Page 16 of The Publicity Stunt

"I'll take the porterhouse, medium rare, with a baked potato, just butter and cheese, and a side of the mac and cheese."

"And for you, miss?"

It takes everything in her not to roll her eyes. Carl tries his damnedest to pretend like they’re just an average couple coming in for dinner far later than the normal rush. "I'll take the southwest salad with grilled chicken. Can I get that without onions, please?"

"Of course," he says and hurries away. He looks almost giddy.

"He's gonna run to the tabloids after we leave, isn't he?" Kace asks.

She nods. "Yep."

People looking to gain something from just being near her became an almost sixth sense years ago. Carl sends her alert radar off like a loud siren, but there's nothing she can do about it.

Taking a drink of his water, Kace looks at her. "You have more than one friend."

"No, I don't. Tessa's the only one. Even in the entertainment world, I've never found someone who befriended me without wanting something. No matter how genuine they may seem, it always turns into what I can do for them, which I respect someone more if they don't fake trying to be my friend and just ask what for what they want. Just ask me to do a collaboration or endorsement."

"I suppose they figure it's harder to say no if you believe you're friends."

Bri laughs and sips her wine. "That just shows how little they do research. If I've cut my entire family off, do you really think I can't find a way to say no to someone who just became my friend? Especially the investing opportunities they have. No, wait, my favorite is asking to use my private plane. Everything is always some sort of a pitch with people."

"Okay, we need to circle back to the family thing, but do you feel that's what's happening with us? A pitch of sorts?"

Smiling, she shakes her head. "It wasn't your idea. Besides, I think I'm the one gaining more than you will be."

"Speaking of which, we should probably set some boundaries and figure out a game plan."

Her stomach flutters. This may be the moment he decides it's not worth it and backs out. "I might need to lean on you for that. I'm not really good at this type of thing."

"Fake dating?" he whispers. "I don't know what you think of me, but I've never done this before, either."

"Dating in general," she says, her heart pounding in her ribcage and blood rushing to her face.

Bri never admits personal things, and she definitely doesn't admit to such things after meeting someone twice. Once he knows how inexperienced she is with men, he might decide she's too much of a freak, and it's all too much work. He's not an actor, so pretending to be sexually attracted to someone who's had sex with one person in her entire life may be more effort than he cares to put into this scenario.

"You're lying."

"I'm not. Easton was my only real boyfriend, if you want to call him that."

He gapes, blinking a few moments before his eyes rake over her, and asks, "How?"

It's a fair question. "I've been in the studio or touring since I was fifteen. I just released my fifth album, and this is my seventh tour and fourth where I'm headlining. There's not much free time outside of music. If I'm not performing, I'm recording. If I'm not recording, I'm writing. I basically live and breathe music."

"You're more dedicated to your job than I am. That's impressive."

She smiles. At least he didn't immediately call her a freak. The way he looks at her tells her he's wondering but doesn't want to be crass. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"To answer the question I can see brewing behind those green eyes of yours, yes. Easton was my first and only."

Kace shifts uncomfortably. "I wasn't wondering that."

"Liar."

"Okay, yeah, I was," he admits. "It's just... that's so crazy to me. But it answers the other question I had."

Tilting her head, she narrows her eyes. "What's that?"

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