Page 83 of A Crazy Kind of Love
He took my hand. “Jo, I’m like you. I don’t put much faith in professions, but I put a lot of faith into actions—and so do you. I think Micah’s trying to show you what the words mean to him. He’s trying to show you he can be there for you. Do you trust that?”
I wanted to think I could trust him, but that would have to come in time. “I think he’s sincere.” I took a shaky breath. “And I think I feel the same way, too. Is that crazy?”
He gently knocked my forehead. “Don’t ruin a good thing, Jo. If you know, you know. You should tell the boy the words he wants to hear.”
I did know. I was in love with Micah. I’d never known anyone like him. “I want to. And I will. Today.”
And just like that, the fear I’d harbored lifted from my shoulders. My mom’s life wasn’t mine. And besides, when things were good with my dad, she’d been truly happy. For over ten years, she’d been in love with him. She’d never told me she wished she hadn’t ever met him. I wouldn’t project potential future heartache onto today. I had a choice in the matter. I could choose to be happy for now.
* * *
As soon as Zion and I arrived in the office, Andy stuck his head out. “Jo, is that you? Come in here.”
Since he’d sent me such a complimentary text about my work on Friday, I didn’t think he’d yell at me or fire me. I hoped he’d tell me I could go out on the usual rounds.
“Jo, what do you know about Eden’s pregnancy?”
I stopped dead in his doorway. “What?”
“Eden Sinclair? She’s pregnant.”
“I’m sorry? Why do you think that?”
“Derek. He followed her to her gynecologist and saw her buying prenatal vitamins. It’s not rocket science.”
I slowly walked into his office. “What do you intend to do with that information?”
He sneered at me and transformed into the ugliest human being I’d ever seen. “Print it, obviously.”
My mind reeled. If he printed that now, Eden would be taken completely by surprise. And she’d certainly think I had something to do with it. “But you have no hard evidence. She could have bought those vitamins for someone else. Or to fool you. It would be libel. You could get sued.” I was throwing everything I could out there.
“Sued? She’d have to prove that it wasn’t true. And if it’s not true, she’d have to prove that I didn’t believe it was true. And I believe it. I think it’s very, very true.”
“Andy, you can’t print that. I’ll get you a better story.”
He glanced down at his tablet, and I knew he was about to shut me out. “Keep talking.”
I licked my lips, weighing all the options. In my head, I screamedShit shit shit!I did have a better story, and it briefly crossed my mind to throw Adrianna under the bus. The buzz from that story would steamroll over anything about Eden and would occupy the paper for months. Andy would commemorate me with medals of honor. But I couldn’t do that to her or to Zion. Not because it was his story to break, but because he never would. And it turned out Andy was right. I didn’t have whatever it took to ruin someone’s life for sport. It would be unfair to Adrianna, and I’d never forgive myself for turning her over to the firing squad. When and if she wanted to share her story, that should be her prerogative.
There were two other far less explosive stories in my possession. Praying one or the other might throw him off the scent, I lobbed the weaker of the two. “I found out yesterday that Eden’s set her wedding date.”
Andy didn’t stop scrolling through photos. “When is it?”
My eyes closed in resignation. “I don’t know. Soon.”
“Then that’s not really news, Scout.” He yawned. “Everyone knows they’re getting married. Nobody knows she’s having a baby.”
In desperation, I threw him my last bone. “I know who Micah’s dating.”
His eyes shot up. “Yeah?”
“Would you postpone the story on Eden for another week if I share that information?”
He snorted. “Are you trying to bargain? This is why I pulled you off covering these people. We should be printing both stories.”
“You can print both stories, just not at the same time. One week, Andy. That’s all.”
He tapped his pen, weighing the options. Honestly, I couldn’t believe my ploy was working. Eden’s pregnancy would be a bigger story than Micah’s next girlfriend, especially since it was me. But he finally said, “Fine. If you tell me right now who Micah’s dating, for the record, and if you’ll confirm Eden’s pregnancy, for the record, I’ll push Eden’s story.”
