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“Nice. Me too.”
She smiled again, but I noticed that although her teeth were a mesmerizing, bright white, her smile seemed flat—it did nothing to light up her face. “Oh—I know where you’re from.”
There was an awkward silence.
“Want to go check out the drone?” Colby asked, smoothing over the uncomfortable moment. “I think Dale put a treat for Boss on there—the dog’s been chasing the thing all over the island.” He laughed.
“Sure,” I said.
“Absolutely.” Tate straightened her shoulders and stuck her chest out.
Colby released her and headed toward Dale and Noah. “Hey, guys! Can I give that thing a whirl?”
Tate and I followed him. “So…” I wasn’t sure how to approach her. “What part of Boston are you from?”
“The South End.” She gave me another long look as if she was sizing me up.
“Oh.” The South End was where Accommodating was located. But a lot of other things were there, too. Galleries, wine bars, dog parks…
She leaned closer. “I’m so glad you’re here. I didn’t want to be the only one.”
“The only…? The only girl?” I suddenly had a sick feeling in my stomach.
“No, silly. The onlyescort.” Tate winked at me, then hustled to Colby’s side. She joined him, linking her hand through his. Then she looked over her shoulder at me and smiled.
It was not a nice smile.
EIGHT
reeling
CHLOE
“Chloe!”Noah hugged me hard, then told me how great it was to be back. The drone was amazing, the dog treats were gourmet, Boss could already follow commands, and Chef had made him about five million frappes over the weekend. I smiled in all the right places, nodding my head where appropriate. I was genuinely happy to be reunited with my brother, but I couldn’t focus on his words.
I was reeling. Tate was anescort? She’d said she was from the South End of Boston. Did that mean she was from Accommodating? Elena hadn’t said anything about sending another girl up here. But how else could Tate know about me? My mind whirled as we played with the dog, my brother’s happy laughter filling the air.
I couldn’t wait to get back to Bryce and tell him what had happened. He needed to know if there was another escort here as soon as possible. I didn’t understand it.Whyandhowwas she here? Elena was an intelligent business owner. It didn’t seem likely that she’d sabotage my position by sending another girl to work for the Windsor family, doubling our risk of exposure.
The drone landed, and Dale declared it in need of a charge—I took that as my opportunity to escape. I hugged my brother again, ruffling his hair until he squirmed away. Then I headed for the house, anxious to update Bryce.
“Chloe, wait, I’ll come with you!” Tate gave me another dazzling, yet didn’t-reach-her-eyes, smile.
She made a kissy face at Colby. “I’ll see you at the house. Okay, babe?”
“Yeah, babe. Sounds good.” He grinned, his lone dimple flashing. Colby seemed positively charmed by her. There was a lot of ‘babe’ being thrown around for two people who had just started dating.
Tate waited until we were away from the others to speak to me. A scowl crept over her features, a deep crease forming between her perfectly groomed brows. “I need you to keep what I told you a secret. You can’t say anything to anybody.”
“Um…” Confused, I shook my head. “I’m assuming Colby knows, right? Isn’t he the one who hired you?”
“No! He doesn’t know I’m an escort. I bumped into him at the pool club and started talking to him. He bought me a drink—the rest is history.” She shrugged.
“What?” I stopped walking. “So who hired you?”
“Can’t say.” Tate shrugged again, and it was maddening. She was my age but seemed younger, a teenager with a bad freaking attitude. “But that’s the point—Colby’s into me, and I’d like to keep it that way. I need this job. I need the money.”
“So whoispaying you?”
