“Stella? That’s the girl you were with at the party, right? Is she your girlfriend?” “What?” he asked. “Don’t you follow the tabloids?” “No. Believe it or not, I’ve done a pretty good job pretending you never existed until this past week.” “Stella is . . .” He paused, and I suspected he was putting a great deal of thought into the words he chose. “She’s the reason you can stop suspecting I’m trying something devious with you.” “So she’s your girlfriend?” I asked. There was another long pause. “For about a month, so far.”
