CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The next morning, Sky stretched as he opened his eyes. He reached for Meg, but the space beside him in bed was empty. “Meg?”
When she didn’t answer, he pulled on his jeans and wandered into the kitchen. The smell of freshly brewed coffee got his attention, and he poured himself a cup. “Damn, she makes the best coffee,” he said under his breath after he sat down and took his first sip.
The mail on the small kitchen table caught his attention. A letter was open next to a mug of coffee and an empty yogurt container. He picked it up, and his eyebrows shot up as he began reading it.
“What are you doing?”
Sky was startled and his cheeks turned a deep red. “Umm…”
“Why are you reading my mail?”
He waved the letter at her. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re getting evicted?”
Meg snatched the letter out of his hands. “I’m not getting evicted. My landlord is selling the house, and I have to move at the end of next month. You make it sound like I didn’t pay my rent.” She sat down at the table and stared at him. “And you didn’t answer my question. Why are you reading my mail?”
“You always answer my questions with questions,” he countered. “Guess you don’t like a taste of your own medicine.”
“You’re violating my privacy.”
Sky shook his head. “Privacy? What privacy? We’ve been practically living together for a couple of months now. You’ve traveled with me, crammed into a bus with a dozen other people.” He paused to take a sip of coffee, before continuing, “And stop changing the subject. You do that all the time. When were you going to tell me that you’re getting evicted?”
She sighed and sat down. “I don’t know. Probably when I found a new place to live.”
“How long have you known about this?”
“A while now. The house went on the market about a month ago.”
He leaned forward and took her hands in his. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it didn’t concern you,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s not your problem.”
Sky exploded with anger, and banged his fist on the table. “What the hell?” He stood up and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m your boyfriend. Don’t you think that what happens to you concerns me?” When she stared at him but didn’t answer him, he shook his head. “Jesus Christ, Meg, I just realized that I don’t know anything about you.”
Maybe because I don’t volunteer any more information than necessary. She sat back and crossed her arms against her chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You know a lot about me – where I work, where I’m from, where I went to school. You know that I’m a decent cook, I can drive a tractor, I like classic rock as well as country music, and green is my favorite color.”
“Yeah,” he said in disgust as he shimmied up onto the kitchen counter. “Look…I didn’t bring this up the other day in Vegas because too much else was going on, but when I heard the gunshot and saw you on the ground, I realized that I didn’t know who to contact if something had happened to you. I don’t know anything about your family.”
Meg felt her blood run cold as she began to panic. “You know who my cousin Jennifer is. You could always reach out to her.”
“How? And by the time I was able to figure out how to get in touch with her it could be too late.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. He’s got me boxed into a corner now. How am I going to get out of this without telling him the truth? Think, Meg, think. She opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and gave him her best smile. “Okay, you’re right. Give me your phone.”
Sky jumped off the counter. He pulled the phone out of the back pocket of his jeans, unlocked it, and handed it to her. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to enter the phone numbers and addresses for my father and for my cousin Jennifer. Just promise me you won’t ever give out Jen’s info to anyone else, because she’d be furious if it ever became public knowledge.”
“Your father...” He was interrupted by the sound of Meg’s cell phone ringing.
Saved by the bell, literally. “Hello?” She listened for a moment. “Sure, I can be there. Just text me the address. Thanks.”
“What was that?”
“A real estate agent. She’s taking me to look at a couple of condos for sublet in The Gulch this afternoon.”
After spending the afternoon looking at apartments, Meg was discouraged. “These rents are way above the budget I gave you,” she said to the real estate agent as they walked through the lobby of a luxury building. “Don’t you have anything else you can show me?”
“Not in this neighborhood,” she said. “But…you’re Sky Johnson’s girlfriend, right? He’s a superstar. I’m sure he can help you with the rent.”
Meg stopped in her tracks. “What did you say?”
“Can’t your boyfriend help you with the rent?”
“No. This is for me, not for him.” She slung her purse over her shoulder and walked towards the door of the apartment building. “Call me if you have anything within my budget. Otherwise, I’ll find another real estate agent who will.”
The real estate agent called out after her. “Meg…”
Meg didn’t answer her, and climbed into the driver’s seat of her Jeep. She slammed the door and pounded the steering wheel. “God damn it! Why does everything have to be so hard?”
She drove home in silence, trying to figure out how she could make ends meet so she could afford a decent apartment. “Guess I just have to expand my search to other neighborhoods, even if they aren’t as nice,” she said under her breath. “Or maybe I’ll look for a second job.”
When she got home, she opened up the monthly budget spreadsheet she kept on her computer. “Maybe if I get rid of a home phone and just use my cell phone,” she said aloud. “And those condos all had gyms, so if I cut out my gym membership, it might work…” She was punching numbers into the calculator app on her phone when she heard the sound of a car in the driveway. Before she had the chance to look outside, she heard pounding on her front door.
She looked out the window and saw Sky’s black Tahoe parked in the driveway. Of course. He’s the only one who bangs on my front door like that.
When she swung the door open, she was greeted by Sky holding a huge bouquet of flowers. “What are these for?”
“For no reason at all. I just wanted to stop by and see how apartment hunting went today.” He walked past her and kicked off his shoes.
Meg followed him into the kitchen, where she found him searching through the cabinets. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for something to put these flowers in.”
She retrieved a vase and filled it with water. “Thanks for the flowers, but that wasn’t what I was really asking.”
“Meg, baby, I just wanted to see you. Is that a crime?”
“No, of course not.” She was unable to suppress a smile, or the butterflies in her stomach. “It’s just that I thought we agreed to a little space for a couple of days.”
“I want to talk to you about something. It’s important.” He took her by the hand and led her to the living room. “What’s all this?” He pointed to the computer and papers spread out on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
“Just trying to figure out how to afford a rent increase.”
He sat down on the sofa and patted the seat next to him. “How did it go this afternoon?”
She sat down next to him and sighed. “Not well. Everything the real estate agent showed me was way out of my price range. I’m trying to figure out what I can cut from my monthly expenses to afford a decent place to live.”
“Well…I might be able to help.”
“No! That’s what the real estate agent said, and I walked out on her.”
Sky was confused. “Wait…hold on. What did she say?”
“That my celebrity boyfriend could help me with the rent. I walked out on her.”
“Yeah…well, that wasn’t what I was going to say.”
It was Meg’s turn to be confused. “Oh. Good.”
Sky’s palms became sweaty. “I had a different idea.” His heart pounded in his chest. “Remember this morning, when I said we were practically living together anyway?”
Meg’s heart stood still. Her eyes grew wide, and her answer was a just above a whisper. “Yes.”
“Why don’t you move in with me?”
A gasp escaped her lips. “I don’t know, Sky, I just…I don’t need your help or charity.”
He placed his hands on either side of her face. “Meg, baby, this isn’t charity. This is me asking you to move in with me.” He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m not gonna drag you off to bed to tease and torture you until you say yes, like I did about the Vegas trip,” he said with a grin. “And I understand if you need some time to think about it but, please, think about it.”
She nodded her head. “Okay. I promise.”
“Good girl.” He kissed her again. “So, what are we doing about dinner tonight?”
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I was going to make a small salad and call it an early night.”
“Meg…”
“Sky, I told you that I needed some space.”
“Why?”
“We’ve been through so much the past few days. I have a lot to think about, including your sweet offer to move in with you. I want to be able to do that with a clear head.” She leaned in to kiss him, and thought, and because you can’t come with me where I’m going.