Page 66 of Keeper
I kept moving. “Walk with me. We can talk on the way to the car. If we’re both gone too long, she’ll be suspicious.”
“Suspicious?” He caught up to me again. “What the hell kind of photo shoot is this, anyway?”
“She’s an influencer. This is what she does,” I said plainly. “Didn’t you know?”
“I don’t know anything about her. I’d never heard of her before.”
“Really? You never looked at her Instagram?”
“Never.”
“So you don’t want to bone her?”
“Does itlooklike I want to bone her?” he asked. “No. The only reason I’ve been going along with this is because I’ve been waiting for a chance to talk to you. But each time I try to talk to you, you get weird and shut me down.”
“If you don’t want to bone her, then how’d you get roped into doing this?”
“My agent arranged it.”
“Agent. You have anagent! Why didn’t you tell me you were a hockey player the other night?”
“Well, that’s what I want to talk to you about.” He sighed. “And hell, I probablywould’vetold you if you hadn’t run off yesterday morning.”
“Can you blame me? I was so embarrassed. I’d led you on all night, and I was sure you’d hate me in the morning.”
“Hey. Ainsley.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to a stop just outside the park entrance. “You didn’t lead me on. You were up front with me from the beginning. So, no, I donothate you. Not one bit.”
“Well, maybe not, but Marta’s going to hate us both if we don’t hurry.” I gestured at the parking lot, where both our cars were waiting.
“So? Your friend sucks. You know that, right? Wait a minute—she’sthe friend who abandoned you at the club the other night, isn’t she?”
“Maybe,” I said as I started to walk again.
“Okay, so that’s a yes. Wow. Seriously, she’s the worst.”
“She’s got her sights set on you, though,” I said. “All weekend long, she’s been plotting how to seduce you during this photo shoot.”
“That’s so fucking weird,” he murmured.
“And if she finds out that I made out with you first, she’ll never forgive me.”
“But you didn’t know who I was. It’s not like you stabbed her in the back and stole me away or something.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said with a futile shake of my head. “You don’t know how girl friendships work. She set claim to you first, which means I have to back off or else I’m a shitty friend.”
“Set claim?” He laughed. “What am I, property? Don’t I have any say in this? I like you, not her. If she’s got a problem with that, then it sounds likeshe’sthe shitty friend.”
He likes me?
“You’re a guy,” I said, trying to temper the woozy rush that went straight to my head, “so I don’t expect you to understand, but that’s how it works.”
“Unreal.” Tanner chuffed. “You realize she’s jealous of you, right?”
“Marta? Jealous of me?” I laughed as I unlocked Marta’s trunk. “I don’t think so.”
“I do. Hell, it’s obvious. I’m surprised you don’t see it.”
“Why would she be jealous of me?” I asked as I retrieved my spare battery from the trunk. “She’s got everything. She’s always been rich and gorgeous, and now she’s famous on the internet, too.”
