Just One Kiss (Whisper Lake #4) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,106

her bachelorette party. She said she's texted you several times but you haven't answered."

A wave of guilt ran through her. Her twin sister Laurel was getting married in a few weeks, and she wasn't doing a great job as the maid of honor. "I can't do drinks tonight. I have a work assignment. But I will try to be at brunch on Sunday. We can talk then."

"What kind of work do you have on a Friday night?"

"I've been assigned the cover story on Alexander Donovan, and he's agreed to let me shadow him this weekend."

"What?" Kate asked with a surprised squeal. "Are you serious? Are you telling me that you're going out tonight with Celeb Magazine's 'Sexiest Man Alive'?"

Andrea quickly leafed through the clippings in the folder in front of her, landing on the cover Kate had just mentioned. "I didn't realize," she said, a little mesmerized by the shot of a bare-chested Alexander Donovan. The man obviously did more than sit behind a desk all day. His abs were ripped.

"Where are you going with him?" Kate asked.

"I don't know yet. I have to meet him at his office in an hour."

"This is so exciting. He's attractive, single and rich. The two of you could fall in love."

Andrea laughed. Kate was a wedding planner and had been a romantic for as long as Andrea had known her. "You're crazy. This is just a job. And I'm sure the man has a girlfriend, probably more than one."

"Well, you never know. I can't wait to hear how it goes. Call me tonight. Or if it's too late, first thing in the morning, and don't forget brunch on Sunday. If you're not there, I will come and find you."

"I honestly can't promise I'll be there. It depends on where this story goes."

"Fine. If you're in bed with Alexander Donovan, you get a pass. Otherwise, you better be there."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not dating him; I'm interviewing him."

"We'll see."

"You have love on the brain."

Kate laughed. "I do. How can I help it? I'm surrounded every day with joyous brides. I want us all to have that same feeling one day."

"Well, Laurel has it," Andrea said, thinking of how happy her sister was to be in love and engaged. She couldn't even imagine getting to that point. Right now, a great date would be a welcome surprise. Her track record with men the last few years was not impressive. "I'll talk to you later. I have to get ready."

"Wear something sexy."

"Goodbye, Kate," she said with laugh. As she set down her phone, she picked up the photo of Alexander Donovan again. His sexy, laughing gaze made butterflies dance through her stomach. "Just an assignment," she told herself again. A story she needed to do well if she wanted to keep her job.

"You cannot escape the Raven's deadly shot." Alexander Donovan said the words with greedy intensity as he skillfully outmaneuvered the approaching monstrous villain known as Gaya.

"Gaya can outjump Raven." Thirteen-year-old Tyler Parker sent his warrior jumping into space with a quick maneuver.

"Not bad, but you made one mistake."

Tyler groaned as Alex's character turned the carpet into a missile that destroyed Gaya into a shattering kaleidoscope of color. "That's not fair."

"It's fair. I introduced the missile two levels ago," Alex said, sitting back in his chair as he watched the game calculate his award points on the sixty-inch flat screen television that hung on the wall of his office.

While he made video games and apps, he still loved computer games the best. He could add so many more complications, so many more opportunities to change plays with a variety of keystrokes. He pushed the keyboard away and smiled at the frustrated kid next to him. Tyler's competitive spirit would reemerge within seconds. He just needed a second to regroup.

As he studied Tyler's face, he realized that the boy was starting to change into a man. He'd grown two inches in the last month and he now seemed all arms and legs, with teeth a little too big for his face. Soon his voice would change, and he'd grow into his size eleven shoes. With those changes would probably come more attitude, but Alex could handle it. He'd never forgotten how hard the teen years could be, especially for a kid like Tyler, a kid who was growing up in the same harsh system Alex had lived through—foster care.

He'd met Tyler two years earlier when he'd volunteered to be a Big Brother. At the time,