Page 46 of A Little Bit Extra

I meet his gaze and raise my eyebrows, waiting for him to keep speaking.

“What’d you think of the article?”

My jaw drops and my hand pauses bringing the pizza up to my mouth.

“Tyler.” Emmett glares and gives Tyler a silent warning.

Tyler doesn’t even bother looking over at Emmett. He decides to stir the pot.

“I thought it was funny, to be honest.” Tyler leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Emmett hasn’t had his face in the tabloids for a few months.”

“Oh, um.” I look around the room to find everyone staring at me, waiting to see how I will respond. “There’s a first time for everything, I suppose. I’m just glad it didn’t show my face.” I take a bite of my pizza again, swallowing the nerves alongside the greasiness of the pepperoni.

“You’re a dick, Tyler,” Emmett chimes in.

Tyler’s head turns toward Emmett, jaw slacked. “I just wanted to talk about the elephant in the room, so you’re welcome. You’ve been so worried about what she thought about it, I thought I’d ask.”

Emmett glances toward me, cheeks flushed, and returns his gaze to Tyler. “What a way to go about it,” Emmett says, adding a humorless laugh.

“It’s fine, promise,” I say, trying to make the situation better. I genuinely don’t mind the article, since I was anonymous. “Besides, it’s false anyway.”

“Hm?” Emmett looks at me. Obviously, he knows the article is promoting false news. I don’t get why he wants me to spell it out.

I glance at Marcy, who’s still standing to my right and patiently waiting for my reply like everyone else.

“The article stated we’re together, which is false. We’re just…” I trail off. I realize I don’t want to assume we are friends, even though I don’t know how else someone would categorize our relationship.

“Friends?” Emmett smirks.

I nod quickly, my cheeks growing hotter by the minute. Damn cheeks, showing my emotions like a star on a clear night.

I need a moment alone, so I excuse myself to use the bathroom. A tug at my wrist has me pausing in the middle of the hallway. I already know who it is before turning around.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Emmett averts his gaze, looking behind him to make sure no one followed. “I told him not to bring it up, but he never listens.”

“I’m fine.”

“Fine? I don’t believe you,” Emmett challenges, staring into my eyes.

“I’m fine.”

“And are we honestly just friends, Cassie?”

“No.” I enjoy watching his eyes widen in surprise. “You’re also a pain in my ass.”

“You’re warming up to me. I can feel it. Don’t you?” Emmett leans his shoulder against the wall, his head following suit. His eyes never leave mine. “There’s something between us, Cass. You can’t ignore it forever.” A small smile appears.

Before I can respond, Emmett winks and spins around to walk back into the kitchen. He leaves me standing in the middle of the hallway, baffled by what just happened. What did just happen? Do I like Emmett?

Of course I do. It started as a little baby crush, likely stemming from the flirting and small touches, and it might have turned into a medium crush last night at the party. He doesn’t need to know that. I need him to keep believing that I want nothing to change between us, not just because it’s forbidden by rules and blah, blah, blah, but because I don’t have time.

I don’t have the time to fixate on a romantic relationship while I’m still struggling to land a damn gig.

Running my hand through my hair, I realize I should use the bathroom like I said I would and return to the kitchen before someone wonders where I am and why it’s taking me 10 minutes.

When I get back to the kitchen, I notice Lucy by the front door. She’s still talking to Tyler, but at least she’s putting on her shoes. I glance to my left to view the time on the microwave and it’s time to go. If we don’t leave now, we risk being late to the diner, and I don’t think it would thrill Dave.

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