Page 561 of Rock Me All Night

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"No. Of course not."

"Good." His frown fades. He looks down at me, running his fingers through my messy hair. "You game for the gossip mission?"

"Depends what I have to do."

He plays with my hair as he thinks. He looks cute thinking, his brow knotted with concentration, his gaze drifting off some place.

"Fuck. Tom's good at this shit." His voice drops. "Wish I could ask him."

"Maybe you can."

Pete pulls his hands to his sides and takes a step backwards. He shakes his head. "I know a few places. You doing anything today?"

"Nope. Quit my job yesterday."

"Yeah?" His lips curl into a smile.

"Yeah." Which means I'm totally reliant on him. That's still scary.

"I'll transfer some spending cash into your account," he says.

Damn, he's a mind reader. I object out of habit. "You don't have to do that."

"Yeah. I do. Let's skip the part where you try to talk me out of it, cause it's not happening. I know you're gonna be a lawyer, so you need to practice arguing, but I'd rather save my energy for later." His eyes meet mine, his expression intensifying. "Deal?"

"I…"

"Jess, you're not taking advantage. I need you." He takes a step closer. "Agree."

I nod. "Okay, we have a deal."

His gaze turns to the backyard. Already, it's awash in bright light. The pool shimmers with reflections of the big yellow sun.

He keeps his gaze on the backyard. "That thing, yesterday, your friends emailing you. That's nothing. We go through with this, your life is gonna change in ways you can't imagine now. You sure you're in?"

Maybe. I think so. "Yes." My voice is far from confident.

"Need to know you aren't gonna back out." His voice wavers. "Need you to be sure."

"Can I sleep on it?"

"Yeah. But I need an answer soon." He shakes his head, shaking off his frustration. Finally, his eyes meet mine. "You have anything to wear?"

"At my place."

"Okay. Let's stop by your place on the way to brunch."

"You eat brunch?"

He laughs. "It's more about being seen at the right places." He bites his lip. "You sure you're okay with this?"

I nod. I'm as sure as I can be.

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