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—airport. Oh.
“Sure, yes. Sorry to interrupt, I wanted to check in. I thought you might . . . have some questions for me.”
Her stomach clenched, although she now registered that he hadn’t mentioned the photo right off. So maybe he hadn’t seen it, which would at least give her the opportunity to explain firs—”
“Ashkurak,” Davis said, presumably to someone else.
Vicky switched to speaker phone as she navigated to the map section of his contact page. “I’m sorry, which airport did you say you were in?”
Dubai, the location feature told her at the same time as he said it. “Sorry I didn’t mention it. It was an unexpected emergency with the new Cinema Megapalace here.”
The flight would have taken hours. And he was leaving now, his business already done? He had to have boarded his private jet for the trip not all that long after he’d spoken to her yesterday. He had stood her up and then flown halfway around the world just a short while later?
She didn’t know why she was surprised. She knew he was a very busy man. She liked that he was so hands-on and serious about his work.
So why did she feel just a tiny bit slighted by Davis’s sudden trip?
She shook off the thought. Clearly just stress from everything that had happened in the past day. In fact, it was a good thing he hadn’t come to the Pink Heart Ball if he was just going to get called away.
“Victoria, I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go.”
“Oh, yes, sure. You’re heading back to California now?”
“I’m afraid not,” he said apologetically. “Just makes sense to stop in at the Munich offices on the way. Shouldn’t be there more than a few days.”
“Oh. All right, then. Safe flight.”
“You too,” he said absently as he disconnected. She gave a sort of half laugh, alone in her apartment. She wondered if he’d even noticed his mistake.
The conversation left her feeling vaguely disoriented. This was good, though, right? He had said nothing about Ryder or the photo. He would have mentioned it if he’d seen it. And given what he’d been up to and where, it seemed unlikely he’d have had a chance to come across a New York gossip item like this.
No, this was good. Obviously, she’d have to fill him in on the whole fake relationship plan, but it could wait.
Good.
Great.
She couldn’t stop herself, though, from imagining what the night before might have gone like if Davis had kept his date with her.
Would he have left right in the middle of the event? Given her a quick peck on the cheek and been on his way, leaving her to make apologies for him? Maybe he would have stayed till the end, circulating and posing for photos with her, then slipped out as soon as the evening ended, disappearing again before they had even had two moments alone together.
That didn’t sit well either. But she brushed it aside. She was being ridiculous. Overly sensitive, perhaps because of the Ryder thing. Or the Noah thing.
Frankly, there were just too many things.
Her phone rang in her hand, jarring her out of her thoughts.
“Davis?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Ryder.”
And oddly, Vicky felt herself relax at the low, familiar rumble of his voice.
“Ten points, princess.”
She smiled, shook her head, and didn’t bother telling him, again, not to call her princess. “What do you want, Ryder?”
