Chapter 19

Late September...

The book tour was finally over. Rick was home, in his new apartment, a loft in Tribeca. He was sprawled out on top of the made bed. Alexis was asleep in her room, she had quickly taken a liking to the place, but she currently brought the fact that she missed having her grandmother around all the time. Rick had told her she'd get used to it and that she wouldn't miss his mother so much after a while. They had good laugh after that. Rick smiled at the memory, his thoughts interrupted, by a loud and insistent knocking on his door. He stood and walked through the maze of packed and unpacked boxes littering his living room and dining room. Opening the door he was met with a flash of dark hair and red lipstick.

"Rick! Why are the papers spreading rumors and pictures about a secret romance between you and your publisher, Gina Cowell?" Paula held up the morning paper, a picture of Rick and Gina walking out of the bookstore, rather close to pull the 'we're just friends' argument, Rick carrying Alexis.

"By all means come in." He said closing the door and turning to face his agent.

"Inside there are pictures of Gina reading to Alexis while you were working and also when you two are getting in the car." Paula continued not hearing him or blatantly ignoring him, dropping the paper on to his kitchen counter.

"It was one night. A mistake. I never should have done it, but..." He lost his sentence, but what?! I was sad and lonely. I thought I might be able to get over my ex-girlfriend. Rick shock the thoughts from his head and tried to stop the rest as they continued to flood his brain.

"No, it wasn't a mistake!" Paula said. "The audience loves it! 'The Mystery Writer and his Publisher a Secret Office Romance'!"

Rick turned to look at his agent. "But it was one night, not a secret office romance." Eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. Well, the press made it bigger, you're all over the front page with this. It's great publicity! Keep it up!"

"Paula it was one night!" Rick strained. "A mistake I'm not going to make again."

"Just play fun happy couple for a while. Go out to nice romantic dinners, be seen in the park on a quiet stroll. You know all that sort of stuff. I'm sure you can come up with something. But just keep it up."

"Gina won't agree with this." He said firmly.

"She already did. I called her on my way here."

"Yet you didn't call me to say you were going to bang down my door with your insistent knocking."

"Oh, whatever Richard." She checked her watch. "I gotta go. Don't forget fun, romantic stuff, okay?" She was at his door and stepping into the hall.

"One night! Mistake!" Rick called as he made his way to close the door behind her only to be met with Gina.

X-X-X-X

"Okay. Let's say we keep up this charade. What harm will it do?" Gina asked standing opposite of him in the kitchen, the breakfast bar separating them. They had stood in silence for a while after Rick awkwardly invited her in.

Rick looked across the bar at her. The harm to be done would be the press and that was out of his control anyway. He had never wanted Alexis in the papers, or at least as little as possible. She was only five years old, way too young to be in the spotlight.

"Rick. We'd only have to go out and be seen in public together. Maybe spend some time at each other's apartment. Maybe some dates in the park with Alexis. Not a lot to ask for. And the publicity is always good, especially before a book is released." Gina pulled him from his thoughts.

"I can do this on one agreement." He caught her gaze, she nodded. "Alexis isn't in the papers. I don't want my daughter growing up in the spotlight of the tabloids."

"Agreed."

Halloween...

It had been a month since the agreement to play the happy couple that the press wanted. In that short amount of time Rick and Gina had grown closer together, their talks had become more in depth, their time spent together didn't feel as forced, but more of something to look forward to at the end of the day.

Rick was hosting a Halloween party. Paula's idea, of course. Rick and Gina had agreed to do a couple's costume. Alexis had become obsessed with Tinker Bell and begged Rick to dress as Peter Pan and Gina to be Wendy, the young girl didn't know of the one night the writer and publisher spent together, but saw Gina as a mother figure.

Gina didn't mind, she seemed to enjoy time with Alexis, Rick didn't mind either, since Gina was in their lives more often then not Alexis hadn't asked about Kate. Rick had known it would have been only a matter of time before his little girl had understood that Kate wasn't coming back and accepted that she wasn't. Rick's mind still seemed to wander to his summer romance when he stuck in long meetings and his mind wandered instead of paying attention to the current speaker. Kate wasn't his first love, but she sure as hell was a memorable one. He was also as sure that he did indeed love her.

The week of Thanksgiving...

Two months since he and Gina agreed to play the happy couple, only now they weren't acting anymore. After a romantic dinner Rick had taken his chances and kissed Gina as they strolled away from the restaurant. They had been for real dating since the beginning of the month. The press thoroughly enjoyed the PDA, that they were now showing. They had compromised to spend Thanksgiving with her family and Christmas with his.

"I hate these "meeting the family" dinners." Rick told Gina while he tied his tie, watching her in his mirror, she was slipping into a slinky black dress.

"I know, but at least it's not actually Thanksgiving dinner." He turned and made his way across the bedroom in the hotel suite.

"True." He encircled her waist with his long, muscular arms. She looked at him. Then reached up and loosened the blood red tie around his neck, before pulling it over his head and tossing it to floor. She slowly undid the top two buttons on his dress shirt.

"I think that a tie makes you look to stuffy." She whispered, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Maybe but now I look under dressed."

"It's just dinner with my parents."

"Maybe. But you have me out-dressed." He smiled crookedly at her.

"I always have you out-dressed." She smiled and pushed away from him.

"Ouch! Your sarcasm wounds me." He put a hand to his chest as if suffering heart pains.

Gina only smiled over her shoulder at him, before bending down to slip her heels over her feet, the dress stretching to cover her assets. A wicked smile playing over her lips. He had no idea how he was going to survive this dinner tonight.

Okay... Sorry for not getting this to you by New Years Eve, but life got in the way.

Leave your thoughts.

:)