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Reese ordered the scallops risotto and Grady opted for the steak. They each ordered a glass of wine, and Reese tried not to glance around. Her focus had to be on Grady. She was supposed to be in love, after all.
“It’s nice to be out. This is the first time in a very long time.”
“Sorry about the circumstances.”
“No worries. I’m enjoying the company.”
“Should we pretend to laugh? Or is that too much?” Grady asked.
“Might be too much. Let’s just be ourselves.”
“Good idea.”
Reese grabbed a roll and slathered it with butter. Grady did the same and they munched on their bread before making eye contract. And then they both erupted into spontaneous laughter.
“Okay, we need to up our game,” Reese said. “We aren’t acting naturally, so I’ll start. How was your workout today?”
“Good. It was leg day. The guys want to know if you’re coming tomorrow. Preston said he’s been working on his flexibility but needs some new exercises. The guy bores easily.”
“I’d love to. And you can tell Preston I’ve got a ton of exercises I could show him. The usual time?”
“I think so. I asked them about doing another video, and they like the idea. And I was thinking, there’s a team mixer coming up. They do that before the season. Do you want to be my date?”
“I probably should be. Iamyour girlfriend.”
That twinkle in his eyes was back. “Right. You are. And my mom has invited you back up to the cottage. I didn’t give her an answer because now that she thinks we are dating, she’ll expect us to share a room, and I don’t want to make it weird for you.”
Reese dabbed her lips with her napkin. It was more a stalling tactic than anything else. “The time up at your cottage was amazing. So if you want to go there, I’m all for it. And I don’t mind sharing a room with you. I did it plenty of times with Cam when funds were tight and we didn’t have extra money to spend on separate rooms on the road. It’s really no big deal.”
“Then let’s keep that option open.”
Their server came around with their meals and they enjoyed them slowly. Reese had him try her risotto and she tried his steak. When they were done, their server asked if they wanted dessert.
“I saw the death by chocolate cake on the menu. Want to share?” Grady asked.
Reese beamed. “I would love that.”
The server returned with their dessert, two forks, and two coffees. Reese savored every delicious bite. Despite being on full display, she had enjoyed her night, right down to the perfect dessert.
She tried to pay the bill, but Grady insisted on covering it. As they left the restaurant, he took her hand in his. It felt like the most natural action. Once again, she thought she heard the snap of cameras, but she couldn’t be sure. She also didn’t care. It may not have been a real date, but it had been the best date of her life.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Reese woke up the next morning and checked her phone. She had a few messages from Daria with links attached to theLowdownand various gossip blogs. They all had pictures of her and Grady from the night before. The captions didn’t say much other than to speculate that Reese and Grady were dating. Reese waited until she’d showered and made her morning coffee to call Daria.
“It went perfectly,” Daria said. “We couldn’t have planned it any better.”
“What is our next step?”
“We’re going to keep everything low-key. If anyone asks if you’re dating, you’re going to deny it. We want to keep people guessing and focusing on anything but Jennifer.”
“That’s all fine, but any ideas on when I can go back to work? I’d really like to be focusing on Crush right now.”
“I know you’re itching to get back. Let me talk to John. He’ll probably want to run it past PR.”
Reese was tired of hearing about PR, and she was wondering what all these outside parties were costing her. She’d thought to ask, but she knew she needed them, whatever the cost was.
“Fine. Let me know.”
