“Sorry,” I apologized. “There’s a tabloid here that links me to a soccer player, and calls my reputation into question because my younger sister got drunk with a bunch of jocks. It’s in the Manchester Evening News. It’s a smaller paper, but they do have a website.”
Rod was silent, and for a moment, I was worried that he’d hung up on me. “It’s fine, Kate, we’ll handle this, okay?”
I was shaking with anxiety before I could even process what he’d said. “Okay,” I replied. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would happen.”
“Kate, as long as nothing like this happens again, it’s fine,” he said. “We’ll take care of it.”
Even though Rod had been reassuring, I still felt shaky when I got off the phone. When I returned to the table, Jay was sitting alone, poring over the article.
“Kate, I’m so sorry,” he said. He reached across the table for my hand. Compared to his, mine looked tiny. “There’s more than meets the eye on this….” He trailed off for a moment. “That journalist, if you can even call her that, is my ex-girlfriend. She’s been on this mad quest to ruin my reputation for quite some time now, and I don’t want you to think that’s really me.”
“Oh.” A blush rose to my cheeks, and I felt guilty for having judged him so harshly when I first heard of him. He was a bit of a playboy, but at the same time, I was willing to bet that half the media stuff about him was made up by of this ex of his.
“Kate, this is a new low for Hannah,” Jay continued. “She’s spent a lot of time trying to ruin me, but she’s never dragged anyone else into this shit before. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said as I pushed my plate forward. Most of the uneaten brisket still lay on top.
“I can tell it’s not okay,” he said softly. “Let’s get out of here and see the sights for a while. Then I’ll take you back to Lizzy’s, okay?”
I nodded. “Sounds good.”
Jay was silent as we walked to his car, and when he was seated behind the wheel, he turned to me. “So, what’ll it be?”
I shrugged. “I don’t actually know what’s around here,” I said. “But no museums, okay? I definitely can’t do one of those right now.”
Jay grinned. “In that case, I know just the place,” he said in a cocky voice as he shifted the car into a higher gear and pressed down on the gas. We shot forward, and I clung to the seat the whole way. I still wasn’t used to riding on what felt like the wrong side of the car, and I had a feeling that it was going to drive me crazy for quite some time. The feeling of barreling down the road, vulnerable to oncoming traffic, was something that I wasn’t wild about, and Jay seemed to drive like a maniac; none of the careful slow driving that he’d done the other night on the way to the hospital. We careened around turns and more than once, I thought I heard the brakes squeal. When we finally came to a stop, I was breathless.
“That was terrifying,” I said in a shaky voice. “Do you drive like that all the time?”
Jay laughed, throwing his head back. “Just when I want to scare a Yank,” he teased. “No, just kidding, we really weren’t going that fast. You’re just not used to being on the left yet. Anyway, we’re here. Hop out.”
Confused, I climbed out of the car and looked around. “Where are we?”
“Fletcher Moss Botanical Garden,” he said proudly. He gestured around. “Am I right? Do you like flowers?”
I blushed, thinking of the gargantuan bouquet he’d sent me. “I do,” I admitted. “And this is beautiful.”
Darkness was just starting to fall as we strolled around the garden. I still felt on edge and shaky from seeing that clipping in the paper, but being around Jay was incredibly soothing. It didn’t exactly make sense, because he was famous for being a loudmouth playboy, but I was starting to realize there was a side to Jay that someone like me never would have expected.
“What d’ya think?” Jay looked at me with his usual cocky grin. “You like?”
“This is beautiful,” I said again. “It’s amazing. And so quiet! I can’t believe we’re still in Manchester.”
Jay grinned. “Okay, I have a confession to make,” he said.
I arched a playful eyebrow. “What, you take all the girls here?”
He chuckled. “No,” he replied. “I’ve actually never been here before. I’ve always heard people talking about it, but I’ve never come myself.”