Love Like Yours

“Do you need furniture?” Bryn asked. “I’m an expert furniture shopper now, so I’d be happy to assist.”

“You would?” Keira asked, grateful that Bryn wasn’t holding any grudges. She seemed to be letting her off very lightly considering, and Keira wondered if she was planning some future dressing down. “I’d really like that.”

“Cool. Let’s go to a store after work tomorrow,” Bryn said.

Keira nodded. “Thanks, sis.”

“No problem,” Bryn replied. “And don’t worry, my taste is very modern. Very young. Nothing vintage. Nothing old. There’s nothing even remotely grandpa about my taste.”

Keira sucked in her cheeks and took a deep breath. Of course. This was Bryn. She was never going to let Keira live her grandpa comment down.

Chapter five

Rather than her alarm waking her the next morning, it was Keira’s cell phone ringing incessantly that pulled her from her slumber. She rolled over on her mattress and grabbed her phone from where it was lying on the floor, plugged into the socket beside her. Elliot’s name was flashing up at her. It was another personal call; not coming from the Viatorum office line but his own number.

Keira groaned when she saw that it wasn’t even six a.m. She was used to early starts for work, particularly when traveling was involved, but Elliot seemed to be crossing professional boundaries more and more often.

Keira hit the green button.

“Have you been online yet today?” Elliot asked immediately, before Keira had even had a chance to speak.

“I haven’t even opened my curtains,” Keira replied a little drily, “so, no, not yet. Why?”

Elliot’s voice came through the other line, fast and somewhat manic. “It’s your article, Keira. The online version went live at midnight. It’s a hit! What do people say these days… it’s gone viral.”

Keira sat bolt upright, completely awake now. “Really?”

“I should never have doubted you,” Elliot continued. “You do know your readers. I suppose the heterosexual female twenty-five-plus demographic isn’t as straightforward these days as it used to be.”

Keira held herself back from saying “Told you so.” Even if she’d wanted to she wouldn’t have gotten the chance; Elliot was still speaking a mile a minute.

“I’m going to need you to commit to slightly longer hours. We have a really demanding schedule. Don’t worry, I’ll compensate you generously. We can talk raises once things have settled down a little, but for now we’re going to have to ride the wave, okay?”

“What wave?” Keira asked, frowning.

“The media have gotten hold of the story. They love the Romance Guru. Everyone wants to meet the real person behind the stories. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing with talk shows wanting to book you, hence me being on my personal line; I didn’t want to clog up the office number.”

Keira shook her head and rubbed the frown from between her eyes. “Are you serious?” she asked. Typically, her first instinct was fear. Where Elliot saw an opportunity, she saw spotlights and scrutiny.

“When it comes to Viatorum, I never joke,” Elliot replied. “Can you get in ASAP? We have so much to get through. Heather’s organizing the press tour as we speak.”

Keira was stunned speechless. It didn’t seem like she had much choice in the matter, and maybe that was for the best. If her instinct was telling her to run for the hills, then she ought to challenge it. There wasn’t a better way to gain independence than to stand solo in front of the world with her story! Besides, if she ever wanted to step away from the company and go it alone, she’d get far more success with a large fan base and exposure than she ever would by simply quitting.

And, Keira thought, a little slyly, she could certainly use this as leverage to increase her salary going forward.

“I’m on my way,” she told Elliot.

She hung up and jumped off the mattress, hurrying over to the suitcase that still contained all her clothing. Without drawers or a closet to put anything in, Keira had opted not to bring any of her stuff back from Mallory’s last night, instead deciding it could wait until after her shopping trip with Bryn. But she was regretting that a little now. She didn’t have anything particularly businesslike to wear. Even if she was just going to her usual office and usual desk with her usual colleagues today, she wanted to present herself a little better than usual. Maybe she’d get some new outfits with Bryn this evening as well as furniture.

Once she’d dressed, she hurried for the door. As she went, her phone began pinging with text messages from friends and family. They must have started getting up for the day and noticed that she was splashed all over social media.

When did u get famous? came a text from Shelby.

Sis, you’re a celeb!! Bryn sent. Followed by: You’d better not upstage me at my wedding!!

Keira smiled to herself as the messages poured in.

So that’s where I’ve been going wrong? I should’ve been approaching it the “Scandinavian way”? Maxine texted her.

Scandinavian love sounds great and all, but I do want grandchildren someday, darling, so there are going to have to be some strings attached, Mallory wrote.

Keira rolled her eyes and laughed to herself.

Even Felix sent messages of support, although Keira suspected he didn’t have any social media profiles and had just been prompted by Bryn to do so.

She smiled to herself as she dashed out of the apartment and hurried toward the subway.

“Hey! Romance Guru!” someone shouted.

She turned to see the coffee seller in his little truck.

“I got your drink ready for you! Caramel macchiato with cream!”

He waved an extra-large cup of coffee at her. Keira grinned and went over to take it.

“Thanks,” she laughed, reaching in her pocket for some cash.

“On the house,” he said with a wink. “Just tell everyone you get your coffee from Bobby’s, okay?”

“I will,” Keira said, taking the coffee.

If there was only one perk to come out of the exposure, free coffee wasn’t one to be scoffed at.

Keira strode away, coffee in hand, and headed down to the subway. Finally she got the chance to check her phone and see for herself what everyone else was reading about her. On all her social feeds there were positive mentions of her article, with thousands upon thousands of comments below from women who’d been inspired and empowered by her stories. Women who’d been ridiculed for breaking off engagements, ones who’d lost lovers due to jobs, due to distance, due to clashes over money and careers. She’d had no idea so many people felt so isolated because of their bad luck in love, and that she’d inadvertently created a community where they felt able to reach out and share their stories.

When she checked her work emails, she was shocked to see that some journalists had managed to get directly through to her, rather than going via Heather or the receptionist, and she had numerous requests for appearances and advice.

Coming up, over and over again, was this term: The Scandinavian Way. Everyone was acting like she’d invented the light bulb, and she didn’t want to claim credit for something she’d merely observed. She’d never meant to start a trend or to get famous.

As the train jostled her about, Keira could hardly believe what she was reading, or what was happening. She was touched and overwhelmed by it all.

And as if to make everything more emotional than it already was, a message came through on her phone from Milo. She didn’t even hesitate before opening it.

Great article! So proud of you!

Keira grinned to herself. Not for making Milo proud, although she was glad he’d enjoyed her piece, but because for the first time after meeting a guy and breaking up, she didn’t feel her heart sink when reading his text.

Quickly, she wrote back, Thank you! Busy atm, but catch up soon.