An Uncertain Affair (The Affair Series Book 2) (6 page)

“I
can’t tell him about any of this, can I?” I asked nervously.

“I
wouldn’t if I were you. The fewer people who know your true identity, the
better.”

“What
if I just tell him I’m in witness protection but don’t give him the details? I
don’t know how I’m going to work with him and never see him outside of the
office.”

“Again,
I wouldn’t take a chance. Look, the project isn’t starting for a few weeks. Why
don’t we get together next week and talk about it? That way, by the time things
really get going, you’ll have a strategy for dealing with it.”

My
mind was racing. I didn’t want to tell Sally I was already involved with Sergio.
I would just have to figure something out on my own.

“Okay,”
I said resigned. “I’ll be in touch, and we’ll plan a time to connect. Thanks
for all your insight, Sally.”

“Sounds
good. Take it easy, Bridget. This witness protection thing takes a little
getting used to, but I promise you, it beats the alternative.”

“I
know you’re right. Talk to you next week.”

“Okay.
‘Bye.”

“’Bye.”

I
was in shock. What was I going to tell Sergio? How could we work together let
alone have a relationship, and be sure we were never seen together, at least
not by anyone who might publicize the connection? I needed time to think.

I
texted him:
Can I take a rain ck on 2nite? Not feeling great.

My
phone rang a couple of minutes later. “My sweet Bridget, are you okay?” he
asked with concern.

“My
stomach is a bit upset. I thought I was doing better, but it’s gotten worse in
the last half hour. Can we connect tomorrow?”

“Of
course,” he said sympathetically. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“No,
I think it just needs to run its course.”

“Okay,
my sweet. But call me if you need anything.”

“I
will. Thank you for understanding. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay,
love, sweet dreams.”

“You,
too.”

My
upset stomach was no lie. There was a lot to figure out, and after my
conversation with Sally, I thought I was going to throw up.

Sleep
deprivation from the night before and a ten-hour work day left me feeling particularly
tired. That fatigue was probably fueling my angst over the whole situation. It
was becoming abundantly clear that I would have to sever my romantic
relationship with Sergio to keep him out of harm’s way, and even try to steer
clear of him when we were working together. This seemed as unfair as having to
leave Adam Comstock on a moment’s notice. The only difference would be that I
would still see Sergio regularly. That promised to be sheer agony.

I
started to compose in my mind what I might say to him as an explanation.

Sergio,
I’m afraid if we are sleeping together, and trying to work together, the book
will suffer.

Sergio,
I could lose my job if our relationship gets in the way of the shoot, so we
need to cut off the romance.

Sergio,
if you’re seen with me in public, you could get shot.”

Ugh!
I paced and thought about all the
possibilities. There were no good answers.

About
an hour later, there was a knock on my door. I was totally surprised to see
Sally. “Sally! What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“Can
I come in?” she asked.

“Sure!”

She
turned to me and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “You’re sleeping with him,
aren’t you?”

“What’re
you talking about?” I asked, gesturing for her to come into the kitchen. “Can I
pour you a glass of wine?”

“That’d
be great.” She sat down at the counter and continued, “I could tell from the
tone of our conversation that you’re already emotionally involved with Sergio.
I thought we’d better have that conversation we talked about sooner rather than
later to do damage control, depending on how deeply you’re entrenched.”

“You’re
very perceptive, Sally.”

“I’ve
seen it before, and I just don’t want you to make any mistakes that will hurt
you or him any more than you have to.”

“We
just met for the first time last week. He and his culinary director came to the
studio to meet Dane and me to talk about the book. There was
instant
chemistry
between us. Dane and I put a presentation together for the project, and I took
it to Sergio on Friday. We had a great meeting, just the two of us. We shared a
little Prosecco in celebration of the project going to Pratt Photography. At
the end of that meeting, he invited me to dinner Saturday night at Buena Comida.
It was a magical night that continued on through the next day. I saw him again last
night and was supposed to see him tonight, but after I talked with you, I
begged off. I needed time to think.”

“Well,
at least it’s only been going on for a few days. That’ll make it easier to
sever the ties.” My expression must have shown my devastation, because she immediately
followed up with, “No one’s dying. People break up all the time. I know it’s
hard when you want to be with him, but you’ll still see him while you’re
working together.”

“That’s
going to be the hardest thing -- working with him and not being able to be with
him.”

“Does
anyone else know you’ve been seeing each other?”

“Dane
suspects, but I haven’t actually come out and told anyone. It’s all too new,
and it really isn’t anyone’s business.”

“Well,
that’s probably good. Less explaining to do.”

“Oh,
Sally, I can’t stand this! Would it really be that bad if I told him I was in
witness protection and just didn’t give him the details? At least maybe he
would understand that it isn’t that I don’t care about him. It’s because I care
about his safety.”

“Bridget,
nothing good can come of that. You don’t know who else might find out. If it’s
the wrong person, your safety could be in jeopardy all over again. It’s better
to break off the romantic relationship and move on. It’s only been a week since
you met him. I’ve had situations where it had been months when I had to advise
witnesses to break off relationships for their own safety. It’s never easy, but
the sooner you do it, the better.”

As
much as I hated to admit it, I knew she was right. I would put it on the basis
of the project and trying to keep it professional. Sergio would surely understand
that. “Okay, I’ll take care of it in the next day or so. I’ll let you know how
it goes. Thanks for watching out for me, Sally. I don’t know what I’d do
without you.”

“That’s
what I’m here for. You can come to me anytime, whether you’re in trouble, need
a sounding board, or just want to have a glass of wine,” she said, smiling as she
held up her glass to toast.

I
clinked glasses with her and said, “You’re the best.”

She
finished her wine and left. I felt a little better after talking through it
with her, but I still hated that I had to cut myself off from the best thing
that had happened to me since I arrived in Portland. I wondered whether I would
ever be able to have a normal relationship with a man.

**

Wednesday
morning around ten, a delivery man arrived at the studio with a dozen roses.
The card read:
I hope you’re feeling better. Can I see you tonight? Call me.

It
wasn’t signed – it didn’t need to be. A wave of sadness washed over me. Ending
the romance with Sergio was going to be torture. I already felt a big, gaping
hole in my heart.

Dane
had seen the flowers arrive from across the room. He came around the corner to my
desk and said, “Well, well. What have we here? A secret admirer?” As soon as I
looked up, he could tell I was upset. “What’s wrong? Flowers are supposed to
bring a smile to your face.” He sat down next to me. “Seriously, Bridget,
what’s the matter?”

“It’s
complicated,” I told him. “I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be okay.”

“Are
you sure? You tell me if there’s anybody you need me to beat up for you,” he
said, holding up his arms in a boxing stance.

I
laughed. “Thanks, Dane. You take such good care of me.”

“Hey,
girl, we’re in this together. We all have to look out for each other.”

“Yes,
sir, we do, don’t we? I’ll be okay, really. Thanks.”

“Let
me know if the contract comes in from Adele so we can review it together.”

“Will
do,” I said as he ducked around the corner back to the studio. I pulled out my
phone to call Sergio.

“Good
morning, my sweet,” he said in his unbearably sexy accent. “How’re you feeling
this morning?”

“I’m
okay. Thank you for the beautiful flowers. You shouldn’t have.”

“They
pale in comparison to your beauty, but I wanted you to know I’m thinking about
you and missed you last night.”

“You’re
very sweet.”

“I
have a Christmas party at the restaurant from six to nine tonight, but I
thought if you got here around eight-thirty, maybe I could slip away a little
early.”

I
didn’t know what to say. I fiercely wanted to be with him, but I needed to make
the break as soon as possible. “Why don’t you call me when you’re wrapping up?”
I said. “I’ll just meet you upstairs at your place. I know it will be hard for
Joseph to hold a seat for me at the bar. I’m sure it’ll be packed.”

“Are
you okay, Bridget? Are you still feeling bad?”

“I’m
okay, really. I would just rather avoid the restaurant tonight, if you don’t
mind.”

“That’s
fine. As long as you’re okay. You don’t sound like the bubbling Bridget I
know.”

“I’m
a little off today, but I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,
I’ll see you later. I’m counting the hours until I can be in your arms.”

“See
you tonight,” I said with little enthusiasm, and hung up.
Ugh
. I was
dreading this.

**

Sergio
called around ten minutes to nine. He was all business. “The party is wrapping
up, so I can meet you in fifteen minutes. Does that work for you?” He paused
for a moment, turning away from the phone, “Yes, Adele, I’ll be there in a
moment to say good night.” Coming back to me, he said, “Do you understand?”

“Yes,
I can tell you have an audience. I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes or so.”

“That’ll
be fine. Thank you,” Sergio said, and hung up.

I
was incredibly nervous to see him. I still wasn’t exactly sure what I was going
to say, but I had to get it over with.

The
entrance to the upstairs residences was right next to the entrance to the
restaurant. They had a full house, with a lot of holiday partying going on. It
was very loud and quite festive. I felt anything but festive.

I
buzzed Sergio’s intercom, and he sent the elevator down to chauffeur me to the
fifth floor. He was waiting by the elevator when the door slid open. He took
both my hands, pulling me into him for a passionate kiss. I kissed back, but
not with the usual affection.

“Bridget,
darling, what’s wrong?” Sergio asked with concern, but also sounding slightly
annoyed.

“Oh,
Sergio. Can we go inside and talk?”

He
held my hand and led me to the living room. A fire was already blazing, and he
had a bottle of wine on ice. Several small bowls of nuts and snacks lined the
edge of the table. We sat on the couch, and Sergio poured the wine. He handed
me a glass, then leaned back on the couch, creating a hint of distance between
us. “Will you please tell me what’s going on?” he pleaded.

“Everything’s
happening so fast, Sergio,” I said. “The last few days have been amazing,
you’re
amazing….” I added, not knowing what to say next.

Sergio
tilted his head waiting for me to continue. When I paused, he said, “But…?”

“It’s
not really a ‘but.’ As I’ve been putting the schedule and project details
together, I’ve been questioning whether I can manage our romantic relationship
and the project effectively. I’m afraid if we’re romantically involved, there’ll
be too many distractions and I won’t be able to focus on the job properly.”

Sergio
visibly relaxed. “Oh, my sweet Bridget, please don’t stress over these things. I’m
sure we can find a balance.” He leaned toward me and started to put his arms
around me.

I
pushed him away and stood up. “Sergio, we’ve only known each other for a week.
Why don’t we take it slow through the project and get to know each other
better? We can revisit the relationship when the book is done. It’ll only be a
couple of months into the New Year when it’s finished. Dane’s suspicious on my
end, and Adele’s already skeptical of your ability to think clearly, too. Let’s
prove them both wrong and maintain a purely business relationship, and focus
all of our energy on shooting a drop-dead-gorgeous book.”

Sergio
got up and walked over to the fire. Turning to me, he said, “Is it really about
the project, Bridget, or is there something else going on? You feel so distant
tonight compared with the intimate connection we’ve shared. Is there something
I’ve said or done that has made you push away from me?”

A
voice inside me was screaming,
I want you more than you can imagine!
“No,
not at all! I’ve had to psyche myself up to try to put our relationship back on
a professional footing. This isn’t easy for me, Sergio. I’m using every last ounce
of willpower I have to resist the feelings I have for you and be the businesswoman
I need to be for your project.”

He
studied me for a moment with his seductive brown eyes. “And you won’t let me
present an argument to change your mind?”

“Sergio,
I told you this isn’t easy for me.” I was pacing. My job is on the line. If I
slip up during the shoot and my emotions get in the way, I’m toast. I’m sure
Adele would love to catch us at something that she feels is compromising the
job, too. If we put a little distance between us, no one can accuse us of
anything except hard work.”

Sergio
put his glass down and walked over to stop me from pacing. He held my cheeks in
his hands and said, “Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?” He kissed
me on each cheek and then passionately on the lips.

I
pulled away. “Sergio, you’re not making this easy.”

“That’s
because it isn’t easy, my sweet Bridget. I can’t just turn off these feelings I
have for you. If you said you didn’t want to be with me or I didn’t make you
happy, fine. I’d have to accept that. You’re asking me to accept that we both
care deeply for each other but have to ignore it. I don’t know if I can do
that.”

“I
have to, Sergio. It’s the only way for me to focus and do the best job I can
for you.” I stood staring at him as tears streamed down my cheeks.

He
gently wiped them away and began to acquiesce. He led me back over to the couch
and sat down with his arm around me. “I understand, Bridget,” he said and kissed
my forehead. “I will not make this harder on you than it already is. We can
make adjustments. It won’t be easy for me, either, but I see your logic.”