For the Record (Record #3)(71)

Liz immediately noticed the flaming red hair in the crowd of reporters. Calleigh Hollingsworth. And she was walking right toward Brady. The bitch had nerve, continuing to badger Brady. She must think that since he was the story that got her the promotion she was craving, that he might be able to provide her with more juice to go even further, or maybe to another paper.

At the same time, it felt personal. If she was looking for another promotion, then why would she put so much effort into taking pictures of Liz and Hayden and then selling them to the tabloids without attaching her name to the photos? She was up to something. Liz wasn’t sure what it was, but she sure wanted to find out.

Without thinking twice, she excused herself from Marilyn’s company and walked right up to Calleigh. “Miss Hollingsworth, what a pleasure,” Liz said, her voice sweet as molasses.

Calleigh turned to Liz, and Liz wanted to do a little dance when she saw the surprise on her face. She quickly recovered, but it was clear that she hadn’t expected Liz to ever talk to her again.

“Miss Dougherty, how are you?” Calleigh said, trying for similar pleasantries.

“Amazing. I’ve never been better, really.”

“Even without your New York Times reporting position?” she asked smoothly.

“I think I’ve finally found the right career move for me, but I don’t think I would ever really be happy without the man I love. I couldn’t imagine going through life pining over someone who doesn’t want me.”

Calleigh’s jaw clenched at the jab. “What is this new career exactly? Following around your boyfriend to campaign events and mooching off of his money?”

Liz took a deep breath. Calleigh was baiting her because she was pissed that Liz had made a stab at the fact that Hayden didn’t want her. She needed to keep a level head. “That’s so nice of you to say. How is your boyfriend?”

“I’m not currently dating anyone,” she said flatly.

“Then perhaps you shouldn’t judge mine. We’re perfectly happy,” Liz said with a smile. “Write about that.”

Brady came to her side a few seconds later. “Miss Hollingsworth,” he said cordially. “What were we talking about over here?”

“How perfectly happy we are,” Liz said, wrapping her arm around his waist.

“That we are. You’ll have to excuse us. We have prior engagements to attend to.”

“Always great talking to you two. You’re so very . . . insightful,” Calleigh said.

Liz followed Brady back to his family, who all seemed ready to head back to the line of cars waiting for them. Heather had worked her magic and police had cleared an area for them to walk through. A minute later she and Brady were cloistered in a town car bound for the airport.

“Did you really have to go talk to her?” Brady asked with a resigned sigh.

“She’s up to something.”

“And you thought goading her was going to get her to stop?”

Liz turned her head to face him. “I was just talking to her. She started goading me by making fun of me losing my job and then saying I was mooching off of you! I even ignored those statements when I could have been a bitch back, but I wasn’t. She should know that I’m not afraid of her.”

“She’s an annoyance. Nothing more. Just ignore her from now on.”

“She feeds off of that,” Liz insisted.

Brady’s phone buzzed and he pulled it out to check it. “You feed off of goading her.”

“I’m not goading her! The woman just deserves to be put in her place.”

He typed out a reply, then tossed the phone back into his suit pocket. He looked really irritated. “She does, but not by you.”

“Is everything all right? You’re not really mad at me, are you?” She hadn’t meant to upset him.

“No, baby, it’s not you,” he said, lacing their fingers together. “Chelsea won’t stop badgering me about this fracking issue, as if it’s the only thing on the agenda.”

“She’s texting you about that?”

“Yeah. She’s insistent.”

Liz chewed on her bottom lip. “Isn’t that kind of unprofessional?”

“A bit, but it’s not the first time. You’d be surprised what people will do to get what they want.”

Would she? Glancing up at Brady, Liz really didn’t think that she would.

They arrived on Hilton Head Island later that afternoon. They had a car waiting for them, which drove them to Brady’s parents’ beach house. Liz had dreamed about coming out here and being welcomed by his family when she had been here two years ago. Now she was actually doing all of this.

The Maxwells’ beach home was a massive three-story construction on a secluded piece of land. A butler came forward and began to unload their luggage as Brady whisked her through the front door and began to tour her through the house. It had seven bedrooms, a kitchen the size of Liz’s entire house back in Chapel Hill, and a projection screen that took up a whole wall in the living room. The back door led out to a clear blue resort-size pool with lounge chairs and cabanas. She smirked when the memory of having sex with Brady on a cabana in Hilton Head came back to her, and Brady seemed to guess and shared the memory by planting a deep kiss on her lips.

Beyond the pool was a small beach and the Atlantic Ocean as far as the eye could see.