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“Avery!” Her mom knocked on the door. “Chuck’s here! He’s gonna open it.”
Keaton stepped to the side, out of view as the door easily opened. Avery greeted her mom and Chuck and quickly rushed off the roof. As the door shut behind her, he grabbed the handle to make sure it didn’t latch.
He felt it jiggle and heard Chuck’s voice. “It’s not locking.”
“It’s fine. I’ll call someone to come look at it.” He heard Avery say through the door.
As their voices grew more distant, he rested his head on the wooden surface he’d just had her naked against. She hadn’t promised him forever, but she had promised that she wouldn’t leave before they could talk. That was enough. For now.
18
The desk chairsqueaked as Avery shifted to get more comfortable. Every time she sat down or stood up or walked, she was reminded of what she and Keaton had done up on the roof the night before. Her body was sore in places it hadn’t been sore in a long time.
She still couldn’t believe she’d done what she had. It was very unlike her. Keaton brought out a side of her that was usually locked away and only came out in her dreams and fantasies. When she’d woken up on the roof and seen him, that’s what she’d thought. She’d thought she was having a dream. It wasn’t until she saw the door closing that she remembered where she was and that she’d been stuck up there for hours. Then she realized that he must be real and actually there.
Then, the night turned into a fantasy. One that she’d been having for five years. Being with Keaton again had awakened something inside of her that she’d thought was dead after having her son. A passion that she didn’t think she’d ever experience again. She’d stopped thinking of herself as a sexual being and just fallen into the routine of motherhood and career. But with Keaton, she couldn’t deny her deepest desires. And he’d fulfilled them in ways no other man, ever had and she feared ever would.
She was lost in thought when her office door opened. She thought for a second that she’d been so zoned out that she hadn’t heard the knock but then she saw Sabrina quickly slip inside and shut the door quietly behind her.
“Hey,” Avery said, unsure what was going on and why her friend appeared to be sneaking around.
“Shh!” Sabrina admonished, glancing over her shoulder before turning back and pressing her ear to the door.
Avery froze and stopped working. Not that she’d been working that much before her friend had come in. She hadn’t.
After a minute or two, Sabrina let out a sigh of relief, turned around, and sank into Avery’s large armchair that sat facing her desk. Her head fell back, and she closed her eyes.
“Everything okay?” Avery asked.
Without lifting her head or opening her eyes, Sabrina slowly shook her head back and forth. “No. It’s not. Which is why I’m hiding in here.”
Avery didn’t know the stresses of being an executive producer of a reality show, but she did know the pressures of running three successful hotels. There had been countless times that if there had been an available office to hide in, she would have hidden too. “Who are you hiding from?”
“Piper, Ariel, Freya, and Sienna. They are all freaking out about whether or not someone is going to be eliminated at the ball. Sienna’s having a meltdown. Ariel is sure she’s leaving. Freya hates her dress. And Piper is scared that she’s going to be rematched with someone other than Vic. They all want to know what the format is going to be. Are they going to get to have to rematch with someone? Is one or more of them going home? Are more contestants coming? Just so many questions they know I can’t answer. And the tears. Where are the tears coming from? They’ve been here a week.”
“What about Zara? How’s she doing?” Avery knew that Zara’s relationship with Keaton was fake, but she still felt a little strange about the fact that they were matched up and she’d slept with him on the roof.
“Zara’s fine. That girl is a pro. Seriously, I can’t believe this is the first reality show she’s done. I wouldn’t be surprised if she and Keaton win this thing. I knew Keaton would be the golden goose for the show and he is! The public love him.”
Avery had mixed emotions about that. She was rooting for Zara to win so she would have the money for her sisters’ college fund. And she was happy that Keaton was so well-liked, but selfishly, she wanted him to get kicked off the show.
Sabrina let out a long sigh. “I just want five minutes to close my eyes and have some peace and quiet before I have to go face them.”
Avery went back to working or at least pretending to work. It was really hard to concentrate on anything when all she could think about was last night. Thankfully, she was just finishing up the systems that she’d put together for whoever they hired at her old position. She was up to speed on everything at the castle and once she sent off the files she’d put together to send to her assistant in California, she’d be totally caught up.
Sabrina’s phone buzzed and she opened her eyes. “Ugh, I have to go. It’s the first elimination, and they have lighting questions.”
Avery’s heart skipped a beat. She knew it was a long shot, since the public loved him, but maybe in some amazing plot twist Keaton would be voted off the show. If he was, then they could have that conversation. And maybe even an encore of last night. She was secretly crossing her fingers, toes, eyes, and legs that he’d be the first to be eliminated.
“Have fun,” Avery smiled, hoping her friend didn’t still possess the talent of reading her mind like she had when they were in college.
Sabrina stood up and started to leave before turning around. “What are you doing right now?”
Avery looked down at her desk, thinking the answer would be self-evident. “Working.”
She tilted her head toward the door. “Come with me.”
“What? Why? No,” Avery shook her head.
