’t think I’d be okay with this after…what, Marcus?”
It looked like he wanted to stall, but knew he was out of options. With a look of dread, he climbed off the bed and led me back to the kitchen where a copy of today’s paper was laid out on the counter. My jaw dropped open in horror as I stared at the headline.
How a Nursing Assistant Tamed a Billionaire
I backed away from the counter as if it had caught fire. “Oh my…oh my gosh.” My voice was low and kept catching in my throat. “Everyone thinks I’m really getting married to you. This is like headline news. I thought this might hit the local paper, but it’s everywhere. I wonder if my family has seen this yet.”
“It’s gone viral.”
My jaw dropped.
“It’s okay,” Marcus held up his hands, trying to calm me down, “I can fix this.”
My head started shaking very quickly back and forth. “This means everyone’s seen it.”
“Rebecca,” he pleaded, “this is not beyond repair. I have people who can take care of this…somehow. Let’s just sit down and think about it rationally.”
“And if everyone’s seen it…that means…”
In a flash, I darted to the sofa and snatched up my phone. The one missed call from my mom had multiplied into forty-four since I’d tossed it on the sofa that morning and left for work.
For a second, everything was quiet.
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And then, even as I looked at it…the phone began to ring.
Chapter 4
“Are you going to answer that?” Marcus finally asked after the fifth ring.
“No,” I whispered, eyeing the phone like at any moment it might explode. “No, maybe if we just ignore it…it will go away.”
There was a moment of silence as the call ended. Flashing each other quick looks, we both leaned hesitantly over the table, peering down at the innocuous little device.
A shrill ring made us jump back again.
“Shit!” I cursed, snapping off the volume and throwing it back down on the couch. With any luck, it would give up and die somewhere between the cushions. A defiant muffled vibrating told me I was wrong.
Ever the problem-solver, Marcus stepped forward. “Okay,” he said calmly, “here’s what we’re going to do—”
“No—I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” I interrupted in a desperate bid to grasp whatever was left of my dwindling control of the situation.
He paused politely and my mind scrambled as I began pacing.
What were we going to do?