Reid - Maddie Wade Page 0,19

instantly missed the physical contact, even though it was small.

She smiled as he watched her and waited for her to start eating before he nodded, seeming content that she was all right for now and then dug into his own burger.

The food was excellent, and as they ate, she relaxed again and asked him about his family and his job.

“Well, mom is still working her ass to the bone. Nessa is in remission, we got the news just last week, and Tori is applying for different colleges.”

“You must miss them,” she said, hearing the affection for his family evident in his voice.

“I do, but I also love what I do here. I get back when I can though. What about you?” he asked as he threw his napkin on his empty plate and eyed her fries. She pushed them towards him with a grin, and he dove right in.

“I miss Clay and my parents but I don’t have a lot of friends back home now. Modelling took me out of school a lot, and I ended up being home-schooled. The modelling world is cutthroat, so not too many friends there. The few I did have either stabbed me in the back or fell in with the wrong crew, and we lost touch.”

“That must be lonely?”

“I guess, but I’m so busy I don’t get a lot of time for anything anyway.”

“No serious boyfriends?”

Callie snorted at that. “You saw the list.”

“Yeah, but surely there’s someone who caught your eye for longer than a few weeks?”

Yeah, you and then only the pictures of you from my brother’s phone. “Not really,” she answered instead.

“You should meet my friend’s girlfriends, Evelyn and Pax. They’re both fashion lovers and would love you.”

She tipped her head to smile at him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d like that.”

“I’ll see if I can make it happen in your crazy schedule.” He laughed and tipped back the rest of his drink and laid some cash on the table.

“Let’s get home,” he reached for her and placed his hand on her lower back as he walked her to the car. The warm feeling in her lower belly was just going to have to go ignored.

The last two weeks had been a whirlwind, from Paris to New York then Ibiza then home. Through it all, Reid had been polite, patient, and kind but with a definite do not cross the line vibe. Callie adjusted the vent towards her face, hoping the blast of cold air from the AC would keep her awake as Reid drove them home. Exhaustion was her constant companion these days.

For her part, life had continued the same, the stalker wasn’t mentioned and there had been no further incidents. Reid had as he’d promised to put her in touch with a security company he’d already vetted, and she was talking with the owner the following Monday.

“Modelling is harder work than I gave it credit for,” Reid commented as she rather ungracefully stifled another yawn.

“It’s not the glamorous life of parties that people make it out to be, at least not for me.” She turned her head to watch the drizzle coming down on the windscreen. Reid was just too handsome a temptation after two weeks together.

“How did you get into it?”

“I got scouted at a shopping mall when I was doing a cheerleading demonstration. Signed on with an agency and the rest just snowballed from there. I actually wanted to be a guidance counsellor.”

This was the first personal conversation they’d had since the pub. They’d arrived home to be met by Mitch and Liam, and things had turned to the stalker. It was nice to talk to someone, someone real, who wasn’t paid to be there like Sophia or Mel were.

“You would’ve been good as a counsellor. I mean, you’re an excellent model obviously, but you’re a good listener as well.”

She turned and flashed a smile at the genuine compliment. “Thanks. I guess I help people in different ways now. Money affords me the chance to help more people than I could have otherwise.”

Reid nodded and was silent, she wondered if it was insensitive to talk about her vast wealth, but it was part of who she was. Being embarrassed by it when she had earned it was silly. Yet, she had always felt a little guilty for being paid so much for basically having her picture splashed across the world, when so many others could barely eat.

Reid pulled into the parking garage of her building and killed the engine, before turning in