Page 42 of The Lessons

“Uh,yeah.Didn’t you see him get all alpha male? I don’t think he liked seeing you with me. You should probably mention the gay thing next time you see him. Which better be soon. Do you know what sign he is? Ibethe’s a Leo, maybe a Sag—”

Almost on cue, my phone went off.

“Hang on. Sorry, I forgot to turn the ringer off,” I said as I retrieved the phone from my bag. Then I glanced at the screen, and my heart stopped. It wasn’t a call?it was a text. Fromhim.

Are you following the rules?

What the hell?

“Omigod—is that him?” Josh sat forward and tried to read my screen. “Girl, you are what they call ‘West Coast Successful.’ Were you ever beating guys away like this back East?”

“Hush!” I pulled back so he couldn’t see. “Hang on. I need to answer this.” What was Ryan talking about, rules?

What rules?

He texted back instantaneously.

The contract. Was that your boyfriend?

Good thing we hadn’t ordered yet because I would have choked on my taco.

LOL. No. Just my good friend Josh.

I waited about ten seconds before he texted back.

Alright, just making sure.

See you next week?

Yeah, but one question, and don’t take this the wrong way…

What’s your sign?

I paused, waiting for a response.

Leo

Why?

No reason. See you next week.

I put the phone, ringer off, back in my purse and returned to my dining companion. “You were right.”

Josh looked at me askance. “Well, generally, yes, but what in particular are you referring to?”

“Leo.” I grinned.

“Girl…” Josh didn’t even try to disguise his smirk. “You got it baaad.”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s enough of that.” I pulled the menu up to block my reddening face. “What’s supposed to be good here?” I asked, trying to generate a new topic of conversation.

But, somehow, I wasn’t hungry anymore.

Chapter Thirteen

Ryan

I put the phone down and rubbed my temples. Had I really just done that? Had I really just texted a client to ask her if she had a boyfriend? Jesus Christ. Real mature, Andrews. I’d just danced over so many ethical guidelines, it was sick. I was sick.

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