It was the best I could do. It would have to be enough.
The gate lifted and Reeve turned back to face the road, waving at the security guard as he drove past. Instead of driving on to the main house, he pulled up next to the manager’s office and put the car in park. He shifted toward me again and narrowed his eyes. “Do the right thing?”
“Yes!” It was the first time since we’d left The Four Seasons that I felt he might really consider what I was asking. “Talk to him. That’s all. Will you talk to him?”
He met my gaze head on. “No.”
“Please, Reeve?” Blinking back emotion, I laid myself bare. “For Amber?”
His expression softened. “Not even for you, Emily.”
His words hung in the air, with all the sweet and sting of a backhanded compliment.
And it dawned on me that it didn’t matter if he loved both of us, because he didn’t love either of us enough.
At least he seemed remorseful as he turned off the engine and unbuckled his belt. “Stay here,” he said softly before slipping out of the car.
Numbly, I watched him unlock the office door and disappear inside. The blinds were closed so I couldn’t see what he was doing inside, but I could tell he hadn’t bothered to turn on the light. Darkness followed him – it was there, in the room where he’d gone. Here, where he’d left me. My eyes closed, and I let the gloom settle in like a pair of old shoes.
A phone vibrated with an incoming message, and I opened my eyes to find he’d left his cell in the drink holder. Curious, I picked it up and scanned the e-mail that had popped up on his screen. It was from someone I didn’t know – a Lisa from KT & King Communications.
This went out across a nice list of gossip sites this morning. Hope it’s what you had in mind.
The message was followed by a link to an online article. The headline appeared in the preview. I had to read it twice before I believed it said what I thought it said.
Luxury Resort Owner Reeve Sallis Finds Love with the Woman Behind Next Gen’s Famous Voice
With my heart pounding in my throat, I clicked on the hyperlink.
Sources reported today that Reeve Sallis, heir to the world-renowned Sallis Luxury Resorts, has gotten serious with Emily Wayborn, the woman behind the voice of the house’s computer mainframe in the hit TV show Next Gen. The two met while the actress vacationed at Sallis’s Palm Springs resort and have been seen getting pretty cozy in the months since. A representative for the couple confirmed the relationship but declined any further comment.
“Oh, my God.” I was alone in the car, but I still said it out loud.
It was the first time I’d ever seen a press release about a Reeve Sallis relationship. And the note from “Lisa” suggested it was Reeve himself that had requested it. It was surprising to say the least.
And confusing.
If I was being honest, when I’d seen the headline, a thrill had run through me. Love and Sallis and me all in one sentence – it made my chest flood with warmth.
But the release itself was cold. Concise. Clinical. The first time he really declared any feelings for me, and it was like this? I’d already been angry. I’d already felt shut out. Now I was heartbroken as well.
His phone still in hand, I undid my seat belt, got out of the car, and went inside after him.
The office was dark, but a door on the far wall was open and enough light spilled from there to see that the room was empty. I crossed to the door and peered inside. The back wall was covered with monitors displaying various locations on the ranch. It was the second security room, I realized. There was another in the main house, smaller than this one, and while a single guard generally manned that one, there were two sitting here.
One of the guards glanced up as I walked in. If he was surprised to see me, he didn’t let on.
“He’s in there,” the guard said, nodding toward another open door on the opposite side of the room.
It was as if he’d given me permission to enter, and so I dropped my tentativeness and marched over to where the guard had pointed.
This room turned out to be a large closet. Reeve was facing away from me, but he peeked over his shoulder in my direction and frowned. “I told you to stay in the car.”
I ignored his comment and addressed his back. “What the hell is this?”
Reeve didn’t look at me when he answered, “What the hell is what?”
“This.” I held out his cell even though he hadn’t turned around. “This statement from your representative. Did you send out a press release about us?”
He took a Glock off the wall in front of him – a wall that was lined with weapons, I realized now. It was a startling sight, even without Reeve personally handling the firearms…
“Yes.” He glanced toward me, then seeing his phone, he took it from me and slipped it in his pocket. “I did.” He slid down the wall to a cabinet. There he opened a drawer and pulled out a magazine. “Stating that you and I were in a relationship.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” I’d already known what his answer would be and I was still astonished and outraged and bewildered all at once.
I came up alongside him. “Did you not believe I’d tell Amber? Was that your way of ensuring the truth got out?”
“It had nothing to do with Amber. It was damage control.”
“Damage control?” I was flabbergasted. “What if she’d seen it before I’d had a chance to talk to her? What damage would that have done?”
He swiveled to face me. “I was less concerned with protecting your fragile relationship than I was about protecting you.” He let that sink in.