My Cover Model (A Love Like That #1) - R.L. Kenderson Page 0,24
way. I was happy to do it.”
She looked away, and I wasn’t quite sure, but her face might have turned red.
“Lexie said you have another book signing next month.”
“I do. It’s in three weeks actually.”
“Where’s that one?”
“Chicago.”
“Do you have a model lined up for it?”
She laughed and took a sip of her wine. “No. I won’t have a new book out before then. And you’re the only one I’ve ever asked to go with me.”
I liked that answer. “Do you want one?”
Her brow furrowed. “Do I what?”
“Do you want a model to accompany you?”
Her mouth dropped open. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
I laughed. “Yeah. Do you want me to go to Chicago with you?”
“Wow. Why would you—” She waved a hand in front of her. “Never mind with that. I’m not flying. I was planning to drive.”
I shrugged. “That’s okay. It’s only, like, six hours, right?”
“Six and a half. Maybe seven, depending on the traffic.” She tilted her head. “Are you saying you want to ride with me?”
“Yeah. Why not? Seems silly to take two vehicles.”
“That’s true.”
“Would anyone else be driving with us?” I hoped it would just be the two of us.
Her smile faltered. “Uh…maybe. I haven’t found anyone to be my assistant yet.”
I beamed. “Great. I’ll be your assistant.”
She shook her head. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You don’t have to. I don’t mind.”
She gave me the side-eye. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
I laughed. “Yes. I think it’ll be fun.” I raised my brow. “Don’t you?”
“Of course, but…”
“But what?”
She smiled and shook her head. “Nothing.”
“So, are we going to do it?”
Her eyes widened for a second, and I had to stop myself from grinning. I hadn’t meant for it to be an innuendo, but now that I’d said it…
“Let’s,” she said.
Sixteen
Sydney
“Thanks for dinner,” I told Travis as he drove me home. “You really didn’t have to pay. I could have paid, or we could have split the check.”
“And let a starving artist starve?”
I laughed. “Well, I might have exaggerated. I’m not exactly starving.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I figured, but I was happy to pay. I haven’t had Italian for a long time.”
“Really?” A thought occurred to me. “Oh no. Do you not like it? You should have said something when I suggested it.”
He laughed. “No. I love it actually.”
“Whew. If you didn’t like Italian, I’d worry that you were a potential psychopath,” I teased. “Wait. Then, why haven’t you eaten it?” That was such a foreign concept to me. I loved food, and if I wanted something, I usually ate it.
“My ex didn’t eat Italian.”
I felt bad for him. “Oh, she didn’t like Italian?”
That would explain not eating it. I had an ex who didn’t like Mexican, so I’d only gone out for it with friends.
“No.” He laughed like what he was about to say was silly. “She didn’t eat it. Too many carbs.”
I wrinkled my nose. “She’s one of those, huh?” My eyes widened. “I’m sorry. That was rude. A lot of people don’t eat carbs.”
He laughed. “It’s okay. I get it. But I don’t eat a lot of carbs either. I try to stick with protein.”
That would explain his chicken Parmesan that he’d ordered with a substitute of grilled chicken.
I looked away from him and winced. He didn’t eat much, and his ex didn’t eat any while I had eaten almost my entire bowl of pasta. He probably thought I was a pig.
“You probably work out a lot, too,” I said to him.
He nodded. “I do. I kind of have to if I want to keep modeling. Do you?”
“Only the bare minimum. I do it to stay healthy, not because I like it. I have yet to experience that high that people talk about.”
“Really? I love working out.”
“Did your ex work out, too?”
“Every day. She’s a personal trainer, like me.”
“I see.”
This was like the guy at my gym who had been texting me and then suddenly stopped. Travis and I were too different but in a way that made me feel like I was lacking because I wasn’t as disciplined as him or his ex.
I pointed to my house. “It’s the one on the right.”
He pulled into my driveway, and I turned in my seat. I honestly didn’t know what to do. We’d gone out to eat, but it hadn’t been a date. But he had driven me all the way there, and it felt rude not to invite him in.