The Billionaire's Pretend Girlf - Leslie North Page 0,49

it be so, she would. But Daniel was only on loan to her. She’d gotten him for a week, but she’d been one of the lucky ones to have had even that much time. From everything he’d said, she had no illusions that he’d find himself with another week to lavish on a lover any time soon.

And with how hot and real and churning these emotions were inside her…his few-days-per-month promise was almost worse than nothing.

Just enough to remind her that she’d never have Daniel. Not fully. Not when he was married to his job and all the stress that came with it.

He would leave. Not just because of his job, but because in Jackie’s wild and starry-eyed week at Daniel’s side, she’d forgotten one, unchanging truth: everyone left.

It was just a matter of time. So she needed to save herself. She needed to do what was best.

Jackie sat up as the clock read one a.m. She’d spent the last couple hours lost in the downward spiral of her mind, but now, in this moment, the decision seemed clear.

If he was going to leave her sooner or later, no matter what she did, then she needed to leave first.

Her heart thumped while she moved through the darkened suite. She didn’t want him to wake up and see her here. She didn’t want an argument, and she would just rather avoid the questions. It was easier all around to escape now, leave a note, and avoid further contact. She’d have a better chance at closing the fissure in her heart if it ended that way. A clean break. A swift ending.

She tried to pack her luggage as quietly as possible, almost forgetting to put regular clothes on before slipping out of the suite. With her hand on the door handle, she paused, looking back inside. She should leave something behind. A note. Some explanation, at least. She left her bag blocking the doorway, propping the door open enough to give her enough light to see what she was writing, and hurried to the notepad on a tall table nearby. She licked at dry lips, wondering what she could even say. Finally, she wrote:

“Let’s not fool ourselves, okay? Thanks for the great time.”

Once the door clicked shut behind her, she could hear her heartbeat inside her skull.

Are you making the right choice?

It was too late for that question now. She was locked out of the suite with all her earthly possessions in her grip. At this point, there would be no explaining away why she was in the hallway, everything packed. Sleepwalking? No chance. Not with that handwritten note.

She needed to keep moving. Stick to the plan.

Even if it suddenly seemed like the biggest mistake she could make.

Her footsteps scuffed through the tiled foyer as she headed for the front of the villa. Once outside, she finally pulled up the ride share app to ping a ride. The nearest one was five minutes away—perfect.

It didn’t matter if this ride share back to San Francisco would drain her bank account.

Protecting herself was worth it.

17

Daniel awoke the next morning to the sound of chirping birds. Every part of him felt deeply satisfied, like he’d achieved some sort of internal enlightenment and just had back-to-back three-hour massages.

A yawn rolled past his lips and he stretched. As his arms met empty space beside him, his eyes shot open.

Jackie wasn’t there.

He listened for a few moments, rationalizing that she was probably using the bathroom, or taking a shower. But the suite was oddly quiet. The only sound was the chirping birds from outside. He sat up, the sheets crumpling around his waist.

“Princess?”

No response. He drew his brows together. Maybe she’d gotten hungry and decided to get breakfast to bring back to the room. After all, they’d burned quite a lot of calories the previous night. He headed to the bathroom to wash his face and pee. And while he was mid-stream, his gaze drifting over the white marble countertop, something clicked into place.

Her toothbrush was missing.

In fact, everything that she’d brought and stored in the bathroom was missing.

He washed his hands, looking over everything again. His shampoo, conditioner, aftershave, toothpaste—all of it was there. He headed out into the bedroom, confusion drawing tight inside him. He checked the closet, and that’s where his stomach really cinched into a sick knot.

Her luggage was gone.

Her clothes were gone.

Everything was gone.

“Jackie?” He could hear the worry in his voice. But it still didn’t seem possible. There had to be some