Page 26 of I'm Not His Style

Did she know that? I needed to stop talking before I landed myself in hot water with the publicist. “Okay.”

“I mean it,” he reiterated. “Sure, she knows more about me than most employers feel the need to share, but noteverything. My image is her job.”

“Okay.”

Rhett sat up straighter. “You don’t believe me.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. Your tone did for you.”

“Nah,” I said, as easygoing as I could. I was a surfer coming in from a perfect ride, and my voice matched the vibe. “It’s par for the course for you to have a few trusted advisers in your business all the time. I understand the need for someone in your position to have that.”

“But they don’t know everything. No one does.”

That’s what I’d thought, but Bridget seemed convinced otherwise. I stood, because I didn’t think this conversation was moving anywhere good, and I didn’t want to be the reason anyone had a rift with the movie star. “Adalyn should be back soon with lunch.”

“You’re leaving?”

I froze, mid-turn toward the door. “Yes?”

“Oh.”

Call me crazy—Charlie wouldabsolutelythink I was crazy—but the prospect of me leaving seemed to disappoint Rhett. Potentially.

“Did you want me to stay?” I was a duck, calm on the outside, going wild beneath the surface. My heart beat furiously, and my brain screamedplease, please, PLEASE tell me to stick around so you can fall in love with me.

“Not if you have somewhere to be,” he said.

“I was going to leave you in peace. I wouldn’t want to cut into any of your private time.”

Rhett rubbed a hand over his chin. His blue eyes simmered in calculation. “My private time?”

“Yeah.” I sat on the seat again because me hovering awkwardly over a seated Rhett was uncomfortable. “I figured a man like you who has people in his business so often probably values the time alone.”

“I would, maybe, if I didn’t have so much of it already. Honestly, sometimes it’s nice to pass the time with someone else who isn’t permanently on my payroll.”

I would be happy to pass time with him always. Outwardly though, I just shrugged. Play it cool, Parker. Breezy. Surfer-chick chill. No revealing the internal freak-out happening in my stomach right now. “Pass the time? I play a mean game of Uno.”

“No way. You can’t possibly play a meaner game than I do.”

I pulled out my phone and searched Amazon for the game. “How many days will we be here? This says it can ship Uno to the hotel tomorrow.”

“No need,” Rhett said. “I already have it.”

I lowered my phone, meeting his eyes. “With you?”

He ducked his head a little. “I travel with a deck of cards and Uno. It’s not weird.”

“No, not for a guy who spends so much time on the road,” I agreed. That he had the one game I enjoyed, though—that was a little crazy. I threaded my fingers together and pushed them forward in front of me like I was stretching for a floor routine.

“Are you prepared to be challenged?” he asked.

“I was born for this moment.”

Rhett chuckled, making his way toward his bedroom. He came back with the game and slid the cards free of the box. I knelt on the floor in front of the coffee table when he retook his seat, shaking out my hands.

When I put my attention back on him, Rhett was staring down at me. “You’re taking this very seriously.”