Page 36 of Strictly the Worst

She lets out a long breath. “Okay, but I can’t guarantee I’m going to dance.”

I grin at her, because it feels like I’ve won a prize. “I’ll take it.” And she is going to dance with me.

Even if it takes all my charm to persuade her.

CHAPTER

NINE

TESSA

“I need to call my daughter,” I tell Linc when we arrive back at the cottage. “Then I think I’ll get some food delivered. I want to work on the pitch some more.” I still haven’t rewritten the script yet. My chest feels tight at the thought of all the work I still have to do.

It looks easy, taking videos and loading them to social media. But there’s a reason why influencers get paid so much. There’s an art to it.

But if I’m being truthful with myself, it’s not work that’s making me feel edgy.

It’s him.

Ever since I put lotion on him earlier, all I can think about is how his body felt. Hard. Warm. And completely enticing. I hate that I’m attracted to him, but I am.

Stupidly attracted.

“You sure you don’t want to go out to eat?” he asks, his brows dipping.

“I’m tired,” I tell him honestly. “It’s been a long day. And I’m getting worried about seeing James Gold. I want this presentation to go perfectly.”

“It will,” he tells me. “Because we’ve got it under control.”

“Under control doesn’t mean leaving it until the last minute,” I remind him. Even the thought of doing that sends a shiver down my spine.

“I know. But dinner will take an hour, tops.”

“You go,” I tell him. “I know you hate being cooped up.”

He blinks, as though I’ve found a truth about him that he doesn’t want me to know. But it’s obvious he doesn’t like being in one place for too long. If he’s in the cottage for more than an hour he starts to pace the floor.

At first I wondered if he suffered from claustrophobia, but then I realized it wasn’t the enclosed space, per se. It’s not moving. He likes to move. Never be in one place for too long.

He’s like the littlest Hobo. No wonder he loves his job so much. All that traveling would make me shiver, but it makes him thrive.

“I’ll go for a walk,” he says. “Pick us up some food. We can eat and work tonight.”

“Seriously?” I ask him. “Because I don’t mind if you go out.”

“Yeah you do.” There’s a hint of a smile on his face.

“No I don’t.”

“I’ll be back in an hour,” he tells me. “You want anything in particular?”

“I wouldn’t mind those fish tacos again.”

“On it.”

As soon as he leaves I head for the bathroom, taking my shorts and t-shirt off, then my bikini before I step under the perfectly pressurized shower. The water feels like a massage on my shoulders, washing away all the stress and anxiety that I can never quite shake off.

I’ve been tense since Maya asked Linc about the dance party. And yes, mostly because I can’t dance and he’s going to find that out. But also, because I don’t like her at all.

---