“Going to Cabo and sitting on the beach was a good idea. Me bidding twenty-five K to go on a date with you has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. And I woke up one day with a tattoo.”
I smile now. “A tattoo?” My voice comes out smooth. “I’ve never seen it.”
“And you will never see it,” she huffs out. “Ever.”
“Oh, I think this is a challenge.” I clap my hands together.
“There is no challenge!” she shouts. “There is nothing going on here.”
“Oh, there is something going on here.” I put the car in park. “Something big, and I can’t wait for you to finally see it, gorgeous.” She groans. “Be ready tonight. I’ll be there at eight.”
“No!” she shouts.
“See you later, gorgeous,” I say and hang up the phone, smiling to myself. I get out of the truck and make my way over to the gym, where my trainer is waiting.
I walk in, and the cold air hits me right away. “You are five minutes late,” he says, and I look down and see he’s right. “Get on the treadmill.” I nod at him, and for the next two hours, he pushes me until my legs feel like Jell-O.
“It’s a good fucking thing I don’t have to get back on the ice until Tuesday.” My chest heaves up and down as I swallow a whole bottle of water. Sweat from my face drips down, and the phone beeps.
I walk over to the weight bench that has my keys, wallet, and phone, and I smile when I see Layla texted me.
Layla: One date. See you at eight.
I smile to myself like a giddy teenager. I knew she wanted me, I think to myself. “Come to Daddy.”
Chapter 7
Layla
Did he just hang up on me? I look down at the phone and see that the screen saver picture is up. How dare he hang up on me. I get up, storming over to my bedroom and falling on the bed, then turn to the side and see that it’s just a little after one in the afternoon. I’ve just spent the past three hours trying to forget about what I did last night.
But the minute I try to forget, I take a deep breath, and all I can do is smell flowers. It brings me right back to the memories of last night. Sitting at the table watching all the women and then something happening, and I couldn’t explain it. Bidding on him for twenty-five fucking thousand dollars, I close my eyes. Not only that, but I made the payment on the way to the car. They should have a code word before making a purchase that big. Like, were you or are you of sound mind. Because if I’d had that option, I would have failed.
I walked into the house and had a one-on-one with Don Julio, who did nothing but make me forget. He made sure that when I woke up this morning, the memories came slowly.
My phone pings, and I look down, seeing that it’s a text from Miller, and I sit up in my bed. How did he get my number? For the past four years, I’ve given him a different number each time. Each time, he would blow up that number and then ask me why I never answered. I would laugh at him and inform him that he took it down wrong.
I call Candace, who answers right away, whispering, “Did you give Miller my phone number?” I hear a door close softly.
She answers right away. “No, why?” Her voice goes from a whisper to a normal voice. I hear her walking wherever she is.
“Well, he just texted me a picture of us from last night,” I fill her in. “It came through. Like I actually got his text.”
“Okay and …?” she asks, and I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. This is a dream; this has to be a dream or, better yet, a fucking nightmare. But then my eyes open, and I see it’s not a dream.
“I never gave him my number,” I tell her. “I gave him a number. All the fake numbers.”
She gasps and then laughs. “Oh my God, you have to marry him,” she sings with glee while I groan. “You said it yourself. If the guy finds your number, you’ll marry him.”
“I don’t have time for this. I have to be at my grandmother’s place in thirty-five minutes.” I don’t even bother answering or touching what