Page 54 of Hot Stuff
“You know I like seeing other people enjoying my brother’s food. But yes, I’ll have one.”
Rafe is true to his word. He has one. Then he sits back and watches the rest of us devour every last morsel while sipping his scotch.
“So how long have you two known each other?” he asks, eyes on me.
Before I can take a sip of water to clear my throat, Oakley takes the lead.
“Eight months?” she arches an eyebrow my way. “No, wait, twelve. It was before you signed on to be the face of our new elite collection.”
“Yeah, you wanted to see me in person before you made the final offer.” I smirk.
It’s all bullshit. We didn’t even speak on the phone, but we’ve laid out how it could have gone and that’s the story we’re selling to everyone, including the two people across from us.
Oakley leans her elbow on the table and looks at me with soft eyes. “We hit it off but Walker was in the middle of the season, and I was launching last year’s summer lines so we kept missing each other a lot of the time.”
“Yeah, it was a lot of ships passing in the night for the first few months. Then when I was injured…”
“We—”
“You!”
“Yes, me.” Oakley smiles. “I decided he should concentrate on recovery. We still stayed in contact.”
“She’s been instrumental in keeping me sane while I made a decision about my future.” I slide my hand over her thigh. “I’d probably still be denying the situation if it weren’t for her.”
Those last words are true. If it wasn’t for her lifeline, for the job and future she’s offering me, I’d be wallowing in the dark in my apartment.
“Nonsense.” She sits straight and puts her hand over mine. “You don’t need me to make the tough decisions.”
“No. I don’t. But I’m grateful to have you there to support me.”
We’re laying it on a bit thick, but we talked about it before leaving home. We need everyone—including ourselves—to believe our relationship, the closeness of it, has been months in the making.
It’s the only way others will accept the depth of our connection. Because the more time I spend with Oakley, the deeper I fall and she’s right behind me. I can’t believe it’s not obvious to everyone around us that we’re falling in love.
Fuck.
I think I’m already there.
“Well, I wish you both the very best in the future.” Laken holds up her gin and tonic. “To relationships, may they be strong, devoted, and everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”
Raising my water, I can’t help notice the clench in Rafe’s jaw. And the words he mutters next explains his tension. “And may the toxic ones be removed from our lives sooner than later.”
“Oh, I’ll toast to that.” Oakley side-eyes me. “Some of us need a little house cleaning in that department.”
“Hey, you know I’ve done my best there.”
She pats my hand where it rests on her leg. “I do. But sometimes we need to use a little more force to scrub the scum away.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. The second my brain registers her words, images of Oakley dressed in a hazmat suit with industrial cleaning supplies surrounding her came to mind.
“Why are you laughing?” She eyes me quizzically.
“I can see you decked out for a biohazard event in my head.”
“Well, I have to admit, she is a biohazard.”
“Are you referring to Kristina?” Laken leans forward. “Because if so, I’m got some intel that you should have before it gets out.”
