Page 53 of Stars and Scars

“I dunno, some people are really into dental hygiene.”

She gives me a look, then realizes I’m kidding. We both laugh. It feels good, giddiness spreading through my entire core, something I haven’t felt since my sister died.

“Seriously, though,” I say as we wind down. “If you don’t want to date a fan or whatever, what’s to keep you from finding someone else famous? Another influencer or something?”

Charlotte snorts, her eyes narrowing.

“Oh, give me a break. That’s even worse than dating a fan. Most famous people are either totally fake or so full of themselves they act like they’re doing you a favor by taking you to dinner. I don’t want to date someone famous, either.”

“Then who do you want to date?”

Charlotte’s cheeks darken, and she turns her gaze out the side window.

“I don’t know. It’s not like I think about it that much. I guess…someone who wants to put in the effort.”

I scoff and shake my head.

“What?”

“Any guy who’s not willing to put in the maximum effort to get with you is a dumbass.”

Her blue eyes widen. I wonder if I’ve said too much, crossed a line, and now I can’t turn back.

I almost miss the exit to the safehouse. Tires screech as I cross three lanes of traffic. That effectively ends the conversation.

But not the tension behind it. Charlotte and I spend a few miles riding in silence, and pretending we aren’t sneaking glances at each other.

Being this close to her, the memory of her body pressed up close to my own still fresh, is almost too much to bear. I want her so bad, it’s crazy. The thought of holding her close beats against the long-standing barriers around my soul, demanding to be let in.

Soon, we’re going to be all alone. In a desolate place, with literally nobody for miles around.

Charlotte the internet superstar, and Grayson the retired spook. Doesn’t sound like a match made in heaven.

Or does it?

13

CHARLOTTE

My mind still reels from what Grayson just said. I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?

The tension between us has grown taut as a spider’s web. I’m not sure where this is going, but I have a feeling the escalation has just begun.

“We’re here,” Grayson says. Totally unnecessary. Obviously this is the safe house, because the road literally ends right in front of it. There’s nowhere else to go, and I doubt he’d park in front of a random cabin.

Because that’s what the safehouse is. A cabin, with only one room by the looks of it. It’s also obvious that there’s no electricity, and probably no running water, either.

“Well, this is certainly…rustic.”

Grayson’s lips draw tightly.

“I’m sorry. Not the most glamorous locale.”

“No, it’s fine. Believe it or not, I think it might be nice to get away from civilization for a while.”

“Not entirely away from it. I do have a generator so we can run a light, a ceiling fan, and maybe charge up our phones. That’s about it, though. It won’t have the juice to power a television. Not that there is a television.”

He laughs, and runs a hand through his hair.

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