Imperfectly Delicious (Imperfect Series #6) - Mary Frame Page 0,69

real mastermind and I don’t want you to fall into his trap.” She sniffs and a delicately manicured hand slides a perfectly pressed handkerchief from her pocket, and she dabs it under her sunglasses.

I want to laugh, but I manage to suppress the urge. “You’re good. I’ll give you that.”

She steps toward me and lifts the sunglasses to the top of her head.

I lean back, her appearance giving me a start. Her eyes are rimmed and red. She’s close enough that it’s obvious the grey smudges under her eyes are not a product of makeup or some kind of trickery. You can’t fake that level of exhaustion.

“I know that I messed up when I left Guy. I knew it right away. I’ve spent the last year wondering if I could return and pick things up like they were. But the thing is, if you want to be with him, you have to accept that he’ll always put you last. His sisters and his business, and basically everything else will come first. He doesn’t really care about anyone but himself.”

I search her eyes. She’s being sincere, I think. But this whole conversation is odd.

She pulls her shades down and slips the handkerchief back into her pocket with a shrug. “Anyway, to prove my point, he’s already bought this property. So, you aren’t any different from me, really. He was using you until the deal went through.” She waves a hand around. “You can go ask him if you don’t believe me. I’m just trying to do the right thing.”

And she walks away, unconcerned.

I watch her go, and the old niggle of doubt intrudes. The one I thought Guy had banished forever, especially after last night and then this morning. I mean, he had someone bring me coffee. He left me a note about how much he enjoyed last night and he drew little silly stick figures in compromising positions. He cares about me. It wasn’t some elaborate hoax, there would be no reason for it.

I won’t call him in a panic. I won’t be someone who freaks out over nothing. I can get an answer to this very quickly and I won’t even have to see Guy to do it.

I call Bethany.

“Hello friend!” Bethany yells into my ear.

“Aren’t you at work?”

“Yeah,” she snorts, “I just freaked out my assistant. Sorry Todd!”

“Hey, quick question. Did Crawford and Company sell the lot where I’m parked?”

“No way.”

I knew it.

“But actually, I don’t know. I don’t think so. Let me double check for you, hold please.”

She puts me on hold and I listen to elevator music for about thirty seconds.

“Shit, Scarlett,” she says as soon as she clicks back onto the line.

My stomach drops to my toes.

No. No no no. It’s not true. It can’t be.

Black spots swim across my field of vision and I sit on the bumper of the truck and take deep breaths.

Bethany is still talking in my ear. Something about how the deal is final, but papers haven’t been signed, yet, everything still has to go through escrow. But I barely hear her. I feel sick. But maybe still, there’s something going on. He can explain it. I know it.

After everything we’ve done and everything he said, he wouldn’t do this to me, not without some kind of plan, like he said. But then why didn’t he tell me?

But the little voices in my head are buzzing in a chorus of “I told you so’s” because I always do this. I always believe in love and forever after and every time it’s a lie. Past experience is waving a red flag and telling me I’m the biggest moron in the history of idiots.

I don’t even know if I say goodbye to Bethany. Somehow, she’s not on the line anymore and I walk across the street in a daze.

“Scarlett?” Fred calls out behind me from the order window. “What’s going on?”

But I keep walking. Carson isn’t at his desk. I stop outside Guy’s office and the words hit me like bullets in my chest.

“If you tell me you’re changing all of our plans simply because you’re fucking the cupcake woman, I don’t care how cute she is, you’ve been compromised and this whole thing will be a disaster.”

And then Guy’s response. ““Fine. It’s not important. Just do what you need to, get the deal done, and we’ll talk after.”

I can’t breathe. This isn’t happening to me. Again.

“Guy?”

“Scarlett.” His eyes drop. Guiltily.

“You…you bought the…you did it. That thing you said you weren’t going