She saw the thought flash through Paige’s blue eyes and held up a hand. “Uh-uh. It can’t work,” Cat said firmly. “I’m not getting in a long-distance relationship at this point in my life. Noah’s entire life is here, and asking him and Sara and, hell, Mellody and her future husband because they’re a co-parenting unit to give all that up and move to New York or better yet follow me around the country? Stupid and not happening.”

“And staying here isn’t an option?”

“I have a school to build, a show to host, a life too big for Merry. Besides, aren’t I supposed to be fake dating Drake for ratings?”

“Oh please. Don’t pull that crap with me,” Paige gave her the stop-throwing-your-peas-on-the-floor look that Cat had seen her give Gabby only yesterday. “You really think that I would force you to fake a relationship? Have you completely forgotten the disaster on Kings when they started mic-ing me and making Gannon and I look all hot and heavy for each other?”

“You were hot and heavy for each other,” Cat pointed out.

“You know I would never ask you to fake a relationship. If you choose to, that’s fine, but don’t use that as an excuse to hide from your feelings for Noah.”

“Who says I have feelings?”

“The fact that we’re having this conversation!”

“Fair enough,” Cat was yelling. “So, what do I do? Give me some married lady, smart woman wisdom here.”

“I guess you find out if Noah’s okay with some short-term naked fun and go from there,” Paige suggested.

Cat nodded. “Good idea. That I can work with. How do I find that out?”

Paige laughed. “When’s the last time you were in a relationship?”

“I don’t know. I guess Drake?”

Paige scoffed. “Please, that was just a two-month long booty call. There was no relationship there.”

Cat frowned and dug her way back through her sexual history. “I guess it was Miguel?”

Paige frowned. “I don’t remember him.”

“That’s because I dated him my senior year of high school. He took me to prom. I gave him his first blow job.” Cat smiled fondly at the memory.

“You’re a piece of work.” Paige shook her head.

“My blow jobs are masterpieces,” Cat insisted.

“You’re thirty-how-old, and you’ve never been in a relationship?”

“Do I look like I would even want to make the time?” Cat argued. “I love my life just as it is.”

“Then maybe you should let Noah walk away unscathed from this,” Paige suggested. “He’s divorced. You already know he does the relationship thing. What if he gets attached and then we pack up and drive on back to the city?”