Read Get There: (Originally Published in the Print Anthology a RED HOT VALENTINE'S DAY) for Free Online Page A

splintered her voice. “Oh.”
    “Yeah. I’m sorry.” Ty sighed, and she imagined him running a hand through his shaggy dark hair. “The realtor and the lawyers have to do their thing . . . they can’t meet until the Monday after. I’m really, really sorry.”
    Edie had been running on close to empty for the past month, trying to wrap up all her work, say good-bye to friends and plan the move, too. She was putting aside everything she’d known for the past seven years since she’d taken a long shot and moved to California to pursue a dream, but none of that had mattered compared to not being with Ty. Missing him had been an ache, soul-deep, that she’d only managed to put aside with knowing she’d see him soon. Valentine’s Day had never been meant to be such a big deal. Not until they weren’t going to have it.
    “There will be other Valentine’s Days.” Maybe if she convinced him, she could convince herself.
    “There will.” Ty didn’t sound any more convinced than she had. “I’ll make it up to you.”
    “Oh, Ty.” Edie sighed. “You don’t have to make anything up to me. It’s not like that. I’m just glad you sold your house. And a few more days won’t matter, really. Right?”
    “Right.”
    It didn’t feel right. It felt all kinds of wrong, but Edie wasn’t about to lay a guilt trip on him. “It’s only a few more days.”
    “And I’ll leave right after the settlement. Be packed and ready to hit the road. I can be there in eleven hours if I drive straight through.”
    “As much as I want to see you, I don’t want you to be too tired,” Edie cautioned. “You were going to take two days.”
    “I’ll be ok.”
    Tears filled her voice, though her words were meant to sound upbeat. “It’s just Valentine’s Day. What’s more important is that we’ll be together after that. For good. Right?”
    “Right.” But he felt bad about it, she could tell, and Ty feeling bad about it made Edie feel worse for being a silly girl who’d let herself get all wrapped up in an image of red ribbons and boxes of candy.
    A rap on the door turned her in her chair. To her surprise, it was Justin. He’d visited her office only a few times in the entire time she’d been writing for the show, both times by happenstance and coincidence on his way to meetings with someone else. She’d seen him on set the few times she’d gone, but it wasn’t like they’d ever gone out for drinks or hung out. She didn’t get invited to the parties he did. He spoke her words every week, but it was his face the fans wanted to see.
    “Ty, I have to go.” Too late, she’d sounded more abrupt than she meant to. “There’s someone here.”
    “Babe, I’m really sorry.”
    His apologies only made her feel worse for being upset. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
    “Sure. All right.” Ty hung up and Edie, stomach churning, turned to face the doorway.
    “Hey . . . Edie.” Justin leaned against the doorframe, one long leg crossed over the other. Today he wore a button-down shirt left untucked from faded jeans, an outfit completely different from what he wore on the show. It made him look younger. “How’s it going?”
    “Oh, hey, Justin. It’s going.” Edie waved at the computer, where her cursor squatted like a fat, blinking spider, mocking her with its lack of web.
    “That good, huh? ”
    She wasn’t about to tell him she was stuck on the finale or that her fiancé wasn’t going to be with her on Valentine’s Day, after all, and she was about to burst into hysterical tears better suited to a television show than real life. “How’s it going for you? Looking forward to wrapping the season?”
    “Oh yeah.” He shot her a lower-wattage version of the grin that had set fandom on fire. “I’m going to take a long vacation.”
    “Sounds good.” She paused, her fingers brushing the keyboard, and gave him a curious look. “Is there something you wanted?”
    He’d asked her, once, to give him