Page 49 of VOGUEish

“Incognito aside, I don’t hate that idea. What else.”

“In between tonight and my reunion, we continue to have sex—no dating; just booty calls.” That was at the height of fun choice making.

His nostrils flared. “I’m not using—“

She held up a hand to stop his response. “If you say yes, you won’t be using me; you will be doing me a favor.”

“How’s that?”

“Because it would mean I wouldn’t have the stress of trying to find a husband at the same time I have the stress of starting a new digital magazine at NR —and at the same time I have the stress of my pending comeback moment.”

“What happens after your reunion?” he asked.

“You and I will part ways as lovers, Nonna will fix me up, and the husband hunt will commence.”

A pulse twitched in his jaw. “And you’re not at all concerned our spending time together might lead to a…one-sided emotional attachment?”

There was something in his tone she couldn’t decipher. “Are you asking me if I’m at risk of falling in love with you?”

“Are you?”

“No.”

“Why?” he asked bluntly.

What was she missing? Had she bruised his ego? “It’s nothing against you as a person,” she said placing a hand on his shoulder. “I mean, honestly, in the beginning it was because I thought you were all grumpy grump grump. But last night showed me that you have another side. A side I quite liked.”

“If not my disposition, then what?” He took a sip of his beer.

“If I tell you, you have to promise not to laugh.”

“Do I look like I’m in the mood to laugh?”

“I don’t want my experience at Naked Runway to mirror my life in high school. I want to be accepted. I want to be a part of the in crowd, not the out crowd.”

He swore under his breath. “And I want that for you. God knows you deserve to be surrounded by people who celebrate your quirks not make you miserable.”

She nodded her appreciation at his understanding. “As things are, I’ll already have to work extra hard to get my coworkers over the idea you fired Amanda because of me.” She spoke the words loud more to reinforce in her own brain the why behind her line in the sane. “And don’t even get me started on the damage Ms. Birdie did when she announced to them that she hoped you and I would end up dating someday.”

He winced. “She told them that?”

Isabella nodded. “I figure, if we’re not seen together, that rumor will eventually die.”

“And you want it to die more than you want your freedom to be seen with whomever you desire? To fall in love with whomever you like?”

She tilted her head and studied him. “Do you want me to fall in love with you? Is that what this is about? Are you afraid you’re going to fall in love with me, and it will be one-sided, and you’ll get hurt?”

He blanched. “God, no. I’m really good at casual relationships. But thus far, I’ve shown no signs of being good at commitment. The last thing I want to do is hurt someone who is…was…broken.”

She winced. “You see me as broken?”

“Once upon a time you were. I don’t want to be the person who breaks you again.”

Even after an incredible night of sex, he still saw her as the girl he’d saved at her high school prom. “News flash. Women are capable of having sex without getting all heart-eyes over a guy. You can trust me when I tell you that when I finally do turn my attention to falling in love, it won’t be with you.”

“Because of work?”

“You say that like you think I’m making it up. I’m not. I’ve lived through the experience of not being accepted by my peers. I’m not ever going back to that reality, and that’s what will happen if I can’t convince my coworkers I’m not dating the hatchet man—the boss’s right-hand man.”

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