How didn’t she see that? Didn’t she pick up the vibes I was spewing?
The level of disrespect was disgusting. Connor Roe was off-limits.
I tilted my head, not taking my eyes away from Connor’s abs.
“Gosh, lucky girl. I’d give anything to have just a day with him.”
“I know, right?”
“And his lips…shit. I bet he could do the craziest things with that mouth of his. I’m probably going to dream of that man tonight.”
Don’t you fucking dare!
I almost felt bad for lying to her, but was it really a lie? She asked if he was seeing someone, and Connor kind of was. Me. He was seeing me. He saw me in the living room, the kitchen, and on the rooftop. He saw me doing yoga some mornings, he saw me at the dining room table at night. You could basically say we were getting pretty serious.
Oh, God. I was losing my marbles. Connor needed to put on a damn shirt ASAP.
For our last location of the day, we moved to Central Park, where Connor wore gray slacks and a button-down white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked perfect in the most effortless way. I couldn’t help but notice people—men and women—passing by and noting how handsome he was.
It was impossible to not take note. If he hadn’t been in real estate, he could’ve easily been a model.
“Red, get in here,” he said, snapping me from my thoughts that had been all about him. “I need some shots with you.”
I laughed. “Oh no, I’m good. I’m better behind the camera.”
“No. I need shots with the one and only person who’s ever interviewed me. This is a big milestone, so come on.”
“It is a good idea,” Jean agreed. “For the records. Even if not in the magazine, it will be a nice memory. Come on, will you?”
I looked down at my overtly exposed chest, and then I heard Connor groan. “Stop it. You look breathtaking as always,” he said, waving me over.
The hesitation was strong, but I didn’t want to keep the crew from packing up and finishing their day. Maiv would kill me if we went over our time slot and ended up spending more money.
I hurried over to Connor, and he quickly instructed me on the positions we were supposed to take. “Just pretend we are a power couple, like Harry and Meghan, or Beyoncé and Jay-Z,” he whispered. “Stand back to back with me,” he said.
I did as he told me.
We stood back to back, side to side, and then, without prompting, he scooped me into his arms and swung me around, making me crack up laughing.
“Oh, my goodness, stop, Connor!” I screeched, but he kept going, spinning me round and round, faster and faster until he brought me back to solid ground. I felt dizzy and lightheaded. As I began to stumble a bit, he caught me, holding me in his arms.
He rested his forehead against mine, freezing my movements, and it felt as if he’d frozen time. “Sorry, too fast?” he whispered.
“Too fast,” I replied.
“I’ll take it slower next time.”
I laughed. “There won’t be a next time.”
“I think we’ll have a lot of next times, Red,” he said, his breaths falling against my lips.
His lips were close to mine. Were his lips always that close? Were they normal roommate distance apart, or was he going to…?
Oh, boy.
This boy.
For a moment, I forgot we were in the middle of Central Park. For a moment, I forgot a photo shoot was taking place. At that moment, all I felt was his heat and mine, and all I wanted to do was fall into him and taste his lips, allow him to taste mine, and then take him back home for more of the same.
“Okay, I think we got it,” Jean said, breaking me away from the fairy-tale story I was making up in my mind.
I took a step away from Connor and looked up at the crew, who were all staring at us as if they’d just walked in on us having sex.
The embarrassment hit me fast, but I tried my best to shake it off.
I clapped my hands together and cleared my throat. “Okay, everyone, that’s a wrap.”
We headed home after the photo shoot, and I decided that afternoon, I was going to allow myself a cheat meal for the first time in months. My meal of choice: Chinese food.
“I was wondering if you’d like to come down to Kentucky with me,” Connor asked as he unloaded enough food for an army. When I told him I was going to have a meal off my regular plan, he decided to order almost everything on the menu to celebrate the occasion.
“Kentucky? Home base?”
“Yeah. I was thinking of going down there for a weekend to visit. I thought if you came, it might be good for the article, to see me in my true Southern element. To see the past of where I began. My roots.”