Page 62 of Take It Offline

Heissecretly a superhero who saves dogs in his spare time. The shiver that runs through me is impossible to stop.

Instantly, Charlie sheds his jacket and puts it around my shoulders. “Have you considered that you might be demisexual?”

“I have, and perhaps it’s a version of that, but I experience it differently. I can be extremely sexually attracted to someone I’ve just met, but being physically attracted isn’t enough to get me there. Even if they are doing everything right. I get all the way to the gates, but…”

“Entry denied.”

My heart sinks. “Exactly.”

“Interesting.” He hums, surveying me like he’s searching for something.

Thank god he finds this fascinating instead of the alternative. He’s like no one else I’ve ever met. “You’re one of a kind, Charlie.”

With a tip of his chin, he grins. “Right back at you, sweetheart.”

I’ve already thanked him, but I truly don’t think he realizes how much it means to me that he’s willing to help. I’ve been wrestling with this problem for so long, I didn’t know what a relief it would be to have someone stand beside me against it. A person I could confide in.

Suddenly, it’s not an immutable fact, but a puzzle. A riddle with an answer.

And Charlie is here, at the ready, to help me find it.

Pulling his jacket around my shoulders, I hold in a breath, hoping he’s okay with one more favor.

“Charlie?” Nerves skitter through me, all the way to the tips of my toes. “Do you own a tuxedo?”

His brows lift, and a wicked smile slowly spreads across his face. “Is this arrangement going to start dipping into role play?”

I’m no scientist, but I’m fairly sure the world just tilted sideways, sending all the blood rushing to my head. Forcing myself to breathe evenly, I quietly will my body to stop reacting to him.

If only it would listen.

I stand on shaky legs. “No, but my parents are throwing a fundraiser at their estate this weekend, and I need a date. Logan’s going to be there.”

The light in his eyes dims, and they grow a little harder, calculating. “You’re hoping when he sees us together, it’ll tip the scales.”

“You don’t have to say yes.”

A muscle in his jaw ticks. “I’ll do it.”

Thank goodness, because I don’t have a backup plan, and I really wasn’t looking forward to disappointing my parents by showing up alone. It’ll mean introducing them to Charlie, but I’ll worry about that later.

CHAPTER 22

FANCY SEEING YOU HERE (WHERE I INVITED YOU)

EMMA

The secret to a great tuxedo is simple. It isn’t about the price tag, believe it or not, but how well it fits. Even a rental will look phenomenal if the tailoring is done right.

And on Charlie?

The tux fits. Itreallyfits. I’ve never seen any garment worn as well as this one.

Traffic comes to a screeching halt in my brain. All thoughts are at a bumper-to-bumper standstill under a flashing sign that readsI want him.

“Wow,” I say instead of hello, because my brain went offline as soon as I opened the door to the world’s sexiest suit.

Charlie raises his hands. “Yeah, okay. Get it out now. Make fun.”

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