Page 103 of Revelation

“I promise you won’t be embarrassed or compromised in any way,” I say. “You’ll always be fully dressed. I just wanna make these imaginary-pornos as close as possible to what you described to me—and occasionally I think I might need to cast an extra or two to do it.”

She beams a huge smile at me.

“What?” I ask.

“You’re adorable.”

I scoff.

“You are.”

“So is that a yes?”

She nods. “I’ve got a safe word, right? If I’ve got a problem with anything at any time, then I’ll use it.”

“That’s right, babe. You can always count onFrom Justin to Kellyto protect you.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, Joshua. You’re a silly, silly man.”

I laugh.

“And a very sweet one, too.”

29

JOSH

“Why don’t you shower in my bathroom while I use the shower in the guest room?” I suggest as Kat and I walk into my house. We’ve just come in from an awesome day of hiking and climbing rocks in Malibu and we’re both covered in a thick sheen of sweat and dirt. “I’m gonna take a quick shower and answer a few work emails before we head back out.”

“Okay,” she says. “Sounds good.”

“Feel free to use the sauna in my bathroom, if you want.” I look at my watch. “We’ve got just under an hour before we need to leave to make our reservation. This place is impossible to get into, so we can’t be late.”

“Hey, you probably take longer than I do, Mr. Exfoliate and Moisturize.”

“You’ve only got one skin, Kat,” I say.

She laughs.

I show her where the towels are and leave her to get to it and then race out of my room to make a phone call in the guest room.

“Hello?” the woman on the other end of the line says.

My pulse is pounding in my ears. “Hey, Kaitlyn. This is Josh Faraday. Just calling to confirm we’re still on for tonight?”

“Yeah.” She exhales. “I really can’t emphasize enough how much trepidation I have about this. I’m really putting my faith in Reed. He said you’re a great guy and that I can trust you completely, so I’m taking a gigantic leap of faith. Please don’t make me regret this.”

“Oh, I know this is a huge favor—and I’m really grateful. Reed isn’t steering you wrong. I’m totally trustworthy. I paid closeattention at our walk-through-orientation on Tuesday, and I’ll be ridiculously careful and respectful with all your stuff, just like you showed me, I promise. If I breakanything, no matter how slightly, I’ll replace it with a brand new model—and I won’t touch any of the stuff you told me is off limits. Like I said, this is more for show than anything—I just wanna set the stage for her—really wow her when she opens her eyes for the first time.”

Kaitlyn clicks her tongue. “Just, please. This could go horribly wrong a thousand ways.”

I don’t like the anxious tone in her voice. God help me if this woman does an about-face and changes her mind. “Hey, how ’bout I throw another ten grand your way, just to say thank you and put your mind at ease?”

“Whoa. Really?”

“Yeah. Maybe the price we originally agreed upon was too low. It’s not like there’s a market for this kind of rental. I don’t want you feeling taken advantage of.”

“Wow, thanks.” Her voice is noticeably warmer. “Yeah, another ten grand would definitely put me at ease. Thanks. You still want me to burst in on you at ten?”

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