He didn’t want to believe Neil, but Simon made a calculation. If Neil was that desperate to make money from the photos, he’d probably want to give himself a head start. Make the other photographers wait while he got to be the first to break the story. Which meant that, even though Neil was a liar, his warning was probably the truth.
“We have to get out of here.” Simon gripped Heather’s hand even tighter and he plunged down a dark hallway, away from the muffled sound of music in the ballroom.
When they finally stepped out of the conference facility and into the cool night air, Simon’s rage subsided. The only thing that mattered was getting Heather out of here. He was an idiot to think they could have come back here, done a walk down memory lane and not get caught up in the moment. Part of him wondered if he’d planned this all along. Simon knew being there would bring back old memories. Had he wanted that to happen? No! Fuck! What was he going to do?
Once they got inside his car he pulled out of the parking lot.
“What do we do now?” Heather asked desperately. “I don’t think I can face Linda after this. She’ll never forgive me.”
A flash in the rearview mirror made him curse under his breath again. “We’re being followed.”
“What?” She turned to look over her shoulder and gasped. “There’s a guy with a huge camera in the car behind us.”
He stepped on the gas, the car tires screeching dangerously as he tore down the street. “I’m going to try to lose him.”
“Please be careful.” She sounded panicked. Out of breath.
The best way to be careful was to lose the photographer, but Simon didn’t say anything. He kept his eyes on the road and maneuvered through traffic. Dropping Heather off at her place was out of the question. If the photographer followed them that far she’d never be rid of the guy. Her son was home, and Simon knew how much Finn’s safety meant to her. Their only option was to lay low at his apartment. Security was tight enough there that they didn’t have to worry about a photographer getting in.
Jaw clenching, he looked in the rearview mirror. “Hold on,” he told her before he veered off onto a side street.
BY THE TIME THEY MADE it to his apartment, Simon was certain they’d lost the photographer.
Heather sank into the sofa in the living room, her eyes glassy. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I’m going to call Linda,” he said.
She shook her head. “No, don’t. I’ll call her. I’m responsible for this mess. I kissed you and then we got caught.”
“I didn’t try to stop you,” he pointed out. “And the truth is, I kissed you first. When we were dancing. I probably shouldn’t have asked you to dance in the first place.” That song playing had been the start of the trouble. It had made him all nostalgic. Which had led him to recklessness and a loss of self-control. Always inevitable when Heather was part of the equation.
He wished he could say he didn’t know why he’d kissed her forehead, but he couldn’t. Heather considered their prom night together to be important enough to keep it between them. Something private that they’d only share with each other. Prom night was just as special to her as it was to him. That had made him wonder if maybe she still had feelings for him.
She had abruptly ended things between them over a month ago, but there had never been any closure. No explanation. He had guessed a million reasons why she didn’t want to pursue a relationship with him, but none of that really mattered if at the end of the day he couldn’t have her.
“Let me call her,” she said firmly.
If she was determined to face Linda, then the least he could do was make her feel at home. “I’ll get you a drink while you call her,” he said.
Simon crossed the open-concept room and walked into the kitchen. Alcohol. That’s what they needed. After getting into a car chase with an overzealous photographer, he wouldn’t be calm until he got some liquor into his system.
He headed back into the living room just as Heather hung up the phone.
“How is she?” He set a glass of vodka in front of her and took a seat beside her.