“Good thing I’m a professional.” He winked at her, then he pulled her into his arms, and just like they’d planned, he kissed her like he meant it. Like he couldn’t get enough of her.
This image of them would be splashed all over the tabloids, and Courtney would control the narrative. It was what she did best.
“Good job,” she said against his mouth. “It’s like you’ve been practicing.”
What could he say? They’d totally been practicing.
“Bax?” a familiar voice said from near the front door.
He turned, and the narrative turned on its head because Em stood right there, as though she just happened to be at the same place at the same time.
Fuck.
She even wore her Bax bracelet.
He caught the moment of dawning for Courtney the second it happened. Noted the way her eyes scanned Em, and Em scanned Courtney.
The photographers missed nothing.
Courtney was not a little pregnant anymore—there was no doubt looking at the woman that she was going to have a baby.
Em looked as amazing as she always had—perfectly put together and as fake as could be.
In Los Angeles, this would be the time for maneuvering on the hostess’s part. Send them to a table away from the lookie-loos.
He knew in the depths of his gut that was not what would happen.
“Oh my God, it’s Dimefront Bax!” Someone behind Em shrieked.
Not the words. She didn’t scream the words. She said the words, then she screamed—high-pitched and entirely too over-the-top.
Every pair of eyes in the restaurant and every camera lens swung to them.
Fuck on the first date and not in the fun way.
He seemed to lose feeling in his limbs because whatever came next would not be helpful. Of this, he would bet his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“This is awkward,” Em said, totally committed to her role as jilted fiancée.
“Is your girlfriendpregnant?” hostess lady said entirely too loudly. Brittney, her name was Brittney. That was what her name tag said.
Bax moved to get in front of Courtney, block her from view. But Chet was already there, scooting them both back to the SUV with practiced ease and the authority Bax had hired him for.
“What’s it like carrying the baby of a rock god?” Brittney shouted as the door closed behind them.
“Fuck,” Bax whispered under his breath.
Courtney turned and gave a wave.
“It’s spectacular,” she said. “Bax has always deserved happiness without strings attached.”
Damn, did she just burn Em in the middle of this with Em’s own fire?
And could he be any prouder?
Courtney followed Chet’s instructions and direction, with Bax right behind. Chet’s extraction technique worked, and he had them back in the vehicle before either could process the enormity of what had just happened.
Courtney was a little quicker on the uptake than him, because he was still stuck on the “carrying the baby of a rock god” part of what Brittney had shouted.
