Page 37 of One Bossy Date
“Probably.” I nodded. “But it’s still in the early stages, you know.” I shrugged, trying to play it down while feeling the pressure of this famous “boyfriend” of mine. Maybe I should have chosen someone more normal for this purpose—someone less conspicuous. Oh, right—Jim. This was his idea: “He needs to be rich and handsome!” Sweet Jesus. I couldn’t even blame him!Ihad been the one to go ahead with the idea theverymoment the opportunity had presented itself at Anders’s penthouse.
“Well, either way,” Jenny waved her hand through the air, “I believe all that matters is how he is in bed. That’s where the passion comes in.” She looked at me expectantly, excitement in her tone.
Damn. I needed to talk about my sex life now as urgently as I needed more water damage in my shop. How was I going to pretend to know how Anders was in bed? Surely he was good,obviously,but I had no details—and I couldn’t makethatup. I was obviously good at lying, but I wasn’tthatgood, and nor did I want to be.
I did the only thing I could in that situation.
I gave her my best “Oh, hon, you havenoidea” look.
She gave me an “Oh, really?Thatgood?” look back.
I followed with a “No,evenbetter” look to bring my point home and allowed myself a millisecond of the memory of Anders walking into my life with the towel wrapped around his waist. There was nothing in my gaze that I had to fake. The memory was definitely worth a deep, longing sigh.
Jenny looked impressed. Hell,Iprobably looked impressed.
We started laughing at the same time, and Sam and Anders’s conversation turned to us, with Sam nudging Jenny’s arm and saying with excitement, “Anders has a penthouse at the top of The Heights. Remember, I sold a few apartments there?”
“Oh, yeah! That’s a beautiful building, hey Zoe?”
“It is,” I gushed. “When I was feeding his dogs—”Fuck!
The moment I realized that I’d just broken character, my eyes flew to Anders’s.
I’d just given away the real reason I knew Anders Windham.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The jerk was grinning already. His grin grew wider over the split second of silence as I was thinking all this through. He knew—and I knew—exactlywhat that meant.
I owed him a kiss. And not just a peck. A full make-out session.
I wouldn’t survive this.
Still, I had to somehow save the moment, so I added, “As a favor, I mean—while I was visiting Anders. I was absolutely blown away by the gorgeous view.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed, baby,” Anders said, playing with fire right now. I knew he was referring not to the view of Central Park but the view I’d gotten of him. Only in his towel. Almost naked. The droplet…The “V,” his… I looked at him with a menacing smile, hoping he couldn’t feel my pussy pulsating.
“Say, Zoe, where are you staying now?” Sam wrenched my attention away from Anders’s dazzling lips. “I remember you were searching for apartments not too long ago.”
Oh, crap. Can’t a girl catch a break?
No one except Jim knew I was living in the store. Swallowing hard, I searched for answers. “Ah…” Time passed, and I was running out of thinking capacity as my ears started ringing like a kettle from the panic attack rising in my chest.
My eyes caught on Anders’s. He narrowed his gaze at me, questioning me, then quickly and most casually, he answered for me.
“Well, don’t be shy about it, babe.” He swiveled his gaze to Sam and Jenny. “Zoe’s thinking about moving in with me.”
Oh God. He saved me. Once again. Why did he do that?Each time it got harder not to believe my own lie. One or two more rescues like this and my heart would be on fire. Not to mention the rest of my body.
“That’s true,” I beamed.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Jenny said loudly, pulling me in for a hug. “Great news!”
My eyes widened at Anders, who gave me the slightest of nods. He’d helped me. That was all that mattered, right? I mean at this point, we had nothing to lose. At least, I didn’t have to reveal my living situation. Tonight was all that mattered. After this, I could hide in the hole I called my life and not come out until the next big event, like Gran’s eighty-eighth birthday.
“Great news?” Brody appeared next to Sam. “What happened?”
“Zoe might be moving in with Anders,” Sam answered happily.