Page 58 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“You have to drop this, Red,” Liam said, his tone serious this time, leaving all jokes aside. “This is just the beginning. And I’m not trying to be pessimistic. But you can’t date William freaking Sjöberg and expect the tabloids to sleep on the opportunity to report on every angle of your relationship.”
“I know,” I said, somewhat defeated. The elevators opened on the ground floor, and as we walked toward the exit, Aaron texted me to confirm he had the car waiting for us. “But we’d been doing a great job keeping it a secret. And now that it’s out … I hope it doesn’t affect our relationship.”
“It won’t, silly,” Liam said matter-of-factly, giving me the reassurance I needed to relax and forget about this for tonight. “William won’t allow it. I know him.Youknow him.”
“You’re right.”
When we stepped out, the air was frigid and blowing violently against our faces. The SUV was parked by the curb and seemed so far away as we still needed to walk the building’s front square to get to it. Joaquín said there was a snowstorm forecasted in the next few days. It was still a bit soon to have snow this time of year, but it wasn’t impossible either.
Aaron saw us coming and jumped out of the car. I grabbed Liam’s arm and buried my face against it, trying to shield myself from the icy wind blowing against us.
“Fucking hell.” He ran an arm around my shoulder, and weboth increased our pace, wordlessly trying to reach the SUV as fast as possible to flee the cold.
Out of nowhere, two men who sat on nearby benches stood as we walked by, and the flashing lights of their cameras stunned us as they snapped one photo after the other.
Instinctively, I released Liam from my grasp and rushed to the SUV. The eager paparazzi followed closely and kept photographing us even as Aaron angrily sped away.
“Relax, already!” Tobias shouted at Liam as I pulled out two steaming hot instant noodle soups from the microwave. I placed one of the foam containers in front of Liam and went to grab us some spoons, lime, and chili powder. “William is not going to punch out your front teeth!”
“That’s easy for you to say when I’m the one hugging her as we walk out of her office building,” Liam retorted, transferring the noodles into a bowl, staring suspiciously at them with narrowed eyes.
“Billie … help me out here,” Tobias ordered.
“William is not going to punch out your front teeth,” I repeated Tobias’s words calmly. Liam was being ridiculous. I placed the spoon in front of him and plopped on one of the stools to eat my chicken-flavored ramen. “And if he does”—I transferred my noodles to a bowl, squeezed half a lime into it, and added some chili powder—“it’ll be after Haute Magazine’s photoshoot since he still has a few more weeks left before he arrives. So there’s nothing to worry about. Your teeth will be intact on the cover.”
When we explained what happened with the paparazzi to Tobias, he said it seemed like we fled the scene quickly,and maybe the photos weren’t any good. He mentioned that the tabloids don’t buy or use every single image they get their hands on. I hoped he was right. But either way, I planned to tell William about the magazine and the paparazzi whenever I had a chance to talk to him.
“Hilarious.” Liam mindlessly stirred the soup with his spoon, looking disappointed about my humble choice for dinner. “That is if I don’t die from food poisoning before that happens.”
Tobias chuckled.
“Hey!” I complained, taking a spoonful into my mouth. With Mimi gone and me having to watch my finances, I opted for cheap and easy meals to fix for myself. I loved my job at the magazine. It was challenging, fast-paced, and never dull. But when I got home, I was exhausted. And by exhausted, I mean I would usually prefer to shower and go to bed than attempt to make something other than a mediocre sandwich or a canned tuna salad. But I needed to eat, so instant ramen had been the convenient alternative most nights.
God, I missed Mimi. Not only did I miss her warm presence at home, but I missed her cooking too. I can’t deny how much of a relief it was to arrive at my place after a long day of school and work knowing all I needed to do was open the fridge, choose from a variety of delectable, cooked meals, and heat it up on the stove.
But those days were long gone—a price to pay for my freedom.
Before William left for Canada, he cooked for me or ordered food often. But I couldn’t afford takeout every day. Not on my salary. And knowing I had to allocate $800 to my monthly rent made things more stressful.
“You’re this close to not getting invited over for dinner again,” I warned.
Liam tried the ramen and went, “Mmmmmmm,” then grimaced as he chewed.
“You’re such a baby.” I passed him the other half of the lime and the chili powder. “Add some of that and try it.”
He did as he was told.
“This isn’t half bad.” He lifted his brows and nodded in approval. “How’d you get the idea?”
“Girls at school in Mexico would eat it that way.” A shiver crept up my spine at the mention of Mexico, but I did my best to hide my reaction. “I only tried it a few weeks ago when I remembered, and now I’m obsessed.”
Tobias set his phone on the counter between us while placing a call on speakerphone. The screen said: William.
“Wait,” I said. “Isn’t he busy?”
“Nah, I just texted him,” Tobias replied. “He’s—”
“Hey.” William’s voice cut him off when he took the call. “Am I on speaker?”
