For a moment, Eric grew quiet. “Are you okay? Use the code word if you’re in trouble.”
Addie smiled. “I’m fine.” Then she lied, “Business dinner right now. Talk later?”
“So, so awesome, cuz.” Eric’s exuberance was all the proof anyone would need to know they were related.
Addie disconnected.
“Business dinner?” Toni asked with a quirked brow. Her tone was chilly as she asked, “Is that what this is?”
“Nope, but ‘strolling along the beach with the sexy professor’ would raise questions I don’t want to answer in front of you.” Addie pulled off her shoes and then tugged Toni closer to the water.
Toni still had on her sensible low boots. “So you talked to your friend about the garden?”
“So you talked to your agent about me?” Addie rebutted.
Toni laughed. “In my defense, Em was my childhood bestie. She’s been at my side through crisis after drama after victory. I share everything with her.”
“I get that. Eric is my cousin, roommate, and travel buddy.” They veered close enough that the crash of waves was louder, almost enough to drown out the drum circle up ahead on the beach. “So yeah,I mentioned the gorgeous woman who made me feel safe enough and excited enough to give me the first orgasm I hadwithsomeone.”
“You don’t filter anything you think, do you?” Toni asked as a woman walking by gave them a look that made it clear she’d overheard.
“Not usually. Is that going to bother you?” Addie held Toni’s gaze, feeling uncommonly confrontational in the moment.
“No,” Toni said after a pause. “I think it’ll land you in some drama if the show succeeds. I travel with Em sometimes because I said what I thought too often, and it caused some problems. I had to see a media-training person.”
Addie wanted to hug Toni. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I hope you know you can talk to me about that sort of stuff, too. Now that I know, I mean. You could’ve before because I already did know but…” She rested her face on Toni’s arm briefly in a hug-like gesture. “I can manage reporters or that sort of thing. It comes with growing up here. Butyou’renot one of those, though, so I thought I could be real with you.”
“You can.” Toni nodded as if she was having an internal conversation or doubts.
It took all of Addie’s willpower not to ask prying questions. Turned out, she didn’t need to.
A moment later, Toni asked, “So, being real, what are you looking for here? I don’t want shit to be awkward, and with the show… I mean, if you were already cast in the show when we met I would never have touched you.”
“Well, that would suck for me.” Addie dug her toes into the sand and stared up at Toni. “Istillhave no regrets, and I wanted to see you again so many times. I thought about video chats, even.”
Toni let go of her hand. “I wanted to see you, too. I almost sent you a ticket asking you to meet me. Then I thought back to what a shitstorm that would be if you shared the email.”
“I would never!” Addie frowned at the thought of that. “Youhave my word. I would never hurt your career—or mine—by going public with anything between us. I can be discreet.”
“Same, obviously,” Toni said. She squirmed a little. “I don’tdate,though. So…”
“Luckily, we’re on a business dinner?” Addie teased. She stepped closer and kissed Toni briefly, a butterfly touch of a kiss, before stepping to the edge of the surf and getting her feet wet.
Toni watched her like she was something strange and vaguely unsettling. She obviously had not spent much time at the beach. That was something they’d have to remedy, whether they were friends or more.
“What doyouwant?” Addie asked. “I kinda feel like I need to know that before I can figure out anything. I mean, you’re the secretive one here.…”
At first Toni just watched her as Addie twirled along the edge of the water once and then walked backward, facing her now-silent date. Addie bit the inside of her lip to keep herself from pelting questions at Toni. She was a self-confessed introvert, and Addie was… well,not.
“I like all of our email, but I like this tonight, too,” Toni said carefully. “Talking and spending time with you in person, wondering if you’ll let me kiss you later.”
Which,Addie thought,is the definition of a date.
Addie thought it seemed wisest not to mention that detail since Toni claimed she didn’t date. Maybe she was saying she didn’t usually do that? Or maybe she was one of those situationship people who dated but then just didn’t call it that? Out of all the little things they’d discussed, this wasn’t on the list.
So all Addie said was, “We could do things like this again, including the kissing.”
“I liked touching you, too,” Toni added in a huskier voice. “In case you had any doubts.”
