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Louis’s face was like a thundercloud as he slammed the phone down in front of him, muttering angrily when it immediately started ringing again.
“Everything okay?” she called and Louis looked up, his face easing a little at the sight of Rose standing in front of him.
“Oh it’s fine, Rose, thank you. It’s just the tabloids calling. They’re absolutely rabid since the rumors between you and Mr. Blake surfaced.” Louis paused and glanced from side to side. “So, will I get an invite?”
“To what?” Rose raised an eyebrow, not really pegging Louis for the type to be interested in charity galas like the one Blake was hosting. But what else could he be talking about?
“The wedding? Have you picked a date yet?”
A laugh crept out of her, gaining in traction until eventually she was full-on roaring, eyes watering as Louis watched her in something close to shock. “Oh my god, Louis, don’t tell me you believe the crap they’re touting about me and Blake? I loathe that man. I would rather set myself on fire than let him put his tongue in my mouth.” Well, that wasn’t strictly the truth but Rose wasn’t going to let her guard down again. He was already messing with her head and that wasn’t a good position to be in. She couldn’t abide that she felt even a slight attraction to David Blake, but to fall in love with him? Untenable.
“Er, no.” Louis laughed nervously, still watching Rose with caution as she wiped the tears of laughter out from under her eyes. “Of course not. But the reporters have been hounding the hotel and the staff, trying to bribe them into saying they’ve seen you here with Mr. Blake.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” Rose assured him. “I was actually coming down here to see if you guys found out anything more about who might have been in the elevator a few days ago?”
Louis shook his head. “Unfortunately no, all we have is the camera footage of them getting into the elevator and exiting into the shaft. We don’t know how they got back out of the top floor, or out of the hotel for that matter. We’ve got people reviewing all our footage from that day, but in the meantime we’ve amped up security.”
Rose sighed but nodded. “Hopefully we get some answers soon. I just don’t know why they would bother going to the top floor and not even attempt to get into my suite.”
“Maybe they just wanted to see if they could.” Louis shrugged and Rose’s stomach flipped.
“Thanks for that unsettling thought, Louis,” Rose sniped, and he grinned weakly.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” She waved him off. “Oh, and while I remember, did you know Noah’s gay? I accidentally hit on him in the elevator and I definitely think you’ve got a shot with him.”
“You hit on him?” Louis laughed, and she couldn’t help but join in. Itwassort of ridiculous.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she admitted and Louis’ smile turned gentle.
“Probably that he could bench press the both of us with those massive arms of his,” he said lightly and Rose laughed. “Let me know if you need any help with the vultures.”
She smirked. She knew exactly how to deal with the paparazzi. Give them enough that they had a story but not so much that they looked credible. She’d been letting them get away with this bullshit for too long now. It was time to remind them who they were screwing with.
“I’ve got it covered.”
The elevator was blessedly empty when she climbed in again. Noah had likely been called away for a few minutes and that suited her just fine after her disastrous attempt at picking him up.
There were still a few hours until she and Maia had to be atThe Hummingbirdfor dinner, so Rose sank down onto her sofa and flicked through the channels on the TV until she found one with a familiar headline scrolling.DuLoe Hear Wedding Bells?Then she propped her fluffy-slippered feet onto the coffee table and snapped a photo on her phone with just enough of the headline showing that people would feel like they’d been clever before she uploaded it online with the caption:Quiet night in #dontbelieveeverythingyouseeonTV.
* * *
“Darling!I’m so glad you’re here! Oh, and Maia too! What a treat. Come, sit, sit, girls. I ordered us cocktails,” Annabel DuLoe said with a wink as she waved to Cal to bring over another cocktail for Maia. Rose looked at the table suspiciously. There seemed to be way too many chairs. “Ah, here they are! I hope you don’t mind, David. I didn’t know what you’d like to drink, but just let Cal know, will you?”
Rose felt as if she’d been dunked in ice water. How had she forgotten that Blake would be at this dinner? Well, it wasn’t like she could avoid him forever. They had to work together, after all. She turned excruciatingly slowly and winced as her eyes found Blake’s. She quickly looked away and instead gave a welcoming smile to his mother, standing beside him.
“Oh Rose! It’s been too long!” Grace Blake kissed both her cheeks and then Maia’s before embracing Rose’s mother. “I’m so glad we could finally catch-up.”
“Yes,” Rose said, smiling through her gritted teeth, “so lovely.” It was amazing that Grace could have birthed anyone as annoying as Blake. She was unfalteringly sweet and just a little shorter than Cara, only reaching Rose’s shoulders in height. Her blue eyes were a shade or two lighter than Blake’s and Rose resisted pinching herself at the realization that she knew the color of Blake’s eyes so precisely. They were justblue. Nothing special.
Somehow Maia got shuffled to one side and Rose ended up seated next to Blake and when those eyes met hers, she gulped.Nothing special. Heat seemed to pour off his body in waves and she found herself chugging her margarita just for something else to focus on.
“Steady, darling, there’s tequila in those, you know.” Annabel laughed.
“Oh, she knows,” Cal said with a grin and a wink for Rose as he set Blake’s drink down and then joined them at the end of the table. It was relatively quiet in the bar that evening and Cal was more manager than bartender anyway. Rose knew her mother was just grateful to have someone in the family interested in the business. “Did I ever tell you about the time I introduced Rose to my friend Nate? There was tequila involved then as well–”
“Oh I don’t think they need to hear that story.” She laughed tightly and shot daggers at her cousin who just laughed. A glance to her side found Blake’s eyes on hers and his face oddly closed.
