Page 41 of Sin Bin

“Who are youmeeting?”

Crap, crap, crap. I fake a slap to my forehead. “You know, I totally forgot that he mentioned we’d just meet tomorrow!Sillyme.”

Silly me? Who evensaysthat?

You do,apparently.

Charlie’s head tilts to the side. “Gwen mentioned that you’re working with AndreBeaumont.”

I’m not sure if that’s a question or a statement, and I go with shrugging my shoulders and pretending that pools of sweat aren’t taking up residence under my armpits. The longer I stand here, the likelier it’ll be for Andre to find me waiting for him, and if that happens . . . Cue the panic,forreal.

“We’re teamed up for the interim,” I finally say, stealing a glance over my shoulder. All I have to do is just inch a little bit back, say farewell, and beat a hasty exit out oftherink.

Charlie totally doesn’t get the hint. “Seriously, you’ve got to tell me—is he as terrifying as heseems?”

Worse, I want to tell her. He’s cocky and rude, and there’s a small part of me that wishes I hadn’t turned down his offer to kiss me in the elevator.Not, of course, that I want him. Okay, maybe I do, just a little. But I only want his body—nothim. Crap, that’s not quite true either . . . Out loud, I say, “He takes some time to getusedto.”

Her brows lift with interest. “And you’ve gotten usedtohim?”

“I don’t think anyone could ever get used to Andre. He’s notexactly. . . ”

“Cuddly?”

My gaze shoots to the blonde’s face. “He’s myclient.”

Yes, Zoe, he’s your client—not that it mattered to youbefore.

But Charlie just laughs warmly. “It was just a figure of speech. I didn’t think that you were actually cuddlingwithhim.”

Right, of course. She doesn’t recognize me—and, you know what? It feelsgood. So good that I open my mouth and ruin it all: “Yeah, the one time we—you know—there wasn’t much cuddlinginvolved.”

My eyes fall shut at the same time that Charlie claps a hand over her mouth. I let out a groan, and it’s pitiful. So damn pitiful. “I didn’t . . . I mean,I’mnot. . . ”

“You slept with Andre Beaumont?” Charlie whispers after a moment. But to my surprise, she doesn’t sound disgusted. If anything, she sounds . . .intrigued?

I open my eyes, and sure enough, she’s staring at me as though I’ve delivered an early Christmas. “I’m sorry,” I say, backing up, “this is totally unprofessional. Just ignore me. In fact, I’m going to head onmyway.”

“I’m dating DukeHarrison.”

The words stop me in my tracks. “Gwen had said something earlieraboutthat?”

Charlie nods. “Yeah, long story. In any case, Duke and I slept together when I was a reporter stalking him down for astory.”

There’s nothing for me to do but gape. “Wow.” I’m impressed. From what little I know of Duke “The Mountain” Harrison’s reputation, it’s that it has always been ridiculously clean. Sleeping with a reporter, well, obviously there’s a reason why they’redating.

A blush stains Charlie’s cheeks. “Yup. We did it on a hotel rooftop. It wasglorious.”

“That’s impressive.” Duke Harrison is a legend, both in the looks department and also in the goalie’s net for theBlades.

“Yeah, well,he’simpressive, if you know what I mean.” She opens her bag and pulls out her audio recorder. With deliberate motions, she clicks it off and drops it back into the cavern of her backpack. “Okay, youknowI’m not recording anything, so you have to tell meeverything.”

Something about her open expression and friendly demeanor encourages me to do just that. I mean, it’s not like I have any friends in Boston, save for Tia, and she hasherown friends. I’m the uncool older sister camping out on the couch until Imoveout.

“I,well. . . ”

“You don’t have to give details. But since the first time I met him, I figured he’d be, like . . . Okay, total confessional here.” Charlie holds up a hand like she’s taking an oath. “I feel like he would be the worst lover in the existence of lovers. He’s so cold andstiff—”

Before I can stop myself, I mutter, “Well, he’s certainlystiff.”

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