“Thatwas what you needed to talk about?”
“No!” I throw my hands up, “No, no, no. I…I got a weird text. It was a photo?—”
“A photo ofwhat?”
I furiously tap my foot on the floor. Would she take this better if it were in Morse code? Fuck. I have to spit it out. “A picture of us.”
Her eyes widen, a look of horror flashing across her face. “What do you mean ofus?”
I let out a loud sigh. “Here.” I slowly slide my phone across the table. “It came through a while ago. This isn’t hotel security footage. I think someone…” I scrub my hand down my face, “I think someone was watching us.”
“Us?” She shakes her head, waiving her hand between us. “There is nous. There is you, and there is me. The end.”
My chest tightens.Shit.“Sooo about that…”
Her eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. “Fucking hell. Am I going to need another drink for this?”
I wince. “It might not be a bad idea.”
“Fuck,” she mumbles, walking to the mini-bar and perusing the lackluster selection I saw earlier. “Goddammit, there’s no gin.” She snatches a vodka seltzer and slams the fridge door shut, cracking the can open and shotgunning the entire thing. My jaw drops quicker than an opponent I knocked out on the ice.Stay calm, Jordan.Do not come in your pants over the hot woman shotgunning a drink.
I take a deep breath and continue as she takes her seat, “I don’t think there’s any way this could be Chadd McLimpdick.” She twists her lips in an adorable attempt to hide her smirk. To be honest, I’m hiding a smile as well.Maybe there’s hope for us yet?I bite my cheek.Focus, Boucher,shewillmurder me if I don’t act like this is serious. “There’s no way he could have run out of the bar to snap a photo that fast. That guy is a total Unc.”
She blinks. “Unc? What the hell is that?”
“It’s like…” my brain falters as if my blade caught a bad groove in the ice, “I don’t know, it means an old guy. He’s old. Like an uncle.”
“Got it,” she says, her brows narrowed with a look that says she totally hasnotgot it. “And you’re right. From that angle, there’s no way he would have been able to run out of the bar and take our photo without us noticing,” she says, her voice softening just a tad as she slides the phone back to me. “Whodidtake this?”
I shake my head, my pulse finally settling enough to think more clearly. “No clue. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“Did the message say anything? Or was it just the photo?”
Cue my pulse shooting back to one billion beats per minute.If I show her the message, she’ll know someone is telling me to stay away from her, then I’ll have to explain that I have a massive crush on her, and everything will change. My stomach twists.I’m not ready for that.I don’t want to lie, but…that wouldn’treallybe a lie. This is just not revealing that I like her. Yeah. This is fine.Totallyfine.
“The photo came from a blocked number,” I say, pulling my phone back across the table.Not a total lie.“That’s why I asked if you had a boyfriend or something.”
She shakes her head. “Nope. No one. Why would it have to be a boyfriend?”
“No reason.”Except that I want to date you.“Just making sure.”
“Obviously, this is nothing new for you, though, right? You’re used to being photographed with women every day.”
I drop my gaze. I didn’t know it was possible for words to slice through my chest like a freshly sharpened skate blade, but lucky me, I just found out. I suck in a deep breath, reminding myself she’s only seen the side of me I let everyone see. My acting skills and my ability to improvise in any situation aretwo of my biggest strengths. I take in a deep breath, exhaling a defeated sigh. At times like this, I kinda wish I sucked at it more.
Maybe then she’d see the real me.
“Listen. I know what you probably think about me. The media likes to paint a picture of me, but it’s not all what it seems.”
She pulls her head back, her eyes narrowing. “So youdon’thave a different girl on your arm every few days?”
“I mean, I do. But?—”
“Look.” She leans forward, crossing her arms on the table. “I don’t need an explanation, I just need to know why this is a problem.”
I nod. “Right. I contacted my publicist after I got the text. She did some digging and confirmed it’s already been leaked to several paparazzi websites. So, as of tomorrow morning?—”
The blood drains from her face.
