Page 128 of Pretty Little Thing

“And…” I wet my dry lips. “I’m leaning toward a yes.”

“Leaning?” she asks.

“Leaning,”I repeat.

“Anything I can say to tip you over?”

I laugh but it fades quickly. “Why are we really here, Nor?” I ask.

She adjusts her hands in her lap. “Because I wanted to spend time with you,” she answers. “We can’t do that publicly outside of the club and coffee shops just yet, so...”

“So, you figured… New York City?”

She shrugs, chuckling lightly. “Why not?”

“Feels…” My voice falls.

“Feels like what?”

“Like I’m a dirty, little secret.”

She smiles. “You are. Is that so bad?”

“You sure there’s nothing else? No other reason why you would splurge like this?”

Her brow furrows. “What else is there?”

I study her bright face. For the slightest second, her eyes twitch with nerves. “You know, don’t you?” I ask.

“Know what?”

“Come on, Nora.” I shift in my chair. “The hints about hooking up at my place? Sneaking extra money into my account? Offering me a permanent job that you know I’m in no way qualified for?”

She looks down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just thought it’d be fun to—”

“I’m homeless,” I say. “I’m a poor, homeless soldier that you feel sorry for.”

Her mouth sags open. “No, Clive. That’s not—”

“How did you know?” I ask.

She hesitates, pressing her red lips together before speaking. “A friend told me,” she answers.

“What friend?”

“Melanie Rose.”

I nod. “Of course.”

“I dropped your name at brunch and she said she knew you from an interview you gave her…”

“Christ…” I sigh.

“She still had her notes on all the things you told her, including how you were living out of your car at the time and I saw that your car still had signs of living in it and I just—”

“When did you see my car?” I interrupt.

She winces. “Ah, jeez.”

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