Free Back to December (Ward Sisters Book 1) by Lucy Gage Page A

wait.
    “Jen, what's up? Yeah, you're about an hour late. Yes. She's here. Yes. No, not last night. Jenna, you know I'm not going to tell you that. No, her sister called an hour ago. Well, she's from the East coast, they were all awake at that hour. I know. No, I don't blame you, it's not your fault. You did your job. If it was just me, then you'd have been right on top of things. You had no way of knowing. I told you that I don't want you doing that, Jen. No, it's not that crucial. Stop. You need to have a real life and get sleep, too. No, don't worry about that. Yeah, I think I've got that one covered. Call Barry and let him know so we can handle it for the interviews tomorrow. Okay. Yeah, let me know. Okay. Bye.”
    Em knew she must look perplexed, because he touched her face and said, “Sorry about that. Jenna is my assistant in charge of social media. Which basically means she monitors the tabloid sites, runs my Facebook page, my Twitter account, my website and whatever else she deems necessary to keep me in the public eye just the right amount. It's her job to warn me and my publicity team if there are rumors out there or if some photographer got pictures that might be compromising. It's ridiculous that I need a person in my life for that, but that's the name of the game these days.”
    She caressed his cheek. “I'm so sorry. You don't need this. I just made your life a lot more complicated.”
    He laughed. “This is my life on a regular basis, Emily. I should apologize. You're the one who doesn't need this right now. As much as I'd like to keep doing what we were doing – or about to do, at any rate – we should eat. You have somewhere to be and I don't want to make you late. I have a lunch meeting today, or else I'd ask you to lunch. But I'm free for dinner. Will you have dinner with me?”
    Emily smiled, touched that he was already thinking ahead to when they could be together again. “Yes. You're too sweet. When should I meet you?”
    “I'll give you my number and you can call me when you're done at the museum. We can decide what to do then. Does that work for you?”
    When she agreed, they put on robes and sat for breakfast. The conversation was light and easy, and it was, hands down, the best breakfast she had eaten in ages. Mostly due to the company, though the eggs, bacon, juice, pastries and coffee were all delicious. Before she knew it, Em was walking to her hotel room with Rick to get ready for work.
    Rick went inside first, to make a sweep of the room for her. “Is that really necessary?” she asked, concerned.
    “Just a precaution. There are all kinds of freaks out there. Everything looks fine. I'm sure I'll see you later.”
    “How can you be so sure about that?” she asked as he opened the door to leave. It seemed rather presumptuous.
    “Because he likes you. A lot. And you clearly like him. I haven't seen him like this in a long, long time. I'll see you later.”
    And with that, Rick left, with Emily wondering just what he meant.

 
    Emily got a clue about 45 minutes later as she made her way to the lobby so she could walk to the museum. A mob of people stood at the door, many of them with cameras. She assumed they waited for Rob or another high profile guest at the hotel.
    She was disabused of that idea as soon as Rick appeared at her side. His hand rested at the small of her back and he steered her toward the entrance where they arrived the night before.
    “What's going on?” she asked, clearly confused.
    His deep voice was loud in her ear. “I'm taking you to the museum. I'll send someone else over once you're there, but we thought you needed an escort this morning. I saw those guys when I arrived. I told Rob I wanted a security detail on you. He won't get in your way while you're at the office, but he'll be as close or as far away as necessary if you have to leave. I've got a guy who's an ace at being discreet. Ex-CIA.”
    Em was scared. She knew it must show on her face, even if