“I know, but she’s so amazing. We stayed up half the night after the signing drinking and talking.”
Reed didn’t know what Dinah had said to Brenda, but she seemed calmer, less hostile than he’d seen her in all the time she’d worked for him, and just generally in a better place.
He wished he were in a better place.
He’d gotten Cecily’s message that she wanted to talk, but when he’d returned her call at the new number, she hadn’t answered or called him back. What the hell did that mean? Was she traveling? Had she changed her mind?
A part of him wanted to text Selina to ask her opinion, but he’d finally canceled Virtual Match yesterday
“We should start sorting out who our next author will be,” Brenda continued. “Dinah will be a tough act to follow, of course, but the newsletter sign ups have gone through the roof. People are going to start looking to Inglenook as a hub for—”
She broke off as the shop bell jangled.
Reed looked toward the door and went still as Cecily strode in, shoulders hunched against the cold. His heart leapt into a frantic tattoo, and it was all he could do not to bolt to take her in his arms. She looked road weary, faint lines of strain bracketing her mouth. Her long, dark hair was plaited in a loose braid over one shoulder. She paused in the entryway, eyes meeting his. He couldn’t read
her expression and that terrified him about what she’d come to say.
With a visible breath, she squared her shoulders and made for the counter.
“Cecily, I’m so sor—” Brenda began, but Cecily cut her off with a hand.
“This is between me and Reed. If you could excuse us.”
Brenda looked between the two of them.
“We’ll be in the kitchen,” Reed said, making an after you gesture toward the back.
Cecily swept by him, saying nothing even when he shut the door behind them.
“You want coffee?” he asked.
“I’m pretty sure my blood coffee level is outside the legal limit already. I’ve been traveling since yesterday afternoon. Took longer to get back from San Francisco than I’d hoped.”
Then she’d kept the interview with Verdant. The hope that had ignited at the sight of her began to fizzle. But she’d sent him Dinah. She’d called and said they needed to talk. She’d come back, so obviously she was willing to hear him out. If there was a chance in hell that she’d forgive him, he’d do anything he had to in order to make this work.
Cecily leaned back against the counter, arms crossed. “Okay. I’m ready to listen.”
Not knowing how else to start, he pulled two sheets of folded paper out of his pocket and handed them over. “Go ahead. Read it.”
She read the first page, frowning. “I don’t understand. What am I looking at?”
“That is my account record for Virtual Match and the profile of my virtual girlfriend, Selina Kyle, whom I named after the alter ego of Catwoman.”
Her perfectly manicured brows shot up. “Virtual girlfriend?”
From the look on her face, Reed could tell she was wondering what kind of freaktastic geek thing that was.
“It’s a service for people who need fake significant others for whatever reason. To keep their nosy grandma from setting them up with somebody. To stop the unceasing questions about who they’re dating. To keep well-intentioned folks from trying to convince you that you need to get back out there after a breakup when you’re just not ready. Whatever. In my case, Selina was a shield against Brenda. As you know, Brenda had a hideous divorce, and shortly after I hired her, she came onto me. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings or give her more rejection, so I concocted a fake girlfriend using this service, in order to get her to back off. And it worked.”
“You’re telling me that I successfully had a conversation with a computer?”
“No, it’s a real person on the other end. That’s the genius of the service. I didn’t tell you about it because I felt kind of embarrassed about the whole thing. It happens that whoever is playing Selina became a friend. And I know it’s stupid, but I didn’t feel right about firing my friend when you and I got together, so I didn’t.” He took a step toward her. “I’m sorry, Cecily. I can’t tell how sorry I am that I hurt you, even unintentionally. Norah, Christoff, and Dinah have already informed me of all the ways in which I am a complete dumbass. Between the three of them, they’ve probably covered them all, but you’re welcome to take all your best shots. I owe that to you at least.”
Her throat worked and she shook her head, eyes going suspiciously shiny. “I don’t want to take a shot.”
Reed’s stomach sank. He was too late.
But then she shoved away from the counter and launched herself into his arms, and he thought nothing had ever felt so wonderful as the staggering impact of her slamming into him. Her voice was muffled against his chest. “I’m so sorry I doubted you. Again.”