She staggered back. “We were both in disguise.” She slowly shook her head. “Wait, who was Josh teaching a lesson?”
“Who do you think? Hailey. The woman he loves to bug.”
“Does Hailey know?”
“No.”
“She will now.”
“She should know.”
She stared at him for a long moment. “So I’m the glamorous superficial type you’re sick of.” She laughed and then she couldn’t seem to stop, laughing until she was bent over with it, hugging her stomach.
“I don’t see what’s so damn funny.”
She straightened and wiped her eyes. “You’re the egocentric wealthy manwhore I was sick of.”
“I’m not an egocentric manwhore.” He couldn’t exactly deny the wealthy part.
“You slept with me on the first date.”
“So did you. Next?”
“I still think you’re egocentric.”
He crossed his arms. “And what makes you think that?”
She puffed out her chest and strutted in front of him. “Do you know who I am? I’m Jake fucking Campbell, CEO of Dot Cloud!”
He narrowed his eyes. “Dat Cloud.” And he did not sound like that.
She stopped and gave him a knowing look. “That right there says I am more important than everyone around me.” She gestured to nonexistent people around them.
“I don’t see you turning down the lifestyle.”
She lifted her chin. “Check and mate.”
He blew out a breath. “Look, it wasn’t me who talked to the press. Someone else ratted you out. And what’s the big deal anyway? You must make headlines regularly.”
“The big deal is the Fierce trilogy. The fans love stories about Mia and Damon being a real thing.”
“But it’s not. Wait, is it?”
“No. But it gives us a lot of free press. We need that.”
“So you go out with Blake on fake dates for real press?”
She sank heavily to a bar stool. “It’s not…we just show up at places together and let the press make of that what they will. I’m lucky he’s already getting out ahead of the story. We’re going out on Saturday to the premiere of a Broadway show and the after party. That should help. But I can’t have any more stories about me sneaking around with another guy.”
“I still don’t see why you have to sneak around at all. Can’t people differentiate between fact and fiction?”
“It’s just buzz. You wouldn’t understand.” She chewed on her lower lip. He remembered how soft her lips were, her taste, the heat that ignited between them.
“Well, it seems you have a leak somewhere. You need to focus on that.” He tapped the bar in front of her. “I have nothing to gain by telling people you went out with my brother, which you didn’t even do.”
She waved that away. “It’s a closed set. I vetted everyone personally.” She paused. “Except Ty. He was a last minute addition. And he’s the one who passed along your little mystery message.”
“It’s not him. Who else wants to spill your secrets?”
“Everyone! That’s how they make their money, selling secrets to tabloids.”
“Okay. Who else knows you were Jenny?”
“Just the book club, you, and I guess your twin.” She shook her head. “When I saw you both sitting there, identical, I still knew which one was you.”
“How did you know?” he asked quietly. That meant something to him. That meant she saw who he really was on the inside.
She looked off in the distance dreamily. “And when you walked in here last night. Something about your walk, your attitude was different. You weren’t pretending anymore.”
He stepped around the bar and went to her side. “No, I wasn’t. And besides a few white lies to explain why I went on a blind date, I’ve been myself this whole time.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “No. You’re definitely different now.”
“Different how?”
“You’re not sweet and charming. You’re aggressive.”
He gave her his best charming smile. “Nah. I’m still sweet and charming.”
Her lips twitched. “I’m afraid not.”
He raised his palms. “I was instructed to act the gentleman.”
Her eyes sparkled merrily. “You’re not a gentleman. That must’ve been hard for you.”
She didn’t seem to mind all that much. He couldn’t resist touching her, pushing a lock of hair back behind her ear. “So you’re not sweet and shy, and I’m not a gentleman. We still did okay in the bedroom.”