“Maybe I got a text from someoneelse.”
His gaze shifted to me, one brow rising slightly higher than the other as he offered a suspicious glare. “Sure,Jan.”
“Okay, it washim.”
“Of course it was. How much have you guys been texting sinceLondon?”
Too much.Jace and I had been exchanging messages almost daily for the past three weeks. Nothing major, just checking in with eachother.
“I don’t know,” Ilied.
He rolled his eyes. “I can’t tell who you’re lying to more: me oryourself.”
“How am I lying tomyself?”
“You gonna keep pretending you don’t have a little bit of a thing for HottieFirefighter?”
“Can we not call him that? His name is Jace.” Although, maybe because I recognized how much more he was than that stupid nickname, I was fine with using it when I was talking toJace.
“Okay, what would you like me to call yourboyfriend?”
“God, you know that’s not anoption.”
“There itis.”
“What?”
“You said ‘that’s not an option.’ You didn’t make it sound outside the realm of possibility. This guy’s got you crushing a bit. Come on, tell Dr.Carter.”
“You’re not a goddamn doctor, and I’m not crushing. We had fun, and I wouldn’t mind having fun again. That’s the extent ofit.”
He hummed “Here Comes theBride.”
“You are just begging for a severance package, aren’tyou?”
“Oh, please. Who else is going to sneak down to the concierge to grab you a card when you’re standing outside your hotel room in just atowel?”
I hadn’t realized what a dumbass move it was to let the door slam shut behind me when Jace and I had been having our little goodbye make-outsession.
“No shame in being attracted to Mr. Overnight Sensation. Last I checked, his Instagram video announcing the deal with Hacksmore had fifty millionviews.”
“Fifty-seven, last Ichecked.”
“Stalkmuch?”
“Clearly, this part’s in the jobdescription.”
While I worked different media outlets to get press for the Kruse/Hacksmore deal, at Elliott’s and my encouragement, Jace created an Instagram page we could link sources to and a video discussing the upcoming deal. Elliott hadn’t been sure how effective it would be as a marketing tool, but I knew once people became aware of the personality that went along with the image they’d become so captivated by, they’d find themselves as enamored by Jace Kruse as I found myselfbecoming.
A crush, no. I was too practical forthat.
We both had jobs to do, and especially with deals signed, we needed to prioritize our work above everything else. I didn’t tend to get involved with clients, but in Jace’s case, I doubted my ability to keep my hands off him, though I didn’t figure it would become a big issue. He seemed fairly chill about the wholething.
However, the gun had been fired and the race was on to get Jace to the top of every headline to generate publicity for the campaign that was officially underway—something that was helped by a leak inside the Fever Fight campus, revealing his plans to donate money toward a new and improved rec center as well as plenty more toward their library. I wouldn’t have disclosed those facts, as I knew how personal it was for Jace, but it easily generated even more hype for the up-and-coming celeb. Timing was everything in my business. We needed to strike while the iron was hot—and Jace Kruse was so very hot in every possible way. And seemed to only be getting hotter by theminute.
I finally chased Carter out of my office with some calls he needed to make before our trip back to Fever Falls. But secretly, I wanted a chance to respond to Jace’s message in private, without having to worry about Carter’s prying eyes. Not that he would see what I was texting, but clearly, I was struggling to maintain my typical coolexpression.
Missing me already? ;)Imessaged.
