Page 37 of Between the Lines

Aiden extends his arm.

I hesitate, looking at his hand and the hint of a watch peeking out from beneath his sleeve.

“There are photographers here,” I say. Why hadn’t I thought about this? I’d thought about everything else.

“There are,” he says.

“They might think we’re dating. That I’m like… your date.”

There’s a tug to his lips. “You are my date.”

“I’m your plus-one.”

“Semantics.”

“I can’t be involved with my subject,” I say. My voice comes out prim, and I hate that, hate how his lips curve further.

“You’re not involved with your subject,” he says. “Unless you want a repeat of Utah, which?—”

“I don’t,” I hiss and look over at where the carpet beckons. The CEO of Titan Media. In pictures.With me.

He’s a public figure. I’ve tried to stay out of the spotlight in the last few years. Fought for my privacy, and itworked,damn it. It worked, but all it’ll take is a bored internet sleuth for things to come crashing down again.

“At this point,” he says in a drawl, “I’m taking this a bit personal, Chaos. Is it really that offensive if a stranger or two think we’re here as a couple?”

I take a deep breath.

“I see. It is.” He lowers his voice. “There’s a boyfriend in the picture, then. Someone who doesn’t… know about Utah.”

I shake my head. “No, of course not. No. There isn’t.”

“Right,” he says, but I’m not sure he believes me. His arm is still outstretched my way. “If you want to avoid photographers, I can make that happen.”

It’s not a big deal. Not weighed against the enormity of what I’m doing already.

I put my arm through his and ignore the faint energy that runs through me at the touch. He’s an enemy. A means to an end. A good memory.

Nothing more.

“Just as long as you know,” Aiden says in a low, deep voice as we start walking up the golden carpet and past the red ropes, “that the other guests will still think we’re dating.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

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@TheGambleOfficial:Check out this reel of the TOP MOMENTS you’d thought you’d forgotten from The Gamble’s early seasons! Who remembers the showdown between Charlotte and Blake?

CHAPTER 14

CHARLOTTE

It takes exactly six minutes before the first person asks Aiden to introduce me. “Is this your date?” the interloper asks. He’s in his mid-fifties, and was one of the first to come up to Aiden.

I want to glare at the man beside me. But it’s my own fault for not realizing how things would look. Of course people here would spot a woman on Aiden’s arm. Even though there are plenty of glamorous women here, gliding around in dresses that must cost tenfold of what I’m wearing.

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