“You have a rich, hot—did I mentionhot—guy so into you that he tattooed your name on hishotbody. How horrible your life must be!” she mocks.
“You missed the part about him being a cartel boss,” I remind her.
“Meh, our jobs do not define us as people,” she says, and I roll my eyes.
“Sounds like something a doctor would say.”
It shouldn’t bother me. He’s right. It’s not my body. But the fact he put my name on him is a big fucking deal. This infuriating infatuation he has with me isn’t going anywhere. I agreed to give him a week of getting to know each other. And here we are, three weeks later…
“What am I doing? I’m playing with the kind of fire I know is going to burn me.” I sigh.
“Well, it’s a good thing I happen to know how to treat burn injuries,” Rachel tells me. “You deserve this, Evie. Don’t let your past take away something good from your future just because you’re scared.”
My brows furrow. “I’m not scared of E,” I tell her. Because as stupid as it is, I’m really not.
“No, you’re scared of letting yourself be happy, of letting someone in. Because you think if you do, they’re going to run and then you’ll end up alone and hurt again.”
“You know, for once, I wish I had dumb friends.” I shake my head.
She’s not wrong, though. I’m afraid of him learning the truth. Because I know it’s only a matter ofwhenwith Emmanuel. The guy is like a dog with a bone. He’s not going to stop until he knowseverything that happened to me, and when he does, he’s not going to see me as some beautiful trophy he wants to own. He’s going to see that beneath all that flawless skin, there’s layer after layer of ugly scars.
“You just don’t like that I’m right,” Rachel says.
“I know,” I groan. “Okay, enough of this boring boy talk. Let’s watch a cheesy Hallmark movie. I’m about to crash, and I want you to make sure that if I do, no one gets into the bedroom while I’m sleeping.”
“Deal, but let’s watch it in the guest room. You’re not sleeping on the sofa.” Rachel stands and then pulls me to my feet with her.
After changing into my favorite sleep tee and washing my face, I get comfy on the bed in her guest room and turn on some Christmas movie.
“I love you, Rach,” I say over a yawn.
“Love you too, Evie,” she replies, squeezing my hand. “Go to sleep. I won’t let anyone in.”
“Thank you.” I close my eyes and, for the first time in days, sleep overcomes me.
When I wake up, I’m alone. I roll over and glance around the room. I’m at Rachel’s house. I have no idea how long I’ve been here. Reaching over to the bedside table, I swipe up my phone.
My eyes widen when I see the date. Two days. I’ve been asleep for two days! There’re a few messages from Charlotte and one from Rachel letting me know she had to go to work, but that she made sure no one was going into my room. She set up a nanny cam and was monitoring it remotely for me.
I smile and send her a message back.
Me:
Thank you. Just woke up. I’m going to shower and head home.
Rachel:
There’s a package waiting for you outside the bedroom door.
My brows furrow. A package? She probably left breakfast, expecting I’d wake up soon.
At the thought of food, my stomach growls and I drag myself out of bed. It’s always strange to lose so much time sleeping.
I open the bedroom door and freeze. Not exactly the meal I was expecting but not one I’ll be turning away either. Sitting with his back against the wall, opposite the door, is Emmanuel. He looks up at me. But before he can stand, I pounce. My legs straddle his waist and my arms wrap around his neck. Then my lips fuse onto his. My tonguepushes into his mouth. Greedily. Not that he complains.
After a few seconds, I pull back. “Sorry.”
I smile, suddenly self-conscious that I just threw myself at him, with morning breath too. Gross. I know that I look like crap. My hair isn’t even brushed.Oh god, what he must be thinking!
