“She has the day off,” she says. “Strawberry, vanilla or chocolate?”
“Strawberry,” I answer. “With chocolate syrup drizzled on the whipped cream.”
“Oh that sounds like a terrible day. Spill it, girl,” she says giddily.
“I told you. Men suck,” I answer, stirring my ice water with the straw.
“Ouch,” a male voice says, and the next thing I know, Rafe is pulling up a seat next to me.
“Hey Rafe,” Brynn purrs in his direction. Rafe smirks and winks at her. I take a sip of my milkshake to keep from gagging or worse. So much for a night that will make me feel better.
“Who hurt you?” Rafe asks, and when I realize he is talking to me, I swallow and turn to him.
“I’m sorry?”
“You said men suck. Let me guess…trouble in Wolfe paradise?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say. Not with them anyway.
“Well, if you ask me, you’re better off without him,” Rafe goes on.
“Now, Rafe, she loves him…and she’s hurting. You do, right?” Brynn asks.
“Do what?” I ask, and Rafe snorts.
“Love Dom,” she says.
“Oh. Yes. Of course,” I say. For one, it’s not a lie. But also, even if I didn’t, I have to pretend I do because the last thing I need is Rafe finding out about our…deal.
“Well, that’s good,” Rafe says, sipping the beer Brynn set in front of him. “The last thing you’d want to do is marry someone you don’t actually love.”
I stop sucking the milkshake straw and glance over at Rafe. The problem with trying to read him is he always has the same look on his cocky face. He always seems to look like he’s up to no good. No wonder Dominic likes punching him in the face so much; it’s probably the only time that smug expression ever slides. Brynn has a small smile herself, and between the two of them, I’m getting the sense I’m venting to the wrong crowd.
“What do I owe you, Brynn?” I ask, reaching in my purse for my wallet.
“This one’s on the house, sweetie,” she says. “You save your money, just in case you need it later.”
My eyes narrow in confusion. “I’m fine on money, Brynn,” I tell her, not sure what she’s getting at.
“Maybe so, but you never know,” she says, and I swear Rafe looks even more smug. They’re up to something. I’ll add their names to the list of people acting weird.
Chapter 38
Dominic
“I don’t wantto say it,” Andrew tells me as the bartender hands me a freshly cracked bottle of beer. The vapor rising like a ribbon of smoke into the air, promising a crisp first sip.
“Go ahead,” I say, taking a long pull from the bottle before he can get the words out. I’m going to let him have this one. Because he did tell me what he thought would happen. He did say that attempting to pull one over on my dad was a stupid idea.
“Nah, you don’t need me to rub it in your face any more than it’s already being rubbed,” he says, grabbing a beer for himself and pulling up a chair. We are at a bar in the same building as his place. His rooftop penthouse in a high-rise on Avenue of the Stars overlooks the city. It’s not my style, but it’s nice, that’s for sure.
“How kind of you,” I say sarcastically.
“I try,” he says with a smile, then it softens to Andrew’s version of empathy. “So what exactly happened?” he asks.
“I told you. I was at the Cockpit watching Mila dance, and then my dad called and blew everything wide open. And I mean…wide,” I say, taking another sip of my beer.
“So he found out that your marriage arrangement was, for lack of better words, arranged,” Andrew starts and I nod. “And he knew that you intended to divorce her as soon as the funds hit your account,” he says.
