“Oui, peut être près du mur du fond.”As I suspected, my perfected French is wasted on him.
“I’m sorry?” His mouth drops, not used to an asshole like me testing his phony language skills.
God, I hate pretentious waiters. I point to the empty table near my client. “I said by the back wall. And drop the accent, okay dude?”
Unlike me, Rose, giggles. She probably adores the bougie atmosphere. After tossing her hair, she flicks her napkin and covers the scandalous amount of bare thigh. I know the moment she spots me because her mouth drops open.
I give her plenty of credit for tearing her eyes away before her date notices.
Yeah, sweetheart, I’m watching you.I order a drink and by the time it arrives, so does Jeannie. Dressed in Fifth Avenue’s finest, she plants a wet, strawberry kiss on my lips. Knowing how she loves marking me, I wipe my mouth with a napkin and sure enough, it’s covered in pink goo.
“Wesley. It’s been ages. Is this your way of apologizing? If so, I highly approve.” A city girl, my date prefers black. She wears designer leggings and a low-cut, long-sleeved number that hugs her boobs and ass. Her diamond earrings sparkle along with the ones in her acrylic nails. Smoky dark lids emphasize huge eyes which, in the past, would’ve had me drooling.
Tonight, my thunder-sword refuses to appreciate her beauty. I might as well be having a conversation with Mrs. Murphy. At the thought of the morning, I glance over at Rose. Only then does my traitorous tallywhacker come to life.
No fool, Jeannie, looks up from her menu, catches me eyeing another woman, and purses her lips. “Are you on a job?”
“No.” I’m not being paid, so technically, I’m not lying.
Her gaze narrows. “Fuck you, Wes. Really? After everything we’ve shared?”
I have to admit, asking her to dinner was a shit move but I couldn’t very well dine here by myself. “Order anything you like, baby. I swear I’ll make it up to you.”
“In the bedroom?”
Lowering my eyes, I let her down easy. We won’t be sharing a bed ever again.
“Oh, for shit’s sake. Fine.” She motions the waiter over and as she waits, poison darts shoot out of her eyes. “You owe me, big time.”
The bottle of expensive wine helps my date calm down. Still, she uses an icy tone as she flicks her head in Rose’s direction. “I’m guessingsheis the reason you’re not coming home with me tonight?”
“Yeah. Listen. I’m sorry. I thought I could, but I can’t.”Some guys may be able to have sex with one woman while thinking of another but not me.
“Well, it was bound to happen, eventually.” At her bitter laugh, I hold her hand.
“What’re you talking about?”
“You’re in love, stupid, and I’m okay with it, but don’t call me again. We agreed we’d be exclusive until we were not.” She dabs at her eyes, and I’m surprised. I had no idea her heart was engaged.
Damn, this is exactly why I avoid relationships. “Jeannie, believe me, I haven’t slept with her.”
“But you want to.” Her gaze lifts, hoping I’ll disagree.
Instead, I glance at the floor. “It’s complicated.”
“Does she know you have a prosthetic leg?” Hitting below the belt, she says it loud enough for a couple to turn their heads but not Rose.
When I don’t respond, a vindictive smile spreads across her face. “Oh my God, you haven’t told her. You need your head shrunk and I mean that in the nicest way possible.”
Jeannie slides back her chair, makes sure her competition is watching, then kisses me long and hard. Then, she slaps my face. “You’re welcome.”
As she stomps out of the restaurant, I rub my heated cheek. Maybe she’s right. I do need to have my head examined. Both of them.
Chapter 8
Rose
If not for Wheels stalking me, I might’ve enjoyed my evening. Rocco makes me laugh. He’s sweet, sophisticated, and well-traveled. Fluent in English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, he’s nothing like the men my uncle normally sets me up with.
