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Lex almost never called me, so if she was, it must be something important. Especially if she had been calling enough, it had gotten on Hugo’s nerves.
I cast another anxious glance at the customers, ensuring they didn’t look like they need any help before I pressedaccept.
Bringing the phone to my ear, I dashed back toward the back room, speaking in a hushed tone.
“Lex,” I said immediately. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
“What’s going on with me?” Her voice was high and incredulous. “What the hell is going on withyou?And why are you in the society pages with our new, hot landlord?”
“What?!” The word came out louder than I intended, and I cursed myself internally.
“What are you talking about?” I tried again, lowering my voice this time.
“You are in the tabloids, baby girl.” Lex’s voice was more amused now than panicked, and realization rocked through me.
“The gala,” I groaned, envisioning the photographers that had been there.
“That’s where it said you were at. But what I want to know is why?”
“Lex,” I began, my mind working frantically as I tried to work out what I could tell her.
But the truth was, I didn’t want to lie to her.
I had enough lies going on right now, and the last person I wanted to continue that trend with was her.
“Listen, it isn’t what it looks like. But I’m at work right now and can’t really explain. Come over tonight and I’ll tell you everything.”
“Promise?” She asked, and I could hear the amusement in her voice.
“Swear.”
“Fine. Text me when you’re home.”
I promised her that I would, and then we hung up the phone. I put it on silent before striding back toward the counter and placing it in my bag.
The customers from earlier were still browsing, so I walked over to the computer behind the counter.
Bringing up a Web Browser, I went to the search bar and began typing BLAKE WHITLOCK GALA SATURDAY.
The moment I pressed enter, the search engine began spitting out result after result, but they were all the same.
“Blake Whitlock attendsgala with surprise fianceé.”
“Blake Whitlock engaged?Who is the mystery woman?”
The same imagewas used for each one.
I stared at the camera, beaming at it like I didn’t have a care in the world. Blake, however, had his hand resting on the small of my back, but he wasn’t looking at the camera.
No.
His gaze was fixed on my face, and he looked, for all intents and purposes, like a man in love.
My stomach bottomed out at the sight of it. I clicked on one of the articles and brought it up. There were a few other pictures of us throughout the night, one of us dancing or laughing. One even had zoomed in on the engagement ring and underneath had attempted to guess at its value.
I glanced at the sum and instantly felt sick.
Closing down the browser as quickly as I could, my heart began to race. I had known this was a possibility.
