Page 9 of The Keeper and I
“I…it’s a project she’s not completely ready to share,” she said.
“Oh, say no more. I totally understand,” he replied. “Uh…where are you headed?”
She glanced away to be sure there were other people around. Thankfully, there was plenty of foot traffic along this street. She was stumped. She certainly didn’t want to tell him she was heading home because there was no telling what he would do with that information. But then what?
“I’m…going to meet a friend at the pub,” she lied. Better to let him believe she had someone waiting for her. “And unfortunately, I’m running quite late.”
He shifted uncomfortably on his feet and dropped his gaze to the ground before looking at her again. “Could I escort you?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“Please,” he said. “How often do you get to meet your celebrity crush?”
She heaved a sigh. She didn’t know of any pubs nearby, and she couldn’t Google one right in front of him. The way he was blinking hopefully at her sent a chill up her spine. He was too eager, too forward. But maybe if she went along with it, she could find some other excuse to break away from him. She wished she hadn’t hung up with her brothers. But that thought was of no help to her now.
“Very well, then,” she said. “For a little while.”
“Wonderful.” He grinned and gestured in front of him. “Shall we go?”
She wondered if there was a polite way to ask him not to walk outside of her, blocking her access to the street, but there wasn’t without setting off alarm bells, so she resigned herself to the sidewalk. Maybe she could make a break for it if she needed to, though she wasn’t the most athletic, and she was in heels. Sturdy, chunky heels, but not built for sprinting.
She told herself she was being paranoid. This guy was…awkward and a bit of an oversharer, but that didn’t necessarily make him dangerous. He was probably nervous. Like he said, she was his “celebrity crush.” Of course he was bound to make a blunder or two. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“So, Dane, what do you do?” Laci asked as they walked.
“I work in IT,” he told her. “Not as exciting as your job, but it pays the bills.”
“My job can be extremely dull at times,” she said. “It must be nice to be able to count on something every day.”
“I suppose,” he said with a shrug. “Though I work with all men, and that’s no fun.”
“Ah, I can’t say the same about working with mostly women. It’s lovely most of the time. Although, the men can be quite a lot of fun as well.”
He frowned. “You work with lots of men?”
“Sometimes. Photographers are often men. Fashion show coordinators are usually men. Journalists are—”
“I get it,” he cut her off, a sudden bitterness to his voice. “I didn’t realize.”
“Is that a problem?”
“That lingerie ad you did last month…were there men there?”
“Yes, the photographer was a man,” she said, cocking her head to the side in confusion. He must really be dedicated if he knew that off the top of his head. But this line of questioning had her on edge like when they started.
“Was he at least gay?”
She stopped walking. “What does that matter?”
His eyes went wide as an owl’s. “Shit. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. I was just curious.”
“And I’m curious why it matters,” she replied and started to walk again, but she put more distance between them.
“I just wouldn’t want my girl half naked in front of a bunch of men,” he said. “Have you got a boyfriend, by the way? Does he mind?”
At that, she stopped again and cleared her throat. “Okay. Well. That’s done. I think…” She glanced through the window to her right, and thankfully, they were at a pub. She spotted a crowd of people in football shirts and a match on several televisions throughout the room. “I think my friend is waiting for me inside.” With another quick look, she spotted a woman with shaggy brown hair sitting alone at the bar. “Yes. There she is.”
Before he could respond, Laci ducked inside and made a beeline for the empty seat beside the woman, who was scrolling on her phone. When the door didn’t close behind her, Laci knew Dane had followed her in.