I nudged him. “So what do you think? Did I act my part well?”
“You did,” he said, nodding.
“Still think it was a mistake to choose me?” I asked, looking up at him with a smile to show I wasn’t trying to pick a fight or anything.
Not paying attention, I didn’t see the grate at my feet. My heel wedged right between the metal and got stuck. I flew forward.
Luke caught me before I hit the ground, cradling me into his chest. Nearly nose to nose, my heart galloped behind my ribs.
“Fast hands, Whitaker.” I inhaled deeply. “You’ve still got it.”
I desperately hoped he didn’t see the blush to my cheeks or feel my racing pulse.
He rolled his eyes and steadied me on my feet. “I tell you, women are always throwing themselves at me.”
I scoffed out a laugh. “I’m surprised you can walk straight with an ego that size.”
“Clara,” he said, a hint of a smile on his face. “I won’t take walking comments from the woman who almost just fell on her face.”
“I would have caught myself,” I said, laughing for real now. “Probably.”
He threw his arm around my shoulders casually, and we walked the rest of the way to the SUV like that. It felt natural, just like dinner had. We made a good team.
I just had to be careful and remember none of this was real.
CHAPTER 13
LUKE
Several days had passed since Clara arrived and I had only seen her briefly in the afternoons before I had to go to work. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was probably for the best. The closer we got, the less this felt fake, and I wasn’t trying to get with my best friend’s sister. No matter how tempting she was.
Now I was at my office on Friday, working for a bit before going on air for the last time until Sunday, when I would be on air most of the day. Weekends were always pretty busy since that was when most of the games were played.
My phone buzzed, interrupting me while writing up an analysis of an upcoming game. I looked down. Nic was calling me. Shit.
My stomach dropped to my toes but I answered the phone. There was no way I could ignore it.
“Luke, dude, I’m glad I caught you,” Nic said.
“What’s up, man?” I asked, knowing exactly what was up.
“Clara went to New York out of the blue. Have you seen her around?”
Nic, of course, didn’t know about my scheme with Clara. I had expected this call to come, but despite that, I still wasn’t sure how to handle it.
The smart thing to do would be to lay it all out for him honestly. So far, I hadn’t technically lied to him about anything. Keeping secrets wasn’t exactly the same thing as dishonesty. But now that he had asked me directly, my only two options were to tell the truth or lie.
The truth seemed like the way to go. My arrangement with Clara was odd, for sure, but there was nothing unsavory about it. I wasn’t hooking up with Nic’s sister and I wasn’t planning to.
Iwantedto, but no one else needed to know that minor detail.
I opened my mouth to tell him everything, and not just about Clara helping out my image at the network. I was going to tell him about the stupid bet with Troy, Chris’s dumb side bet, and how much I would be paying Clara. In my experience, money trumped morality these days.
Then Clara suddenly appeared in my line of sight, walking with a huge smile on her face with my assistant, Debbie, already seeming like fast friends.
“Nic, I’m sorry man but I have to call you back,” I said and ended the call.
I got to my feet just as they turned the corner into my office. “What a surprise,” I said, not sure what to expect. “What are you doing here?”
