Page 80 of The Sun and Her Star

I opened the e-mail, glanced at the picture, and laughed. It was Amber, the little gossip reporter who interviewed me last year. What in the world did she need a beard for? I couldn’t wait to find out. I e-mailed Dean back to tell him I was ready.

* * *

I stand up when I see Amber sauntering to the table. It’s our first “date,” and we decided to kick things off as publicly as possible. We decided to tell everyone we met when she interviewed me last year. If I didn’t have a brain that seemed to do nothing but think of one of the only women in the world who wasn’t in love with me, and a cock that did whatever my brain told it to, I would have been into her. She’s gorgeous. Like in a way that doesn’t need the pounds of makeup she was wearing when she interviewed me. Her cinnamon skin glows, and her trademark braids are caught in a huge bun on top of her head. She’s wearing a pair of tiny shorts, paired with a pink silk sleeveless top that stops right above her belly button in the front but appears to have some sort of train in the back. And she’s also a lot shorter than she was when I met her last time. I look at her feet and see she’s wearing silver flip-flops instead of heels.

I like her right away.

“Hey,” she says in that cheerful, even toned voice that made her a hit on radio before she shoots me the smile that made her a success on television.

“Hey, nice to see you,” I say and press a light kiss to her cheek and then reach around to pull out her seat.

“Thank you,” she says with a wink before she sits down.

She rests her forearms on the table and then leans forward, and with a twinkle in her eye says, “Good job,” in a hushed voice.

“Thanks. Want to make sure we look legit,” I say.

“Yeah, me too. Even though when I found out it wasyou,I thought it had to be a joke.”

“It’s no joke, I assure you.”

“Oh, I know. As soon as I heard who your agent was, I knew. He doesn’t play games or waste time. So yeah, I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

“About what?”

“Why the fuck Graham Fucking Davis needs a beard? I mean, you have a fucking PussyPhone. Was all of that a cover?”

“Ugh, I regret ever saying that. Not one of my finer moments.” I hang my head at that. Mama fussed at me for days after that.

She crosses her arms over her chest, wiggles her shoulders, and leans back in her seat. “Well, come on. Spill.”

“Would you like me to get you some popcorn? You look like you’re about to watch a movie or something.”

“Oh, I have a feeling this is going to be better than any movie could ever be.”

My bark of surprised laughter draws eyes in our direction.

“Oh yeah, that’s great. They’ll have us married off in no time,” she says excitedly. I shake my head in amusement. Yeah, I like her.

“So, tell me, Amber, why do you, Ms. E Television herself, need a beard?”

She sighs and adjusts herself in her seat. She looks me straight in the eyes. “Because I’ve got a kid. And the studio told me I needed a relationship to keep my contract. I need my contract to feed my kid. But I’m not putting up with any asshole ever again. So, I decided to find a beard.” She shrugs like it’s the simplest thing.

“You have a kid?”

“Yes. Zion. He’s 8.” She must see my eyes widen. “Yes, I had him when I was only sixteen—young and stupid—thought I was in love. Spoiler alert,I wasn’t.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyway, it’s okay because he gave me the brightest little boy in the world. He lives with my mother back home in Baton Rouge. That’s where I grew up.”

“What brought you to LA?”

“I wasn’t good for much but fucking and talking. So, I came to the one place where those things can actually make you money. And I got really lucky because I fucked a guy who was able to help me make money talking. I would have liked to fuck him forever, but he didn’t seem to want more than the couple of nights we shared.” She sighs and takes a sip of her water.

“You talk a lot,” I tell her.

“Thank you Captain Obvious,” she deadpans.

I laugh. “I think this might actually work out,” I say.

“Ihopeso. ‘Cause right now, I’m sick of men. If I have to spend time with one, I need to be with one who doesn’t wantorneed to fuck me.”

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