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He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Amelia.” His voice was deep and smooth, and hearing it felt like sex. Amelia’s thighs spasmed, and she leaned on the brick wall next to her for support. Whoa. He sounded like he was breathing hard, which was also extremely hot. Another spasm took Amelia’s lower body.
How did hedothat?
She shook her head. “I have news,” she announced. “You were right!”
A deep chuckle reverberated through the phone, and a shiver traveled the length of Amelia’s body. She closed her eyes.
“Where are you? I just finished a workout, and I was going to grab a smoothie. How about you tell me in person?”
“Anotherworkout? Didn’t you just do one yesterday?” It was kind of hypocritical, seeing as Amelia usually worked out on Mondays too. She’d skipped it today in order to get her work done.
Leo laughed again, like she’d been joking. “Meet you at the smoothie place on Maple Street in ten?”
“Sure,” she said, and turned in that direction, ignoring the little thrill in the center of her ribcage at the thought of seeing Leo again. She was just happy about the Ben thing, that was all. Her excitement had nothing to do with Leo.
Leo suckedhis mango-flavored protein shake and frowned at Amelia. He swallowed and forced himself to take a moment so his voice would come out halfway normal. It still sounded like a rough growl when he said, “He asked you for your Signal profile?”
“Yeah.” Amelia beamed. “Isn’t that great? And you were right! All I had to do was tell him he had nice shoes.” She tilted her head from side to side. “I mean, what wasn’t so great was that his shoes were kind of ugly, and he said his mom picked them. I’m all for a good mother-son relationship, but a man in his thirties should feel confident enough to pick his own shoes. But maybe I’m just being a judgmental jerk? I don’t know! I’m too excited.”
They sat outside the smoothie shop, a little hole-in-the-wall place not far from the gym Leo had joined for his stay in Stirling. Their table and chairs were wrought iron, and the afternoon spilled over them in golden puddles. It was a beautiful day, but Leo felt only dark clouds gathering above his head. “He only wanted your Signal profile, not your phone number?”
Amelia paused, her smile slipping slightly. “Um. Yes? Is that a problem?”
Leo shrugged. “It sends a certain message.”
Sunlight gleamed over her hair and skin. She wore cutoff jean shorts, white sneakers, and a white tee. Her hair was in a bun on top of her head, and her tortoise-shell sunglasses were nestled in her blond locks in front of the bun where she’d pushed them after flopping onto her chair. She looked hot as hell.
“What message?”
“That he isn’t serious enough to get your number.”
“Huh?”
“Getting a phone number means he wants to date you. Looking at your Signal profile just means he wants to check out what kind of pictures you put online, and maybe send you a message late at night to see if you bite.”
“Oh.” Pursed lips bunched to the side as she shifted her gaze to the middle distance. Then, Amelia shook her head. “Whatever. I haven’t had a guy ask me for my phone number since my ex-boyfriend did in college, and your advice worked. I’m going to take it as a win, which means we need to figure out your side of the deal. This fiancée business.”
Leo didn’t want to talk about the fiancée business. He wanted to find Ben and ask him what the hell he thought he was doing. He wanted to shove Ben off the Main Street Bridge and watch him belly flop against the water. He wanted to build a time machine so he could go back and punch the guy when he had the chance. Instead, he said, “I asked you for your phone number.”
She blinked, looking up from the tablet she’d pulled out to make notes. “What?”
“You said no one’s asked you for your phone number since your ex-boyfriend in college. But I did.”
“Leo,” Amelia said with a teasing smile. “Camilla told you to take my number, remember? You didn’t ask for anything. It was thrust upon you.”
His brow wrinkled. “Oh. Right. Well, I was going to ask you for it.”
A snort. “Yeah, okay. Never mind that. Let’s get our story straight. What have you told your boss about me?”
Leo winced. “Ah…”
The look Amelia gave him was sharp as steel. “Ah, what? Does this have something to do with that stage name thing?”
“I might have told them you’re a singer. I had to think of a reason they’d never met you, and that was the first thing that came to mind. You’re always touring with the band.”
She just stared at him.
“Your band is called the Nymphomaniacs.”
