Don't Go Baking My Heart

Devon rolled his eyes. “Let’s finish up here so I can get back. You must have something to do as well?”

Reba checked her phone. “Okay, I actually do. Because as much as it seems like it, I don’t just spend all my time thinking up ways to frustrate you. I actually have a shoot in an hour. Gotta get my mind right to get my nude on. The things I do for friends.”

Devon finished off his food without somehow choking again. He planned to leave a generous tip for JB. He could admit he had been wrong about what he could expect of a place like this. JB’s choice for him had been perfect.

“What do you mean, get your nude on?” he asked because trying to follow Reba’s thought process was like trying to solve the world’s most difficult puzzle. Usually, he enjoyed puzzles, did a few in his rare downtimes. But this woman—as open as she seemed about most things—was still such an enigma. He could truly say he had never met anyone like her.

Reba grinned. “Scott needed a model last minute for some body glow cosmetics campaign thing, so he asked me. I mean, I’ll be strategically covered by the other models, and my face won’t even really be seen, but yeah, can’t have clothes obstructing the glow effect of the product now, can we?”

Devon pressed his palms together like he could call down some deity to save him from this moment. Don’t ask any questions. Don’t ask any questions. Don’t…

“You’re being serious?”

Reba’s brown skin already had this glow that he assumed was her being well-moisturised; he couldn’t picture how luminous it would become with some product made specifically for that. He didn’t want to picture any of it because it would be weird to be sitting here, thinking of her with nothing on.

She smirked instead of answering him. “Let’s get the bill, shall we? We’re both very busy people.”

She called JB over, and Devon settled the payment. He didn’t want to ask Reba about this with others around. Why did he even care? She was an adult woman who could participate in a nude shoot if she wanted to. The only reason he was even giving this a thought was because he couldn’t fathom how she could be so comfortable with this. Obviously, people did this all the time; it wasn’t some novel idea. He’d just not met anyone who had done it, so his brain was trying to force him to ask questions to make sense of why anyone would agree to this. Helping out a friend didn’t seem logical enough to him.

“Well, it’s been a wonderful time. Thanks for taking me to lunch.”

“I was basically forced, but you’re welcome,” he said dryly. “Enjoy your, uh, shoot.”

“Oh, I plan to.” She tilted her head. “You want to ask me more about it so badly, don’t you?” She pointed at his face. “Your nose is all scrunchy.”

“It just…you’re helping Scott out? It doesn’t make sense why.”

“I’m pretty comfy in my skin, plus,” she shrugged, “he promised me product freebies. Everybody wins.”

“I…” He paused. He didn’t have time to go down this path. “You know what? Just be safe, okay?”

Reba reached up and pinched his cheek. What the hell? “Aww, you’re sweet.”

“If you accidentally have some nude photos leaked and have to go into hiding until the scandal blows over, who’ll help me with this bake-off?”

“Your mind is really something, huh? It’ll be fine.”

She tried to poke him in the side when they crossed the street to enter the car park. He caught her finger before she could unknowingly find his tickle spot. He wouldn’t live that down, and he definitely didn’t need to give Reba any more ammo against him.

“Anyway, Devon, enjoy your boring workday. And you’re still holding my finger.”

He dropped said finger. What was he doing? If someone he knew just happened to pass by and see him like this, there would be questions. Holding a woman’s finger wasn’t exactly a scandalous action, but as Reba had pointed out, Corinne had looked like she was prepping for some gossip when he’d told her he was stepping out for lunch.

As small as this action was, he didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire. Showing up at karaoke with Reba had to already have the office maco-meter buzzing.

“We’re not even in the car yet. Planning to drive off and leave me here?”

She walked around to the driver’s side. “I contemplated it for half a sec, not gonna lie.”

He looked at her over the top of her car. “Well, enjoy your thing.”

Reba’s laugh was so loud the car park attendant looked over at them. “You said that already. Just get in.”

He did, trying to settle his mind to get back into work mode. There would be no more Reba-shaped distractions once he got back to his office.

Reba Johnson did not exist until Saturday.

Except he found himself curious about this shoot business. Not that it was his business because what Reba chose to do with her time wasn’t his concern.

He didn’t care. Not a single bit. Not at all.

He was merely curious about the logistics of the entire thing.

Snap out of it, he scolded himself. There was too much going on to spend time musing about Reba engaging in nude activities of any kind.