Page 76 of Love to Hate You

Ever since the restaurant, Wes had begun to distance himself. It was as if he’d shown too much of himself and now he was retreating back into his cold world of one. He hadn’t chosen the floor over her company, but he might as well have. He’d been in bed with his back to her when she’d come in the room.

He was so quiet, if it weren’t for the suffocating sexual awareness, she’d have forgotten he was even on the bottom bunk.

She was torn between giving him his space and opening a much-needed conversation about what had transpired that day. Including him asking her to have a clandestine affair. One with an expiration date.

The old Summer would have shakenher little chicken ass out of there. But this new Summer, the one who was tired of putting herself last and was learning to meet things head-on, was telling her to go for it. To throw a stick of dynamite into the water and see what floated to the surface.

From past experience with Wes and water, it was desire and bone-deep honesty that rose to the top. And she wanted that again.

Suddenly, her attention was drawn to a particular email. It was about halfway down the screen with the subject lineSLOAN CHASE BOOK SIGNING. It was from Sloan Chase’s publicist!

She took in an audible breath, and with shaky hands clicked on the email. With every word the excitement and the reality of it all grew bigger and bigger. She got to the end and had to read every word just to be sure she had read it right the first time through.

“Ohmigod,” she whispered, ecstatic. Then she slapped a hand over her lips. “Oh my freaking God!”

She heard a rustling below followed by a bang that shook her bed, and a “Fuck, that hurt!”

“I’m sorry.” She leaned over the bed so that she was looking at him upside down. Like Spider-Man hanging from the ceiling. “Did I wake you? I really didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I lost at least three of my nine lives,” he said, his voice sexy with sleep. “Are you okay?”

“Better than okay. I’m awesome!”

“Care to fill me in, since I won’t be able to sleep for the rest of the night with this bump on my head?”

She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to share the good news with someone—that someone specifically being Wes. But Cleo’s video call played back in her mind on super speed, about the plan to be a disruptor. Their big strategy of landing Sloan Chase for a signing on the same day as Wes’s new grand opening.

Telling him felt like she was betraying Cleo, but being silent was the same as being a coward. A lying coward.

“If I tell you, you are sworn to secrecy. I don’t want my family to know until it’s a for-sure thing.”

He held himself up on his elbow, and with his other hand reached out and tugged her ponytail playfully. “I’m honored to be your confidant.”

“You also have to promise not to get mad. It was Cleo’s idea, not mine. I swear.”

He lay on his back and stared up at her, a sexy smile on his face. “Did you put sand in the gas tanks of my work trucks?”

“No, but that would have been a good one,” she said. “Do you know who Sloan Chase is?”

He snorted. “Love, I might not read romance, but I run a book empire. We’ve crossed paths a time or two at conferences.”

This time she snorted. “Of course you have.”

“Plus, I don’t think there’s a person in the world who hasn’t heard her name or read one of her books.”

“You read her book,” she accused.

“Strictly for research reasons.”

“You read it for the sex scenes, admit it.”

He reached up and took her hand that was hanging over the side and laced his fingers through hers. “I may have read those parts more than once. How about you?”

“I went through a whole box of AA batteries.”

“On what, love?” he said in a sexy voice that made her panties go damp.

“You know.”

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