She looks up, worry darkening her green irises. “What kind of rumors?”
“Anything from you being Lainey’s nanny to you being in a relationship with Rachel.”
She shrugs. “That won’t bother me.”
“And there will definitely be rumors that we’re in a relationship or even engaged.”
“We? Like you and me?” Her hand waves wildly between us, then she rambles, “Is there anything I can do or say to make them think otherwise? I can kiss Rachel and hold her hand. God, anything so they don’t write lies about you.”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “I don’t mind, but whatever you do, don’t kiss Rachel.”
“Why?”
“The last thing I need is the media thinking you’re romantically involved with Rachel.”
Because then it will look weird as fuck when I eventually make our relationship public.
That’s if I get a chance with Nova.
“What’s wrong with that?” she asks.
Unable to tell her the truth until I’m sure about her feelings for me, I say, “I don’t want to shine a spotlight on Rachel.”
“Oh. Right. Of course.”
“So if you get the urge to kiss someone, just lay one on me,” I tease her before I continue to walk toward the SUV.
Nova lets out a nervous-sounding chuckle, and when she reaches the SUV, Rachel says, “I’ll sit in the back with the girls. You take the front passenger seat.”
I notice Nova’s cheeks are flushed pink as she gets into the vehicle. Walking to the driver’s side, I glance at the other SUV the guards will take before I slide in behind the steering wheel.
“It’s been a while since we all went out together,” Rachel mentions as I start the engine.
“It’s going to be so much fun,” Lainey adds her two cents.
As I drive behind the guards’ SUV, I look at Nova, who seems very nervous.
I’m seventy percent sure she doesn’t view me as a brother. Yesterday, her pulse was racing when I touched her wrist. I pretended I didn’t notice when she yanked away from me, and it set her at ease again.
My love language is touch, and for the most part, it looks like she’s not opposed to it. Every now and then, I catch her looking at me, and she blushes. A lot.
I have to admit her being all innocent and blushing is one hell of a turn-on for me.
But I’ll take it slow so I don’t overwhelm her because the last thing I want to do is to scare off Nova. And I want to be sure about my own feelings toward her, seeing as a relationship between us will affect everyone around us.
“What do you think of LA, Nova?” I ask.
She lets out a chuckle. “I haven’t seen much of it.”
“We can go for a drive after the fundraiser,” Rachel mentions.
I look at my sister in the rearview mirror. “That’s if you’re not tired.”
“Then you can just drop me off at home and take Nova and Lainey out.”
Nova glances over her shoulder. “We’ll see how things go. We might all be tired and end up watching a movie.”
Lainey looks at Porsha. “Do you think your mom will let you watch a movie with us?”
