Page 25 of Promise Not to Fall for the Rich & Famous

He hit send, but tapped out another one right after, hoping to show that he did, in fact, want to be with her still.Is tomorrow okay?

A knot of nerves twisted in his gut as he waited for her reply. He spun the small phone in his hand and paced across the beach house. Bare feet on the cool wood one moment, bare feet on a plush rug the next.

Would she think he was giving up so easy? On the contrary. He wanted to make sure that whatever was developing between them was real.

He’d explain that to her later. For now, he only hoped that this fairly new connection with Carly was stronger than what she and Christian had.

At last, the small phone in his hand let out a beep. Gage looked down and took in the text with a blink.

Sure, if you think that’s best. Feel better.

Better?That wasn’t likely. Already Gage felt worse than he had in days.

CHAPTER 10

Carly paced from one end of the kitchen to the other, dissecting every event that had taken place in the last hour. Her mind jumped from one detail to the next.

The kiss. Christian’s accusing glare. That stupid text from Gage canceling their plans tonight. More disturbing was the fact that it came just after Gage and Christian marched off to talk in private.

What had Christian intended to do—explain to his friend just how broken Carly was?

Heat crept up her neck at the mere thought. A few years back, she’d opened up to Christian about the day she lost Ava. It had started when he asked her about her necklace. Carly didn’t make a habit of going into that part of her past, even more so back then, but Christian seemed like a safe person to open up to about it. So what, now he planned to go behind her back and use it against her? She could just hear it now:Dude, don’t get involved with Carly. She’s got a messed up past.

With a quick hop over the back of the couch, Carly plunked onto the sofa and sighed. That didn’t exactly sound like Christian. He’d been very good to her over the years. But then why else would Gage have canceled their date tonight?

“A rain check?” she blurted into the vaulted space in her bungalow. She shook her head. She’d been planning to spend the afternoon with him. Like she had the last few wonderful days.

An errant thought of Jimmy floated to her mind, attempting to add to the mounding heap of confusion and shame, but Carly wasn’t having it.No.She’d given Jimmy McGraw enough years of her life. She wouldn’t feel bad for kissing Gage. Not on that count, anyway. The fact that Gage was her student—that was a different topic altogether. Carly had rolled her eyes more than once at the way Christian fell for the women he trained in dance. She’d been certain such a thing would never happen to her. So wasthatwhat Gage was apologizing for—kissing her on the job? She hoped so. Carly didn’t want him to regret kissing her altogether. So what if they had to avoid public affection? They could do that. Heck, the most they’d done is flirt anyway, until their kiss on the beach.

Carly groaned and flung herself flat onto her back along the couch. “This is making me crazy.”Thisbeing stuck in a place between thrilling excitement and hope, and that spot of insecurity that had multiplied enough to make her ill.

A series of taps sounded from her door at the thought. Carly sat up fast and put a hand over her suddenly thumping heart. Maybe Gage had come after all. Maybe he’d only sent her that text to throw her off her game.

Yet as she climbed off the couch and set her gaze on the glass storm door, Carly realized it was just the man she wanted to talk to. A quick twist of the lever, a fast shove of the door, and she was face-to-face with Christian Lopez, America’s golden boy turned Latin lover of the Royal Palm Resort.

Carly folded her arms, propping the door open with the lean of one hip.

“Hi.” Christian ran a hand over the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “I’d, um…how about joining me for dinner tonight. My place. I’ll cook.”

Her eyes widened in response to the nerve of him, but then something struck her. “A few minutes ago you heard me ask Gage that same thing. Aren’t you worried that I have other plans?”

Christian tipped his head to one side. He surrendered his hands. “You caught me. But, c’mon, Carly. As far as I’m concerned, you and I have unfinished business. I’ve held back all this time, not knowing if you were ready.”

Anger burned through her, but if she were honest, it was mingled with hints of relief. Perhaps Gage was playing the honorable friend role. But what if he’d been turned off by the idea of being with her? “You had him cancel?”

Christian put his hands down. “Look, I’m sorry. I just…I like you, and I haven’t pushed it because of your past, but if you’re ready to move forward, I want to be a contender.”

The words brought a recollection to mind. Of a weak moment in her life where she’d kissed Christian. It had been short, sweet, and quickly soured when Carly broke into a rash of excuses as to why she shouldn’t have allowed it. She’d done a decent job of burying the incident and maintaining a platonic friendship with him since then. But Christian’s response to all of that could be summed up with one word: patient. He was a decent guy, and she could, at very least, put his hope for a connection with her to rest.

“Okay,” she finally said. Besides, maybe she could ask him about Gage. Hopefully she could find out what Christian had said to make him back down from their date for the night. “What time?”

Christian’s posture straightened. He tipped his head to the other side and glanced down at the watch on his arm. “How’s five o’clock?”

She took a moment to resign herself to the shift in plans. “Five o’clock works.”

“Hey,” he said, glancing to something beside her, “looks like you’ve got a few more of those protein bars for me, eh?”

Carly glanced at the small table beside the door. A large wooden bowl held two more peanut butter bars. “Yeah,” she said, snatching them up and handing them over.