Page 74 of While You Were Trending

“You coming?”

“To dinner? Yes.”

“To harvest.”

“Oh. For a little bit.”

“Ah. Right. You probably have work tomorrow.”

“Sure. Let’s go with that.”

He tilts his head. “You don’t have to work tomorrow?”

I can lie to him. Tell him everything’s fine.

Or I can tell him the truth.

That half my clients have fired me for not wanting to be associated with the trainwreck kind of virality that I’m so good at.

I’m at a fork that I’ve been contemplating since I left the field last night.

Be his friend while he’s here or keep him at arm’s length.

“You’re not having trouble because of what’s trending again, are you?” he asks.

I sigh. “What could you do about it if I was?”

He shrugs. “I was thinking of contacting a modern witch to try that out forFoxy Goes There. Maybe I could put a spell on them.”

My lips part as I stare at him.

He gives me a lopsided grin, showing off all of his pretty new teeth that would get wrecked again if he actually did go back to playing hockey. “I’m not always good at stuff I try though, so I’d probably misfire the spell and lose all of my hair instead.”

I crack up, and I know.

I know I’m going to give in and be friendly while he’s here. Pretend that we can make a fresh start, knowing that once filming is over, I’ll never see or hear from him again.

That his impending departure is what will give me full relief, and in the meantime, I’ll live better with myself if I’m not outright rude to him the way he was to me.

“Oh, the horror,” I say lightly.

“You know that baseball guy with the good hair? The one who does the Kangapoo commercials?”

“Luca Rossi? Yes. My mother introduced us once at an event she guilted me into going to.”

“I’m trying to get him to vouch for me so I can try out being a shampoo model myself. Shame to have all this good hair go to waste.”

Declan’s obsession with his hair was legendary, and he was regularly on top ten lists of best hockey hair.

It’s why he named his dogFlow.

And stars help me, but I like being able to joke around with him.

It’s what I always wanted when I was dating Alex.

But now it comes with a side ofwhy does my belly flutter when he smiles at me?

“So. Tomorrow, you’re finding new clients?” he asks.