Page 26 of Promise Not to Fall for the Rich & Famous

He grinned. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank Gage. On second thought,” she added in a rush. “Don’tdo that. I’ll tell him so that he’ll stop buying them already.”

Christian tore open the package, broke off a hunk of the chocolate-covered bar, and popped it into his mouth. “I just did.”

Carly lifted a brow. “You did?”

“Yep,” he said over a bite. “But I probably shouldn’t have.” He lifted both arms and flexed, causing his biceps—and whatever other muscles were in those arms of his—to bulge. “Now how am I going to keep feeding these bad boys?” He gave each bicep a kiss before glancing back at her.

There was the Christian she knew. Exuding confidence with that arrogant poise and cocky grin. He shot her a wink. “See you soon?”

Carly nodded as a sigh escaped her lips. “All right,” she said, still feeling uneasy about her standing with Gage. “I’ll be there.”

If Carly had thought that every bungalow at the resort was similar, she’d been wrong. Since coming to work at The Royal Palm, she’d stayed at a handful of different suites ranging from one to twenty-three. Butthisone, number nineteen, belonged to Christian no matter the season. Made sense, since the resort kept Christian coming back throughout the entire year. Special occasions, holidays, those types of things.

The well-known dancer had decked the place out with all sorts of bachelor pad additions. An extra refrigerator beside the couch, a wet bar in the loft, and a screen, hanging along one wall, big enough for the entire beach to enjoy the Super Bowl.

The added touches didn’t exactly flow with the minimalistic design, but they suited Christian perfectly. She glanced down at the placemat beneath her plate, the NY Giants logo taking up its surface. Another touch that was purely him.

“Thanks for agreeing to come over,” Christian said as he carried a pot from the kitchen to the dining area where she sat.

“Of course,” she said, eyeing what was inside the pot. It smelled good enough, but what did it look like? Once he rested it on the NY Giants hot pad centered on the table, Carly saw that it was macaroni and cheese. Not the boxed kind; these shells were much bigger.

“This is my mama’s special recipe,” he said. “You bake it with a bunch of smashed up Ritz crackers on top. Ah, so good.”

She grinned. “Looks good. Smells good too. Thanks, um, for having me over.”Awkward.

Hints of smoke wafted through the air. Not like campfire, more like that waxy scent that lingered after someone blew out candles on a birthday cake. She glanced over the table and cameup empty, but a quick look toward the counter caused her to lift a brow. Two brass candlesticks held skinny, white candles with black wicks. Had he set this up for a romantic dinner and changed his mind? Probably, she realized.

“I know this is kind of awkward,” Christian said as he reached for her plate.

The fact that he could acknowledge that eased her nerves. Carly handed it over and watched the way he piled two massive scoops of the homemade mac onto the center. Her tummy growled at the sight, letting her know just how hungry she was. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He piled a few scoops onto his own plate and sat back down across from her. “I didn’t realize that you ditched your poet boyfriend,” he said. “Guess we haven’t had a lot of time to catch up.”

Carly sank her fork into the cheesy mound, brought a bite to her mouth, and blew on it. “True,” she said. “I guess you could say that my feelings for Gage sort of helped me see things differently.” Yes, she wanted to ask about what he’d told Gage, but she’d bide her time. Also nagging at her was the whole job conflict. Would it really be a problem or not? She had no intention of taking that question to Cyree; it would only shine a light on the very thing Carly might have to hide.

She fought to block out the ramblings in her head and focus on her food. It was good. Very good. In fact, as she took her next bite, she groaned slightly from the rich, savory flavor. “Are there onions in this too?”

He grinned. “The tiniest little pieces, yeah. You’ve got to chop them real small so they don’t interfere with the texture.”

An apron rested on the counter beside the abandoned candles. She reached for the ice water beside her plate. “I didn’t realize you liked to cook.”

Christian shrugged. “There’s a lot about me you probably don’t know yet. But there’s one question I’ve got to ask you, I guess, so that I don’t beat myself up when Gage comes asking me to be his best man.”

An audible gulp slipped down her throat as she tipped back the glass. Did that mean he thought Gage was serious about her? She hoped. Carly set her glass down. “Go ahead.”

“Are you open to dating someonebesidesGage? Now that you’re dating, I mean.”

Carly tipped her chin as she considered. Not beating around the bush, was he?

“If you’re only interested in dating Gage right now, that’s fine, of course. I just…was kind of giving you space, but I hoped you always knew that I was interested.” Christian reached for his glass, took four solid swigs of his water, and set it back down with a nod.

She held his gaze, realizing what he wanted from her. “I guess I thought we had more of a friendship type of thing going on,” she said. It was only half of a lie. On her side, things had been more platonic. She just hadn’t knownhowplatonic until she actually considered it.

A spark of confusion lit his face, reminding Carly of the kiss they’d shared. “I mean,” she amended. “I did have a moment where…I wondered if there could be something more between us. But to be honest, I wasn’t in the right place for it, mentally. I think I was hoping to push myself a little, but the timing was off.” There, she’d blamed the timing more than she had her lack of romantic feelings for him. That was probably better.

Christian nodded and studied a spot on the table. “That makes sense. Just…wanted to make sure you knew that I was interested. But, uh…” He straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest. “I’ll just score myself another babe to hang out with this summer.”