I stared at the photos, my heart pounding.Nash did look at me like he was completely smitten.If I didn't know better, I'd believe it myself.
“This is so weird,” I finally said with a small laugh.“I mean, I knew dating someone like him was going to be a change, but…I don’t know.I might never get used to this.”
“Do photographers follow him around?”Zoey asked, and I could hear the awe in her voice.
“Not that I know of.”I couldn’t take my eyes off the photo of us inside Axis.God, I wanted to be that woman.For real.Not for money.Something painful wrenched inside my chest and I had to close Instagram."We do have to think about the paparazzi a bit, though.Or rather, he does.They don’t care about me, they just want to know who’s with him.”
“You said he has a single brother, right?”I could practically see the comical way that she’d raise her brows with that question.
I laughed.“He does.You’ll meet him, I promise.”
“Butwhen?And I want to meet Nash too!Jeez, you guys have been together how long?Less than a month?I know it’s early but girl, I need to meet this guy.I’m officially demanding an introduction.”
My chest tightened.Introducing Zoey to Nash was inevitable, but I wasn’t looking forward to it.I had never been dishonest with Zoey, and this façade was inherently dishonest.It was easy to perform in front of the rest of the world, but in front of my best friend?I squeezed my eyes shut.Maybe someday I’d be able to explain it all to her.But for now, there was no way around them meeting—not if I wanted to maintain any semblance of normalcy in my friendship.
“Let’s do a dinner soon,” I blurted.
“I would love that!Maybe this weekend?”
“Yeah…maybe Saturday.I’ll text him while we’re on the phone.”I swiped to my phone messages, seeing that my text to Nash had been read a half hour ago with no response.I tried not to think about that as I tapped out another message to him.
CLARA: My best friend Zoey saw the Haley Reeves post and is demanding to meet you.What if we invite her to the get-together tomorrow?
While we waited for a response from Nash, Zoey continued peppering me with questions.
“Have things been going well with him?”
“Yeah.”I could hear the lack of enthusiasm in my voice.“It’s just…well…things can get intense with him.”
“Intense how?”
I let out a breath, mulling over my words.“The chemistry is absolute fire.But I just worry about…the future.”I nibbled on my lip as I decided to tone the truth down a bit so I didn’t reveal anything about the contract or our arrangement.“He’s so handsome.He’s so successful.I don’t think he’ll stick around for someone like me.”
“Oh, honey.”Zoey’s voice softened.“This is because of that fucker Preston cheating on you, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not—”
“Preston was a major asshole who never deserved you.But you can't let his cheating make you afraid of good things.You deserve a handsome man who sweeps you off your feet.”
Her words felt like a spear through my heart.Because she was right.I wanted that.But that’s not what I was getting from Nash.Looking at me like I was the center of his world was just the means to an end.
My phone buzzed with a response.
NASH: I’d love for her to join us.Tell her my chef is gonna rock her world.Can’t wait to meet her.
I relayed the message to Zoey and she squealed again.
“He has a frickingchef?Oh my God.This is next level.Tell this man I cannot wait to meet himandI am sooo single and available for any brother he wants to throw my way.”
I giggled as I typed out a response.“We’ll see about that last part.”
CLARA: She’s so excited and wants to meet Archer specifically.Could be a good meet-up in case he’s looking for a convenient girlfriend or anything….
NASH: I’ll see if I can convince him to drop in.
NASH: And hey, dinner with the best friend is a great idea.You were perfect at lunch the other day.We can do it all over again.
My insides froze as I read that last text from him, some mixture of deep longing and arousal turning to concrete inside me.
