Page 29 of Bride Games
29
Paige
P aige thought she was dreaming, rolled over, but realized her phone was vibrating. Half asleep, she reached for her cell on the nightstand. She squinted in the darkness while she read a text message:
I’m going to destroy you.
Shaking, Paige struggled to sit up in bed as she studied the short text, which stated exactly what she first read. Mouth agape, she wanted to fling her phone across the room. It felt as if she were holding a viper—or something equally terrible like lava that would make her hands melt off. Attempting to steady her breathing, she doublechecked the alarming message and attempted to determine the sender. She scrolled a few other texts, mostly spam, and realized the sender had somehow managed to block his or her phone number. It was impossible to tell who sent it.
Throat tightening, she scanned the darkened room. It was preseason for the NFL, so she and Zach hadn’t been on the road much except to scout out a few new rookies and tour a new football stadium. Sure, they occasionally spent the night at each other’s house but were still in the early stages of their relationship. It was awkward since their relationship had to be kept on the downlow. The TV station always booked them in separate hotel rooms, which was fine since they were taking their time getting to know one another. Paige also wanted to respect her former fiancé’s privacy—for whatever reason—but mainly because Trent worked for a rival local television station. She told herself that neither of them needed bad press, plus Paige was loyal, even though the word had clearly never entered her former fiancé’s vocabulary.
Paige shook her head as if to clear her dark thoughts. She threw the covers back and clutched her cell, as if it might tell her any minute who was angry with her. Angry was putting it mildly . Someone wants to destroy me. She shuddered. Why? Who?
At breakfast, an always-cheerful Zach greeted her with a huge smile. “I already ordered coffee and juice. We need to get to the airport in an hour. You packed?”
“You’re the best. Thanks. Yep, all packed. My bags are being held by the concierge.”
“I think your middle name is organization.” Zach reached for a menu. “My bags are still in my room.”
Paige shrugged. “You’ve seen me at my best and worst, my friend.”
Zach clutched his heart in dramatic fashion. “Friend?”
Rolling her eyes, Paige said, “Silly, you know what I mean. We’re friends-plus.”
“Friends-plus. I like it. A newer version of friends with benefits.” Zach winked. “Speaking of which, the benefits have been sorely lacking since the station keeps putting us in separate hotel rooms.” Grinning, Zach said, “I’m getting a good night’s sleep, though.”
“You’re a nut. You know I broke my engagement to you-know-who so we can’t jump into anything. Not yet, anyway.”
Zach put a finger in his mouth as if he were gagging. “Please don’t say his name. I can’t stand that guy. Couldn’t stand Trent before I knew you two were an item. What a pompous ass.”
“You just said his name.” Paige blew out her breath. “By the way, he’s still sending me flowers. I’ve been giving bouquets to my neighbors and the receptionist at the station.” She paused. “Trent wants to get back together.”
Zach’s mouth fell open. “And you were going to tell me this…when?”
Paige shook her head. “I didn’t want to worry you with it. Hey, I don’t have any interest in getting back together with Trent. None.”
A server appeared to take their order. Zach grimaced. “I just lost my appetite.”
Paige addressed the server. “We’ll both take oatmeal, crispy bacon, and rye toast. Sound okay?”
Zach stared at the table and mumbled, “Yeah, unless you have a voodoo doll on your menu.”
“Huh?” The server looked perplexed as she picked up their menus.
Zach took a swig of coffee. “Never mind.”
Paige wanted to tell Zach about the ominous text message she received on her cell but that seemed like a double whammy since he was already depressed about Trent. Maybe the text wasn’t even meant for me. Maybe someone dialed the wrong number.