Page 52 of Red Hot Harmony

I pulled her to my chest and wrapped my arms around her, inhaling her scent and brushing her hair with my lips.

“I had a really good time,” she whispered against my neck.

And that right there felt like victory.

My phone rang when I was in the middle of putting on my jeans and Camille was in the shower.

“You asshole,” Eden chided me when I picked up the call. “You should have told me you were going to leave early.”

Okay, there may have been about a dozen messages from my publicist hat I hadn’t had a chance to read on account of being busy, but I wasn’t going to apologize for that. “Something came up.”

She sighed. “What could be more important than getting your reputation back on track, Dante?”

Camille Rockwell and her blowjob,my spoiled, twisted mind thought. But I didn’t say that. I never would, because even thinking of me and her that way diminished the whole experience of what we’d shared yesterday. “Believe it or not, there are things in my life I care about way more than my shitty reputation.”

“Oh, I know. But don’t forget we’re about to get dragged into a major lawsuit and you’re going to be taken apart over and over again by the press. That applies to Camille and Ally too, and you better keep it squeaky clean, because your fondness for much younger women will play against you.”

“What the fuck are you implying?”

“You know what I’m implying. It’s out there. People are speculating.”

I felt dirty. My stomach lurched. “This is fucked up!” There was a pitch in my voice. I was repulsed. “Ally’s fifteen.”

“I know that, but you should have thought about that when you took her out for breakfast....without an accompanying adult.”

“I am an accompanying adult.”

“That’s not the way trolls see it.”

“I’m her fucking tutor and I’m dating her mother.”

“I understand. I’ll do my best to put out the fires as they come up. I just want you to be aware of what’s going on.”

“So Frank takes someone under his wing, he’s adored by the masses, and I take someone under my wing, I’m a fucking pervert.”

“You said it yourself, Dante. She’s fifteen. Isabella is of legal age.”

A groan escaped my throat. “What the fuck is wrong with people?” I sat on the edge of the bed and covered my face with my palm, trying to push past my anger. The sound of running water coming from the shower reminded me that I wasn’t alone and that I couldn’t do this right now. I couldn’t fall apart in front of Camille at the expense of some fucked up in the head group of people.

“Anyway,” Eden said. “That’s not the only reason I’m calling you.”

“Don’t tell me there’s more gossip.”

“No. I got you Shanice’s phone number. Her PA is a bitch and I’m all out of favors because she has an unlimited credit line with me now. So don’t ever underestimate my power of persuasion. And don’t ask me for shit.”

“Oh.” I felt relief. Small, but relief nonetheless.

“Who would have thought getting a hold of a lingerie model would be just as hard as getting through to the Pentagon.”

“Well, I guess the world wouldn’t be the same without the lingerie models.”

“Yeah, you would know,” Eden all but sneered.

I went quiet, my fingers still splayed haphazardly over my face, mind racing.

“Dante?”

“What?”

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