Page 82 of Exposed

“No, usually at the gym. But I can do that. For you.” I used to avoid Central Park because it reminded me of her. And sometimes when I remembered it was hard to breathe. Which wasn’t great in the middle of a workout.

She looked back up at the ceiling. “I think I’d like that.”

I smiled. This was good. We were making progress. “Tell me more.”

“I have a question for you first.”

I didn’t respond, I just kept painting.

“Penny and Daphne mentioned a date setting your dick on fire?”

I laughed. “Yeah. Not my finest moment.”

“Did you like…upset her or something?”

“No. At least…I don’t think so.” I put another blob of paint on my palette. “She was a little all over the place. In a cute way. Or maybe just a crazy way. I never talked about you with anyone I was close to. But for some reason with her, it just came out. And when I said you’d died, I think she was trying to reach for my hand on the table. She hit a candle into the bread oil. And then proceeded to try to put it out with the tablecloth. But when she yanked it, she hurled the flaming oil right onto the front of my pants.”

Brooklyn’s body shook with laughter. “I think that’s the best reaction ever to hearing about someone’s death.”

“Oh and then she just ran out of the restaurant. Leaving me with singed pants. The next time I saw her, she jumped into a lake to avoid me.”

“What?” Brooklyn was laughing so hard now.

I stared at the way her breasts bounced.

“I kind of want to meet this girl.”

“You’d like her. Get this, she was married to Cupcake.”

Brooklyn turned to me. “No.”

I nodded.

“Ugh. That poor girl. Oh my God, I have the best idea. We should set her up with Nigel!”

“Nigel? I don’t think he’s into girls.”

“What? Of course he is.”

My paintbrush hovered in the air. “I don’t think so.”

“He tried to see me naked like ten times the other night when he surprised us with that bath,” Brooklyn said. “And he was very flirtatious while we were baking. He’s quite charming. And suave. But yes, he’s a little awkward. I think the two of them could be perfect.”

I laughed. Flirtatious, charming, and suave? Were we talking about the same Nigel? Because that sounded nothing like Nigel to me. I’d describe him as perverted, over-attentive, and really into meat. But then I thought about when he’d been able to infiltrate that restaurant as Francois. He said the hostess let him because he had a way with the ladies. Did he actually? I kind of always thought he was into me…

I shook my head. “If you say so.”

“Or if not Nigel, maybe she’d be a good fit for Tanner. Tanner’s not awkward at all, but he’s always saying strange things. And he’s funny. They’d probably laugh a lot together.”

“Tanner usually dates super tall models.”

“Oh. Interesting. He doesn’t seem that superficial to me.”

“He’s not. But his type definitely isn’t someone who’s going to set his dick on fire.”

Brooklyn laughed. “Fair enough. He does seem kind of lonely, though, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah. His girlfriend died when he was young too. One of the reasons we started hanging out so much. He just understood better than anyone else could.”

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