Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
No, I would not be going on a date with the man who cheated on me. He could cash in his bet, sure, and I would definitely enjoy it. But it ended there. Well, after I managed to convince Seb to taste daylight and make plans for his future, of course.
By the time five o’clock rolled through, my hackles had risen. I wore a nice backless dress, a bit of makeup, and even a French twist, cinched with an emerald clip.
“You only dressed to the nines so you can dump him looking like a bad ass.” I flattened my dress before the mirror, satisfied with how I looked. “Right, Briar?”
Oliver showed up at six o’clock on the dot, which, unsurprisingly, beat out every other frog I’d dated. I’d spent that entire decade giving men brownie points if they didn’t arrive more than ten minutes late to pick me up. Fun fact: the men girls date in their twenties teach them more about red flags than dark romance.
He knocked once, waiting for me to come get him. I swung the door open, my face carefully blank. To my surprise, he’d dropped his afternoon suit and replaced it with dark-blue chinos, a white Henley, and an unbuttoned, fleece-lined Corduroy trucker jacket.
He looked … normal. Ordinary. It almost made me want to go on this date. Almost.
“Nice of you to make me dress up only to show up looking like an unemployed lumberjack.” I kept my fist on the door, blocking his way inside. “Lucky for me, we’re not going out.”
“Tell that to your dress.” His wolfish eyes devoured me from head to toe. “Good evening, sweetheart. Why, I’m glad to see you, too.” He kissed me on the cheek, thrusting an oversized bouquet of blue roses into my hands. “I cannot wait to take you on a date.”
Only because it would be a shame to waste such beautiful flowers, I snatched up a vase, filled it with water, and transferred the bouquet inside. The roses never cheated on me.
“Let me guess.” I tossed the bouquet wrapper. “You closed off Broadway for a private screening?” It sounded like something he’d do – downright gauche. “You’ll have to watch it alone, I’m afraid.”
“Did you want me to close Broadway?” He followed me into the living room, ignoring my last sentence. “Because that’s not off the table.”
“Oliver,” I stretched his name out, slow so he could follow. “We aren’t going on a date.”
He grabbed the back of his neck, and I almost felt sorry for him.
His eyes dipped down a few seconds before flicking back up to mine. For a moment, he seemed … vulnerable. “But I worked really hard on planning it.”
Do not budge, Briar. The man cheated on you and has never apologized. ‘I was young’ isn’t good enough.
I tipped my chin up. “Take Lindsey.”
“Who’s Lindsey?” His brows pulled together. “Did we get a pet I don’t know about?”
Oh, god. He wanted to play dumb. I wouldn’t let him.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Your real childhood sweetheart.”
“Huh?” At my silence, he added, “You’re gonna have to help me out here.”
“You don’t even remember your old flings?” I scowled, disgusted. “The chick you cheated on me with.”
His jaw almost dislodged. He managed to snap it back up, both hands raised. “Baby, I never cheated on you.”
“I saw the proof.” I palmed my phone, waving it. “You can’t lie your way out of this.”
“I literally do not know what you’re talking about, Briar. Swear on my life.” He paused. “Swear on Sebastian’s life, too.”
“Oliver, I’m not stupid. You flirted with her in your public Instagram comments.” I raised my voice a few octaves, mimicking what I imagined her pitch to be. “When are you inviting me to the lake house? DM’d you something naughty.”
If I had my head on straight, I’d be mortified that I’d just revealed how often I reread those comments. That they’d seared into my memory, still to this day. But instead, I only saw red – even redder at his total silence and that dumb blank stare he pasted onto his face.
I deepened my voice this time, doing a shitty job of mocking him. “So, when are you coming over so I can show you a good time?”
Crickets.
“Seriously, Oliver? You wrecked my world, ghosted me when I tried to confront you about it, then rejected me, even when I swallowed my pride and showed up on your doorsteps. You made a joke out of me. You obviously don’t respect me. And now you won’t even admit it?”
He smacked his forehead so suddenly, it startled me silent. “Oh, god. I’m gonna kill him.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sebastian. He wrote those messages. He told me about it, but so much happened that I never got the chance to tell you.”
I snorted. “Convenient.”
“Seriously.” He pointed to my phone. “Ask him.”