While he disappeared into his bedroom to do that, Catie sat down on the living room sofa with her legs stretched out in front, the snow a steady fall beyond the balcony doors, pulled a cozy blanket over herself, and decided to see how bad it was on social media before she returned all her—many—missed calls and texts.

What she discovered almost set her phone on fire.

5

TINGLES, PRIMORDIAL TINGLES

“People are nuts,” she muttered to herself as she scanned the explosion of heart emojis and smug “I told you so” comments alongside the gushing hope that their “new love” would last so the fans could enjoy the “wedding of the year.”

All because someone had caught her looking up at Danny in concern while he leaned into her. Okay, she could see how her concern might be interpreted as intense interest in the gems of delight falling from his lips—while the way his body was positioned made it seem like he was being all protective.

Meanwhile, he’d been trying not to fall over, and she’d been stressed out over how long Viliame was taking to get back to them.

Rolling her eyes, she took a quick peek at her diary and saw that her memory was spot-on: Veni was doing a partial shift at the hospital today. Since she didn’t carry her phone with her on the ward, Catie sent her a quick text saying she’d call once Veni was back home.

Then she got to returning work calls. Including one from her sports agent, Soraya, who immediately looped in Catie’s publicist, Ani.

“This is uh-mazing, babes!” Ani gushed. “The coverage is fantastic and so positive!”

“We are not together,” Catie muttered.

“Keep saying that.” Soraya’s far more pragmatic tone. “It’ll just make everyone speculate. I’ve already had multiple companies get in touch about the possibility of dual marketing deals with you as a couple.”

Given Jacqueline’s wealth, Catie didn’t need sponsorship. She accepted it because she wanted to support herself and because it allowed her to help fund smaller charities that Jacqueline had declared not worth the tax deduction. Also, her mother had a way of trading money for control, and while Catie gritted her teeth and bore it when it came to major charitable endeavors, she refused to permit it in her private life.

“Listen to me,” she said, word by word, “we are not together. There will be no couple deals.”

Ani paused in her ecstatic burbling. “Really? Babes, a one-night hookup between you two will be a catastrophe! People are invested. They need at least a short-term relationship.” Her voice was suddenly two pitches higher. “I need a drink.”

“Hey, it’s not the fall of the Parthenon,” Catie muttered. “It’s just social media gossip.”