Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(50)

I shrugged. "I don't know." I didn't want to admit I hadn't ever roller bladed or roller skated, either. I'd never skateboarded as well. If the activity involved small wheels, I'd never done it.

His grin this time was filled with mischief. "Well, I am proud to pop your ice-skating cherry, seeing as you’re an ice-skating virgin."

I gave him a light flap on his arm. "Don't be naughty." I had a flash of Reed on skates teaching me. It was followed by a feeling like it should have been him doing this with me and guilt that I was here with Bo. But then earlier in the day came back to me and my guilt was replaced with anger.

A flash and a pop went off, and I looked toward the noise. Somebody had just taken our picture. I turned back to Bo.

This expression turned coy. "I need some pictures for the paps to post so my mom will see them."

"I don't remember agreeing to being your fake date."

"Date or not, if she sees me spending time with a woman, she’ll leave me alone. Besides, I didn't tell them I'd be here. Sometimes, I think they've put a tracking device on my car, or hell, maybe they've implanted it in me."

I laughed. "I suppose that's what you get for being such a good hockey player and enjoying getting into trouble."

"It's my cross to bear."

Bo rented me skates, having brought his own. We sat on a bench to put them on. Walking on blades was no easy feat. I wobbled and my ankles kept dropping to the side.

When we reached the ice, Bo stepped on and turned around, holding out both hands. "The trick to ice-skating is to be tight and loose all at the same time."

All I could do was stare at him. How could you be tight and loose at the same time?

"You want to be tight so that you're in control. You don’t want the skates to get away from you. At the same time, you gotta learn to go with the flow. Go ahead and step onto the ice, and I will hold you up."

"What's it going to look like to your mom when she sees me fall flat on my face?"

"She’ll think it's cute. All the fans will think it's cute. They’ll say, ‘Look at horn dog, Bo Tyler, lost in love, sharing his passion with his new woman.’"

I rolled my eyes and then almost immediately, my skates slipped out from under me.

"Whoa." Bo wrapped his arm around my waist and propped me up. "Remember, stay tight."

For the first part of my lesson, he dragged me along the ice. Other skaters whizzed past us. A few fell around me, and like osmosis, I nearly fell with them. But pretty soon, I started to get the hang of it, and I was able to propel myself on the ice with my own effort. I wasn’t very fast, and definitely not steady, but I was confident enough to enjoy myself. I liked the coolness of the cool wind on my face as I glided over the ice.

"You're doing great, Analyn. Maybe next time, we’ll put a stick in your hand and we’ll play hockey."

"I know I'm not ready for that. But I am having fun, Bo. Thank you."

When we finished skating, we exited the ice, and my feet were happy when I was able to sit down to put my shoes back on.

"Shall we see what's been posted on social media?" Bo asked, pulling out his phone.

I had gotten so into skating, I had forgotten that we were being watched.

"This is a nice one." He held the phone out in front of me. It was one in which Bo had his arm around me and my arms were winging out to the side.

"I look like I'm about to fall on my ass."

He laughed. "But look how concerned and helpful I am."

I rolled my eyes. "Because, yes, the world revolves around Bo Tyler."

"Well, according to the paparazzi, it does. Look at this one. It's a video."

I watched as Bo and I skated side by side. By then, I'd gotten the hang of it, sort of. I still looked unsteady, but it was cute.

"I'm going to send this one to my mom." Once he finished sharing, he put his hand on my back and rubbed. "I hope you had fun. I really do appreciate this."

I looked over at him and smiled. "I did have fun. Thank you."

He flashed his boyish grin and leaned over, giving me a kiss on the cheek. That little kernel of guilt at being with him tried to bloom in my gut again. I told it to shut up. After all, Reed was probably on the verge of firing me. He’d accused me of using him and sleeping with him to get benefits on the job. He thought that even though I had worked so hard for just the opposite.

Maybe if I spent more time with Bo, I would forget Reed. I liked Bo. He was fun and spontaneous. He clearly didn't take life too seriously.

I wondered what Reed would do when he saw the pictures of me with Bo. I knew what he would do. He'd already accused me of sleeping with Bo after having sex with him. I remembered the jealousy he'd shown at the hockey game. The petty part of me hoped that Reed saw the photos and felt jealous. It was stupid, but this sort of felt like payback.

I’d never really thought of myself as a vengeful person. But the things Reed had said and accused me of had cut me to my core. How I had begun to fall for him, I didn't know. He had been so different when I met him well over a month ago. And even up until today when he gave me my performance review, I'd have never expected him to say the things he had said to me.

It was time for me to move on. And what better way to get over my infatuation with my boss than to have a fake relationship with Bo Tyler?