Ila:Lol.I know.I don’t know why you’re embarrassed? You draw amazingly well, and you’re dating the hottest hockey player in San Francisco. Girls would kill to be in your shoes. So, no horizontal tango yet, huh??
Gah. I don’t know why I told her anything. Since meeting Max, she’d lost some of her shyness.
Me:Go away. Go trouble your man. I’m sooo done with this convo!
Ila:He’s at the office. We’ll try the bench tonight.
I burst out laughing and could almost see her smiling. Her typing dots danced for a bit…
If you’re still in the city and not pulling weeds for the star player of the Cheetahs, come over, and we’ll have lunch.
Grinning, I typed:Will let you know. Now, I’ve got to run. Work awaits me.
I tossed my cell aside, opened my laptop, and started my work. My smile faded as my mind slipped back to War, hoping he was okay…
By two o’clock, I gave up and knew if I didn’t go see him, I’d end up with an ulcer.
Quickly, I traded my sweats for a pair of forest-green capri pants and teamed it with a sleeveless, high neck black top and matching espadrille wedges. I grabbed my tote and cell, summoned Uber, locked up with the keycard War had left for me, and headed out.
* * *
The sounds of cars driving past and people chattering crowded my ears as I made my way up the street in SoMa toward the address War had given me. I wasn’t sure if the ad was for a magazine or TV. Guess I’d find out soon enough.
“Charlotte—Charli!” someone yelled.
Frowning, I glanced back down the sidewalk and bit off a groan as Craig dashed over like a ghost I wished would remain in the past.
“Good, I caught you, babes.” He grasped my arms and kissed me on the lips.
Ugh! I shoved him away and wiped my mouth with my hand. “What the hell, Craig?”
He smiled a little, his hazel eyes soft, as if that would work on me. “Sorry, old habit.”
My left butt cheek! How was I ever drawn to this narcissistic ass?
“I don’t want your whoring mouth near me.”
A grimace curled his lips. “I’m sorry about the last time—”
“Which? When I found you with some slank on one of your stopovers, or at the bar where you ambushed me?”
“Both.” His gaze drifted over my face. “Charlotte, I regret what happened between us. I made a mistake.”
I lifted an eyebrow at the blatant lie. He’d probably never apologized for whoring his way across the globe in his life. And I didn’t trust him. When the rose-tinted glasses came off, the truth glared right at me. God, I was such a fool, looking for acceptance with all the wrong idiots.
And something was up with this one. “What do you want, Craig?”
“Look.” He stepped closer, moving out of the path of people heading for the warehouse. “Can we go have coffee and talk?”
Dammit, I should have been inside by now. I put space between us. “No.”
He sighed, smoothing back his perfectly styled hair. “I don’t blame you. Just so you know, I do love you—”
“You wouldn’t know the meaning of the word if it bit you in your ass.”
“Ah, you still think of my ass. I know you loved me in uniform. Charlotte—” He reached for my hand then stopped when he met my glare. “The reason I came to the bar was to talk to you. Give me another chance, and I’ll prove myself to you.”
Oh, my God! It surprised me his big head actually had any space left for his brain when it was crowded with his own ego. Did he think I’d go running back to him if he uttered the L-word again?
