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“But the secret part might be tricky,” Alice says reasonably.
Ava, who just found out I knew Alex at all, looks at me open-mouthed. “He’s too famous for that.”
I shoot daggers with my eyes at them. “Don’t ruin my buzz with practicality. I love living in my bubble. It’s comfy. I can’t believe I have to wait so long to see him. He’ll be here in two Saturdays.”
Alice tucks her legs under her, propping her elbow on the backrest. “Oh, that’s the day Mom and Dad invited us to their pizza party. Are you bringing him?”
“I didn’t ask him yet. But I plan to.” My stomach clenches. It’s been a while since I introduced anyone to my family. Mostly because whenever I brought that up, it resulted in my date running for the hills.
Alice grins. “I promise we won’t be too obvious when we check out if he’s as hot in real life. And we’ll keep our brothers on a tight leash, so they don’t grill him... too much.”
Pippa bursts out laughing. “Alice, you’re overestimating us. When have we been able to keep our brothers from going into alpha overprotective mode?”
Alice inspects her freshly polished nails in response.
“I thought so,” Pippa says. “Damn, this mask smells so much like chocolate that I’m hungry.”
Ava rubs her stomach. “Anyone up for raiding my kitchen?”
“Nope, I try not to eat after 9:00 p.m.,” I say seriously, though my mouth already waters, because Ava’s fridge is always stocked up with goodies.
My eldest sister bats her eyelashes. “She has apple strudel with vanilla sauce.”
Alice springs to her feet, already heading to the kitchen.
“Sold,” I say wistfully. Who am I to say no to that, really? Besides, some vanilla courage might be just what I need to ask Alex about meeting my family when I talk to him in two hours.
“Oh, I’ve got whipped cream too,” Ava announces.
“Now you’re just actively sabotaging my healthy-eating plan,” I admonish.
She shakes her head. “Everything we eat during girls’ night doesn’t matter.”
Alice chuckles. “How did you figure that out?”
“Gossiping burns a lot of calories,” Ava says seriously. Both my sisters laugh, but Ava’s mention of gossip brings front and center thoughts of that reporter.
Chapter Twenty
Alex
I love photo shoots. Not because I enjoy having my photo taken, but because it doesn’t require talking, answering questions... or fielding them.
“That’s a wrap.” The photographer holds her thumb and forefinger in a circle, smiling.
“Thanks, Rebecca.”
“Always a pleasure working with you. You’ve killed it, Westbrook. I swear you look hotter every year. Readers will eat this up. Wanna go out for a drink?”
“No can do. Still have to get to a radio interview. Evening slot.”
I scratch my jaw because they wanted a one-day beard for the shoot and my skin is itchy as hell.
“How long are you in town?” She plays with her hair, looking me up and down. She’s been hitting on me ever since I arrived. We’ve known each other for years, but this is the first time she’s come on to me.
“I’ve got every minute planned.”
The guys in charge of lighting start dismantling the equipment, and we move out of the way.
