And then, something odd happened. He quit seeing Alexis. He stopped thinking about how annoyed he was at his mother for making this appointment without his and Audrey’s consent. He quit resenting Audrey’s job.

All of that disappeared until there was only Audrey. Clarke became acutely aware of the way her fingers brushed against the hair at the back of his head, the shape of her waist beneath his palm, even beneath the bulk of her winter coat. He heard a distant ringing in his ears and felt the same disorientation he experienced after their engagement party kiss, when the ground had felt slightly unsteady under his feet.

Audrey’s lips parted just slightly as though she was suddenly short of breath, and he wondered if she felt it too, wondered if she knew better than he what to do about it—

“There,” Alexis said confidently. “I think I got it. You want to take a look?”

The wedding planner began walking up the steps, and Clarke immediately dropped his arms, putting distance between himself and Audrey, grateful for the interruption.

Audrey stayed still a moment longer, then gave a quick shake of her head before turning to Alexis and taking her cell phone back. She scanned the photos. “Oh, perfect!” she said.

Clarke’s eyes narrowed slightly, because Audrey’s voice was higher than usual, the way it got when her mind was somewhere else and she was operating on autopilot.

“Thank you so much. These are great,” she said, locking her phone and dropping it into her purse. “I’ll absolutely be sure to tag the Belles.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” Alexis said, giving her arms a quick rub against the cold since she hadn’t grabbed her coat on the way out. “Now, I meant what I said. Clarke, take this woman to dinner.”

“Will do. I’ll even let her pick the place.”

“You say that as though I don’t always pick,” Audrey said, linking her arm in his as they walked down the steps.

“True, though if you pick one of those obnoxious small plate places, I will exercise veto power,” he said, relieved when he felt the world right itself again as they became Audrey and Clarke once more, friends and only friends.

The last thing Clarke wanted was for the most stable relationship in his life to turn upside down.

Chapter Nine

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23

Could @TheAudreyTate’s “fiancé” be ANY more bored to be at dinner with her? Looks like she’s about to lose another one (but did she ever have him…?)

—@ScandalBoyNYC

Happy now?” Audrey asked as she set her menu aside and took a sip of her red wine. “They have steak on the menu.”

“Very,” he said. “Want to start with the oysters?”