Page 127 of Enticing Her Love

“Enjoy your lunch.”

Aubrey walked away, and as they stepped up to the counter, Sutton whispered, “Did everything she said sound dirty?” Like she knows what we’re up to?

“No. You just have a one-track mind.” He put his hand on her lower back and leaned down like he was going to kiss her.

They both froze.

He gritted out a curse and cleared his throat, pretending to brush something off her back. “I think I got it.”

“Thanks,” she managed, her heart thundering against her ribs. She wanted to look over her shoulder to see if Karen and Aubrey were watching them, but she was afraid to.

They got their lunches and sat at a table by the windows, but Sutton was too nervous to eat. She pushed her salad around in the bowl, trying to figure out how to talk to Flynn about the interview, which now seemed like a really good idea. She glanced across the café at Aubrey and Karen chatting animatedly at a table. If they’d noticed anything, they hadn’t let on.

“Are you okay, Sut?”

“No,” she said softly. “I hate this. My nerves are shot.”

His jaw ticked.

“I want to go back to Silver Island, where we don’t have to pretend.”

“Me too. Sorry about what I did by the register. I thought we could just enjoy lunch together. I didn’t think I’d forget like that.”

“It’s not your fault.” She took a deep breath. “Flynn, I need to tell you something.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“It’s not. Or maybe it is. I don’t know. The day we went to the rainforest, I submitted my résumé to GNN.” His brows slanted, but she continued before she could chicken out. “They got back to me Friday, and I was so upset after seeing that list on your desk, I accepted an interview. Their management team will be in the city Thursday. I was thinking about canceling, but after what just happened, I think it might be best if I go through with it. I don’t want you to risk your career because of me.”

His expression turned serious. “Take me out of the equation. Are you interested in the job?”

Take him out of the equation? He was part and parcel to it. He was the reason she’d applied.

He must have seen her struggling, because he said, “Sutton, this is your career. You’ve worked your whole life toward one goal. Let’s focus on what’s important. Are you interested in the job?”

“I don’t know. Yes, I guess. It’s an anchor position, but the description said it would include reporting on location and offers growth.”

“Just like your idols. You should definitely explore it.” He sat back and took a drink, looking comfortable, while her insides were twisting into knots. “GNN is in LA, but we could do long distance. Unless you’re trying to tell me something.”

“I’m not. I hate all this sneaking around, and I couldn’t live with myself if someone found out about us and you lost your job.”

His jaw muscles worked double time. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve lived my dreams. It’s time for you to live yours. Take the interview, and knock their socks off.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

SUTTON TOOK THURSDAY off for her four o’clock interview with GNN, and what had started as let’s meet for lunch with Leni and Victory, had turned into lunch and a two-hour shopping trip. The music streaming through the speakers in the upscale boutique did little to block out the din of confusion in Sutton’s mind about the interview. She plucked a dress off a rack and draped it over her arm with the other outfit she’d chosen and headed for the dressing room.

“Oh, good. You’re back,” Leni said over her shoulder. She was standing in front of the three-way mirror, her auburn hair spilling down the back of a sleek forest-green dress. “What do you think of this?”

“It’s gorgeous, and it looks classy on you, but isn’t that the first dress you tried on?”

“Yes,” Victory said from behind a dressing-room curtain. “She keeps going back to it, as if she can’t afford a hundred of them.”

Leni checked herself out in the mirror. “I just want to be sure. Not all of us have closets big enough for seven people’s clothes.”

“Again, it’s not like you and Raz can’t afford it.” Victory came out from behind the curtain, looking elegant with her hair twisted up in a bun, wearing cream wide-legged slacks and a snug black sleeveless shirt with a one-shoulder cutout.

“Wow, Vic. You look incredible,” Sutton said.