The Billionaire's Pretend Girlf - Leslie North Page 0,51
weeks and three countries later, Daniel was returning to his penthouse for the first time since right after Grayson’s wedding. He’d skipped over his planned days home after Bangladesh, diving straight into the Sri Lanka project without a break, eager to delay his return home.
Coming back to his sanctuary had always been a relief, something he looked forward to.
But this time? He felt empty. Not to mention, more depressed than he could ever remember feeling.
In a way, he’d been able to beat back his emotions during the business trip. It was easy for him to get lost in work—it was practically his only defense mechanism. But thoughts of Jackie consistently lurked near the edges of his mind, even when he was pretty sure he was close to not caring.
Coming back home only proved to him he wasn’t over it, not even a little bit. He cared. Oh, he cared too much. The hurt still rippled through him. And finding his once-again empty penthouse—this time sans sexy house sitter naked in his bathtub—he wasn’t sure what to do now.
As he slowly walked through the foyer, depositing his keys and wallet by the front door, he saw a scrap of paper on the front table. His gut cinched. Not another note.
This time, from his new house sitter: “You should get one of those automatic fish feeder things! Fish really creep me out.”
He sighed, tossing it back where he’d found it. Memories of Jackie crept back into his mind. How did we both name one of my fish Henry? It almost made him laugh—almost. Really, he wanted to call her and beg that she come back. Just for a night. To see if they could hash something out and find a way forward together.
His phone vibrated—it was a call from Blake. He answered it, tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder. “What’s up?”
“Hey, you home yet?”
“Yeah, just walked in.”
“Awesome. I got Grayson on the line too. We want to plan a boys weekend.”
“Yeah, my last hurrah before the baby’s born,” Grayson added with a laugh.
Normally, he’d love the idea. But damn near everything had lost its luster since Jackie walked away from him. He sighed, sinking into his couch. “Yeah? When are you thinking?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You do not sound as thrilled as you should,” Blake said.
“I’m just tired,” he lied.
“Is this because of Jackie?” Grayson asked, his voice sounding different.
Daniel hadn’t told his friends about what happened that post-wedding morning. He was too embarrassed to admit it, and he’d avoided all talk of the bet ever since. He would never accept Grayson’s money anyway, he just needed to figure out how to gracefully resolve it. “Why do you ask?”
“Mila ran into her the other day,” Grayson said tentatively.
His stomach sank to his feet. “How is she?”
“Ohhh, no,” Blake said. “What did I miss?”
“I don’t know, maybe Daniel should fill us in,” Grayson said.
Daniel clenched his jaw. He’d hoped to come home and attempt relaxing, but now? His gut was in knots worse than ever. Like Jackie had left him yesterday.
“We broke up,” Daniel said, not sure what else to say. “After the wedding.”
His friends were quiet for a few moments. “Damn,” Blake said. “I really thought you two had something.”
“Yeah, me too,” Daniel said bitterly.
“Man, I’m sorry to hear that. Mila said she looked sad, if that’s any consolation.”
Daniel smirked, but it faded fast. It was a consolation, but not for long. “Well, if it’s any consolation to you guys, she wasn’t really my girlfriend at the beginning. I just wanted to win your bet. She was my house sitter, and she agreed to play along. But we fell for each other—hard. And then she walked away.”
“Oooh, two bombs right there,” Blake said.
“I guess that answers my next question,” Grayson said, “which was why on earth you wouldn’t let me send your bet payout while you were gone.”
“He did win the bet,” Blake said.
“I don’t want your money. Start your baby’s trust fund with it instead of paying me.” He paused, more words trembling on his lips. “I just want Jackie.”
“Yeah, sounds like it. Daniel, you gotta go after her,” Blake said.
“Why don’t you track her down?” Grayson asked. “You still have her number—”
“She changed it while I was abroad. I would text on occasion, though she never responded. And then one day I got the ‘new phone—who is this’ text. Guys, she doesn’t want to talk to me. I can at least respect that.”
“I dunno. You were happier than I’ve