Blush by Nicola Marsh Page B

wiseass too.”
    “I love her,” Jack said, pressing a kiss to his fingertips and touching the screen. “Was never in doubt.”
    “Ah crap,” Reid said, as Jess sniffled, more than a little envious of the relationship these two had.
    “Reid, why don’t you go visit Adele and let me talk to Jack in private?” Jess dabbed at the corners of her eyes, then finished with shooting him a glare. “You should go see her.”
    Once again, he couldn’t put his finger on Jess’s half-evasive/half-steely determination. Maybe Adele had said something to her and knowing Jess, she’d promised not to say anything.
    Fine. He’d go confront the source directly. Damned if he knew what he was going to say when he came face to face with Adele again, but he had to give it a try.
    As he stood and reached for his suit jacket, his cell fell out of the pocket and hit the floor. The screen illuminated, displaying a list of reminders that would take him a week to sort through.
    He picked up the cell and wiped the screen clear without hesitating, an instinctive move that shocked the hell out of him. And not for the reason he anticipated.
    Never, not once in his long career, had he put off a task. He worked longer and harder than anyone in his campaign office. He forfeited sleep for work. He didn’t date or socialize if it meant work suffered.
    So the fact he’d wiped his next week’s tasks without a second thought should’ve terrified. Instead, he felt liberated.
    He stared at his cell in disbelief, weighing it in his hand, tempted to turn the damn thing off entirely.
    What would it be like to be off the grid completely? To not be reachable for the entire forty-eight hours he’d asked his PA to re-jig his itinerary?
    His heart soared at the thought and in that second, he had his answer to the persistent problem dogging him about what to do about Adele.
    “Whatever you’re thinking, bro, I like it,” Jess said, beaming. “You look about ten years younger.”
    Afraid articulating his half-assed plan would make it real, and wanting that more than anything, Reid slipped his cell into his pocket. “I want to leave the campaign.”
    His declaration sounded bizarre, even to his ears, and he waited for the fear or regret to swamp him. It didn’t and he breathed a sigh of relief.
    Without a word, Jess flew across the room and flung her arms around his neck. “I’m so proud of you,” she said, squeezing the life out of him. “You won’t regret this.”
    Encouraged by her praise, and more than a little surprised by it, Reid eased out of her embrace. “Guess that clears up how you’d feel about a change of career for me.”
    Jess grinned. “You’re doing this for Adele, right?”
    Feeling like a drowning guy finally getting his first gasp of air, Reid nodded, dazed. “And for me. I think I’m half in love with her, so I want to give us a chance. But I haven’t been happy for a long time at work. This feels right, you know?”
    Jess touched his cheek. “I know.”
    “Go get her, tiger,” Jack said, shouting from the screen. “And get your cute little butt back here, Jessie girl.”
    Stunned by the swift turn of events, Reid pecked Jess on the cheek and waved at Jack. “I’ll let you know how I get on.”
    “Good luck,” Jess said, her eyes sparkling with hope. “You’re going to be a great…” her lips compressed quickly, before she finished with “match.”
    Now all he had to do was convince Adele of that.

 
     
     

CHAPTER NINE
     
     
    Adele stumbled into her house in a daze, clutching the black and white picture in her hands. She hadn’t been able to pry her fingers off it since the sonographer handed it to her.
    She headed for the kitchen, needing a vodka but settling for an orange juice. She poured one-handed, staring at the pic in the other.
    Her baby. A grainy black and white jellybean. Well, bigger than a jellybean. With its large head and tiny body, it looked a little like an alien.
    She laughed out loud