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Nico is smart. Not that I’ll ever tell him that.

“He is. But fun fact: it’s his girlfriend who’s the genius.”

Charli perks up with interest, and I try not to be too relieved by the topic switch.

“Scarlett?” she asks.

I nod. “She’s getting her master’s in psychology.”

Charli’s lips form a silent wow. “So does that mean she psychoanalyzes the shit out of you?”

I let out a laugh. “Probably. She’s too polite to do it out loud, though.” I snap my fingers when something occurs to me. “By the way, I got a text after they left the other night asking if we wanted to do dinner sometime.”

Her brow furrows instantly. “What? Why?”

“Why? Because they want to hang out with us. Well, more accurately, she wants to hang out with you.”

Charli’s expression continues to scream why?

My lip twitches. “Don’t tell me you don’t know you’re the coolest person in every room.”

When her eyes widen, I burst out laughing.

“What the fuck, Charli. You are the coolest person in every room.” A beat of hesitation. “Probably the smartest, too.”

“Holy shit,” comes Samantha’s voice from behind me. I turn to see her peeking around the door with wide eyes. They dart between Charli and me. “Did I just hear what I think I heard?”

I roll my eyes in an effort to hide my embarrassment at being caught flirting with Charli. “You’re so dramatic. I compliment people all the time.”

“Not about their brains,” she says, stepping into view. “By the way, sorry to interrupt. But Lucas, Mr. Dodson has called half a dozen times since you stepped away from your office.” Her face pinches. “Normally, I would hold him off, but I think the sooner you talk to him, the less irate he’s going to be.”

I blow out a breath, the weight of my job settling back on my shoulders. For a brief moment, I almost felt light again. “I’ll be there in two minutes. If he calls in that time, tell him I’ll call him in five.”

She nods and goes to leave, sending Charli a quick, curious glance before she closes the door behind her.

“Back to work?” Charli asks gently, a hint of pity seeping in.

“Yeah,” I say on a sigh, standing from my chair. Suddenly, all I want to do is sleep for a decade. “But in all seriousness, dinner with Nico and Scarlett would be fun. You’d enjoy it. I’ll never push you into doing anything, but”—I shrug—“think about it. Let me know if you’re interested, yeah? I’ll cook something good.”

That earns me a breathy chuckle that makes me grin. “I’ve never asked. What’s your favorite food? What should I cook for you?”

Her cheeks warm just enough that it has me wondering if anyone has ever cooked for her. I know her sexual history, but we haven’t exactly talked about her dating history. Has she ever had a boyfriend? Has she ever had someone take care of her?

“I love Mexican food,” she says, glancing up at me. “Like, the spiciest food you can think of.”

I wince at that. “Okay, so not on the night Nico comes over. Spicy might actually kill him. But on another night…” I let the tiniest smile appear on my lips. “I’ll make you a nice Mexican dinner.”

Charli ducks her head to hide a smile of her own, but then something occurs to her because when she looks up to meet my eyes again, she’s sobered.

“I would appreciate that,” she starts carefully, “but just to reiterate our previous agreement…that wouldn’t be a date. Right?”

I wonder if it’s obvious on my face that my stomach just dropped. I hope not. But hearing Charli reiterate that she doesn’t want to date me…it hurts more than the first time. Because I think I was subconsciously hoping we were starting to move past that.

I curse internally. Stupid. She told me what she wants out of this. A temporary fling. Why would I think some movies and hookups might change anything? And now she’s seeing the truth of my job, the thing I know she judges the most, and is very clearly putting even more distance between us. I’m an idiot.

Hopefully hiding the way I’m really feeling, I paste on my usual charming grin. “Of course. Just food.” I make my voice drop as I lean forward. “And maybe dessert, if you’re lucky.”

Thankfully, Charli laughs at that, a flash of relief in her eyes that I try to ignore. “If I’m lucky. Okay.”