CHAPTER 14
DIGITAL WHIPLASH
RORIE
I’mflat on my back, staring at the ceiling, the soft amber of the city slipping through my window and pooling across the floor. Everything is still.
Except me.
Because tonight…I wason fire.
I nailed it. Captivated Asher Cross. Had him hanging on every word. His gaze lit with curiosity. His interest palpable. That kind of spark doesn’t happen every day.
I should be high on that win.
I should be basking in it.
But instead?
I’m twisted in sheets and contradictions.
Because Nolan Rhodes happened.
His voice still echoes in my mind, low and teasing, every syllable sliding over me like silk that bites. His dark eyes assessing, amused, they cut through me with precision, leaving sparks in their wake. That man’s presence isn’t something you brush off. It clings. Like smoke. Like heat. Like trouble you don’t want to escape.
He was going to kiss me. I saw it in his eyes.
Worse—I wanted him to.
And I have no idea what the hell to do with that.
I want to blame the drinks. The high of the win. The rush of the night.
But deep down, I know it wasn’t the alcohol.
It was him.
Oh, and that look he gave when Asher pulled me away. The barely contained fury, the tick in his jaw. He was holding back words—or something rougher. But it wasn’t because he lost Asher’s attention. It was because he lost mine.
Except Nolan’s reading the wrong script. Asher isn’t interested in me. Inthatway.
He’s head-over-Hollywood-heels for Maya.
The man who jumps off buildings for a living and has fans screaming his name from balconies is completely, stupidly enamored with my best friend.
But because his entire career is built on the illusion of availability, he’s got a team managing a fake relationship with Celeste Monroe—his current costar in theBlack Rhombusspy thriller franchise and PR-approved girlfriend.
So what does a man like that do when he’s too famous to flirt?
He recruits me to do it for him.
Apparently, dodging bullets is easier than facing the possibility of rejection from a pretty girl.
So, I’m his wingwoman. His go-between. His secret weapon in the war for Maya’s heart. Or at the very least, a date.
Whose life is this? I’m playing matchmaker to a man whose face is printed on pillowcases. I even had to sign an NDA.
I say all this to say: Nolan, you had the wrong idea.
