Page 87 of Exclusive

“Fine. Moose it up. And stop dragging your feet.” She was fussing at me. Atme. As ifI’ddone something wrong.

“No way. As far as Carrie is concerned, there will be no moosing.”

“All because she made a bad call, like Bobby?”

Grace nodded wholeheartedly, now listening in. “I definitely think I’ll be forgiving Bobby now that I’m thinking more clearly about it.”

“How convenient.” I stared at her and then back to Sarah. “Carrie’s off-moose-limits to me. I don’t even look at the billboard when I pass it anymore. I’m that good.”

Sarah regarded me and her gaze flicked to Emory. “I remember saying something similar once upon a time.” She gestured to my plate. “And now she makes me the best hamburger I’ve ever had.”

Emory smiled triumphantly, and I sighed, wondering why things had to be so complicated, and how in the hell could I snag this burger recipe?

* * *

“Dammit all.”

I was standing beneath a stream of amazingly warm water that following Monday morning when my phone began buzzing insistently on my bathroom counter. Micky stared at it and back at me with alarm in his eyes that said I was about to miss out on something crucial, and what should he do?

“It’s probably not important,” I called to him, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I hopped out of the shower, closed my eyes to the immediate shiver, and saw I had a voice mail waiting. From Carrie. I blew out a breath and listened, because I had no will power to wait another second.

“Hi, Skyler. I’m calling in an official capacity. The station would love for you to appear onThe Secret Sauceas part of our cross-promotion. I don’t know if you heard, but Sylvan is a producing partner on the show. Can we talk about the possibility and, if you’re interested, schedule an afternoon to shoot? And I just caught the time. You’re in the shower. Which is lovely.”

I had instant flashes of us in the shower, of her worshipping my body, and the sight of suds sliding off her. Suddenly that chill in the air was gone, and I was decidedly hot. Choosing to be an adult, I called her back. “Hey, it’s Skyler.”

“Sorry for interrupting the shower.” Her voice tickled my ear in the best way.

“Not a problem.”

“If you want to get dressed first, you can.” She knew me well enough to know that I was standing there naked.

I rolled my lips in. “When did you have in mind for the shoot? And what do you pay?” Nice one. Keep it about the work.

She laughed. “We were looking at episode five. We’d shoot later this week, maybe do a wine pairing segment in my back garden. Trust me, we’ll meet your minimum and more.”

“Good. Sounds great as long as we can work around my schedule at the station.”

“Luckily, I know it well. Talk to you soon, okay?” It was so natural, having this conversation, so easy. It shouldn’t be.

A pause. “I just want to be clear that I’m accepting because of professional obligations and as a courtesy to you, of course.”

“Got it. You want zero to do with me, personally.”

“I didn’t say that.” But my guard was certainly up. “I’m sure we’ll be fine, existing within the overlap in our jobs. We’re both adults.”

She didn’t hesitate. “We more than exist to each other, whether you want that or not. But I get that you’re upset with me. Just know that I’m back here because this is where I want to be.”

I didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t wrong about the first part. “Still.”

She sighed, and I heard defeat creep into her voice. “Still.” Maybe the controlled confidence she projected didn’t run so deep. For some reason, that resonated. The vulnerability. And why wouldn’t it be there? I’d always known her to be a soft-hearted person underneath the badass face of the news.

“Hey,” I tossed in. “Maybe it’ll be fun, the shoot.”

“I hope so,” she said. “I better let you get on with your morning.”

We said good-bye, I clicked off the call, and I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I was very aware of my body. It was like her voice alone could wake me the hell up. My skin felt wonderfully prickly, my nipples were taut and sensitive, and the lower portions should just shut the hell up. I ran a hand all the way to my inner thigh and closed my eyes at the images of her and the movie in my mind. If only we’d come with a different ending.

I heard my own advice to Grace. The same shred Sarah had thrownback at me. Maybe she had just made a bad call? Was that possible? Maybe I mattered more to her than I thought. After doing so much convincing of myself otherwise, it was hard to imagine.

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