“Cancel the date,” he manages to croak.
“You’re not going to look at her or speak to her ever again, are you?”
He shakes his head.
This man is the opposite of me.Blond, no ink, and a lot leaner than me.He’s wearing a gray suit, and his hair is slicked back like he spent an hour in the morning getting it just perfect.
She tried to go on a date with someone as different from me as physically possible.
I let go of him, and he falls to the ground, his back to the wall just outside his office.“Message her now and cancel.”I pause, and then add, “Tell her it had nothing to do with her, she’s beautiful, but you have to go out of town.”
“Okay.I didn’t know she was taken.”
“Well, now you know.”
I get back on my motorcycle and go for a long ride.
XANTHE
I’m sitting at Lu’s bakery, eating a chocolate cupcake and complaining.“All I got was a text message saying he can’t take me out, he’s sorry, and it’s not me, it’s him.”
“What an ass.”Lu frowns, pulling out a chair and sitting.It’s almost closing time, and there are no customers.“But, I mean, you didn’t really want to date him anyway, right?Or are we still pretending there isn’t a ghost here in the room with us?”
Ora laughs, placing her hand on her pregnant stomach.“Ghost isn’t going anywhere.I think instead of trying to find another man, you should talk to him and get to the bottom of what happened.”
Yeah, maybe.
A small part of me is wondering why he hasn’t just thrown me over his shoulder and taken me.Instead, he has been patient, still watching out for me from afar, but he hasn’t gone all alpha on me.
Wow, how toxic am I?
All of our phones go off with a message in the group chat.
Lore
Atiana just stalked your location and has FOMO.She wants me to drop her off at the bakery.
We all laugh.
Lu
We are just about to close up and come to the clubhouse, so tell her to stay there.
I’m still in my work clothes—tailored slacks and a white blouse.“I might just head home, but thank you for listening to me vent.”
“Anytime,” Ora replies, flashing me a soft smile.“You sure you don’t want to come and hang out with us?”
“Yeah, I should get some work done.”
“And… you’re trying to avoid Ghost,” Lu adds, green eyes dancing with amusement.
“Yeah, and that.”
We say goodbye, I get in my car, and drive home.When I park in my driveway, my sister, Zelia, video calls me.I lock my car door and make my way into my house as I chat with her.
“How’s Thailand?”I ask, and she smiles widely as she shows me the beach behind her.
My sister can never stay in one place too long.She loves to travel, and unlike me, who wants to stay in nice resorts, she is happy to stay in hostels to save money so she can stay away longer.
