Rogue Beast (The Rourkes #12) - Kylie Gilmore Page 0,15
don’t know many guys who would speak so openly. Maybe there is something there—a connection. If I’m willing to take a risk. My gut churns. I need to pay attention to my gut, and it’s telling me not to get in deep. I’m not ready for it.
She stands and kisses my forehead. “He won’t say no, trust me. You’re a catch.”
I give her a wry look. “Don’t be alarmed if I show up by myself on Saturday.”
“Not a chance. I gotta go. I’ve got a meeting with Josie today too.”
“You do? Is she your client now?”
She crosses her fingers and holds them up. “Not yet. She wants to see if I can amp up the spotlight for the Rourke foundation fundraiser at the Met. I’m all over it. Ciao!”
She leaves in a rush, the scent of her citrusy perfume lingering behind. Zippy like her. I told Josie I’d go to her fundraiser mostly because she asked, and I felt I couldn’t say no. I just hope Dana doesn’t insist on a royal date for that event too. It’s the Saturday after the gala, and two glitzy events back-to-back is too much to ask anyone, let alone a guy you just met under embarrassing circumstances.
I’m suddenly too nervous to eat. I decide to text Garrett and just get it over with. I type out a long text explaining Best Friends Care, and why it would be nice to have him there. I add that he’s under absolutely NO OBLIGATION. All caps to emphasize the point.
Then I wait.
He’s probably busy. I take my phone off vibrate, so I won’t miss the notification, and go back to lunch, keeping my phone within reach just in case. I’d really like to have an answer before I go back to work. We’ll be blocking on set, scripts in hand, so no phones allowed. I don’t want to be angsting over this all day. I put myself out there. Okay, I went kicking and screaming to this point, but part of me hopes he’ll want to go just for me. I exhale sharply. This is another reason I keep getting tangled up with the wrong men. I always hope the next guy will be different. And I so want me to be enough, not just be a step up in someone’s career.
My phone rings, and I jump. He called me. I really prefer texting. It lets me think carefully about what I want to say and compose the perfect message. Who knows what I’ll blurt in the heat of the moment?
“Hello?” I say cautiously.
“Hey, good to hear from ya, Harper.” His deep smooth voice melts me, making me feel soft and gooey inside. I’m chocolate. Wait, what?
“Hi.” I don’t trust myself to say anything more.
“Hello,” he says warmly. “You texted a long note, so I thought the phone would be better.”
Adrenaline fires through me as I realize this is the part where I have to ask him on a date. “Yes. Like I said in my text, I was supposed to go with Colton to the gala, and there’s all this press—for a really good cause, service dogs for people who really need them—and there’s going to be a ton of press. Did I mention that part in the text? About the press? I can go alone, no problem, but if I have a date, it would be nice, especially if you also say service dogs are a good thing. To the press, I mean. No pressure, just as friends united for a good cause.”
“Will the press be there?”
“Uh…yeah.” Didn’t I mention that?
He chuckles. “I’m teasing. You said press, like, four times. Sounds like you’re concerned about them.”
“I want the spotlight on Best Friends Care, not on me and my cheating ex. The spotlight would be on us, of course, but then we’d redirect it to the service dogs.”
“I do think service dogs are a good thing.”
My heart races because that almost sounded like a yes, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Why did I let Dana rope me into this? “You’re under no obligation to go. None whatsoever. In fact, it will probably be a horribly tedious night. I have to make a speech that will not be at all entertaining. It’ll be painful and awkward. For me too. I’ll be stressed the whole night about it. Public speaking is not my thing. I need to be a character to be comfortable out front like that—”