“Have you worked it out in your head yet?” he asked in a teasing tone, and I immediately flushed in response.

“No. I wouldn’t want you to do that. If I said yes, I would want it to be just you.” Because Noah was the one I knew and trusted.

He was the one that would take care of me and wouldn’t let anything bad happen.

“Good.” He made it sound like that had been the right answer. “And in a way, you’d be doing me a favor, too. If I took this part, it would help me to have actual, personal knowledge about the material. Because so far my experience has been the opposite.”

“Can’t keep the women off you, huh?” I’d bet he’d never met another woman who didn’t want to kiss him.

“Occupational hazard,” he told me. He didn’t sound like he was complaining.

“I don’t know,” I told him. I was so worried it wasn’t going to work out, and then on top of everything else, I also would have wrecked my friendship with Noah, and I would probably get Shelby fired, too.

“I can’t believe I’m trying to convince you to kiss me,” he said.

“It does seem a little far-fetched,” I agreed.

“What are you worried about?”

Why did it feel like he could read my mind? There were so many things I was worried about. How badly this could all go. What his reaction would be when I inevitably freaked out. How if we started kissing, then it was entirely possible we might develop feelings for each other.

And I didn’t want that right now. “If I said yes to doing this, there would have to be some boundaries. Because the truth is, I don’t want the pressure of romantic feelings or emotions being in the way. It would be hard enough trying to fix my dysfunction without also worrying about relationship issues and problems on top of it. I think it would be too much.”

He looked confused. “You’re not interested in dating me? Why?”

I remembered my conversation with Zoe Covington. How hard things could be, how much they struggled to keep their personal lives private. The fans who didn’t understand the difference between reality and fantasy. “Even if I didn’t have this phobia, I don’t think you’re the kind of guy I could see myself with. Look at your life. I’m obviously a private person. I don’t share myself with many people, and some parts of your life have to be on display for the entire world. You’re hot and talented and women all over the world are dying to be with you. I think I’d always be worried that you couldn’t be faithful to me. And what if some crazy stalker attacked me for being your girlfriend? It would be a lot.”