Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Julian
You should have dinner with your dad since we’re leaving tomorrow for a few days.
“Who’s Sonia?” I ask Josie, pocketing my phone.
“I’m not sure,” she says with a shrug. “Julian just told me to put her through to him, no matter what.”
“You’re his assistant. Shouldn’t you know who he does business with?” I accuse, my tone harsh.
“I don’t know everything about Julian,” she snaps back. “Take you, for example. I didn’t know about you until you two were already engaged. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
I should probably apologize, but I’m too upset about the fact that my fiancée is going out with another woman tonight instead of coming home and being with me.
On the way home, I call Paige, needing to speak to someone who’s not associated with Julian.
“Hello, stranger,” she says. “How’s it going?”
“I think Julian is cheating on me.”
“Can he do that if your engagement is fake?”
I open my mouth, then close it, unsure of how to answer that because she’s right. Our engagement is fake, so technically, he’s not cheating on me. But …
“He told me he wanted us to be real,” I whisper, my heart cracking into pieces.
“Oh,” she gasps. “Apparently, a lot has happened since we last spoke. Care to get me caught up?”
I quickly give her the CliffsNotes version, and when I’m done, she whistles under her breath.
“Never thought I’d see the day.”
“What?”
“The all-work, no-play Anastasia Webb has fallen in love.”
“I have not.” But even as I deny it, I know I’m lying to myself because she’s right. I have fallen for Julian. Despite everything, I have fallen for my fake fiancé, who apparently thinks it’s okay to date other women.
“Maybe since you’re not official, he doesn’t think he’s doing anything wrong,” Paige suggests.
“He told me the first day we met that he would be loyal,” I hiss. “And now, he’s talking to other women, but expects me to give us a real chance? Fuck that.”
“Then, maybe it’s a business meeting,” Paige says. “You should just talk to him.”
I’m about to pull into the driveway, but at the last second, I pass it by.
“I’m going to Carlson’s.”
“And what are you going to do if you find him with another woman?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper, the thought making me sick to my stomach. “But I need to know.”
The drive to Carlson’s feels like it takes forever. Once I arrive, I let the valet attendant know I won’t be long so he doesn’t park my vehicle. Then, I go in search of Julian.
I find him quickly, sitting in a corner booth with a beautiful blonde woman. I stand, frozen in place, while I watch them talk and laugh. He drinks his scotch, no doubt Kingston Gold Label, while she sips her glass of white wine.
When she leans over and places her hand on his arm while looking at him like he hung the damn moon, I can’t take it anymore and leave. A myriad of emotions flits through me on the way home—heartbroken, sad, hurt, devastated, and confused—but the one I settle on is betrayed.
How dare he make me fall for him, only to seek out another woman! I might not be perfect, but I deserve better than that.
I finish packing despite not wanting to go on this trip. I’m going to be stuck on a plane with Julian for three hours and then sharing a room with him for the next three nights.
chapter twenty-four
ANASTASIA
Julian’s strong arms wrap around me from behind, and for a second, I forget about what I saw and allow myself to sink back into him, getting lost in the comfort of his touch and warmth.
He nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck, and I tilt my head slightly to give him better access. As he trails kisses along my flesh, I let out a needy moan, wanting more.
I never knew how cold and lonely sleeping alone was until I spent the past month sleeping in the same bed as Julian. The thought of going back to sleeping alone is sad and depressing. But instead of allowing those emotions to settle within me, I push them out and focus on the emotion that’s easier to hide behind—anger.
And then he speaks, and his words are enough to set me off.
“I know it’s late, and I should probably let you sleep,” he murmurs. “But I need to know, baby, did you get off without me?”
Pushing off him, I roll to the other side of the bed and slide off, needing to get away from him. It’s too hard to be strong with his body wrapped around mine and his scent invading my senses.
“I need to use the bathroom,” I mutter, unable to look at him.
I snatch my phone off the nightstand and lock myself in the bathroom. When I see it’s after two in the morning, it takes everything in me not to stomp back out and demand Julian admit to what he’s done. But after googling how to handle a cheater, I learned that most cheaters would lie anyway, so it’s pointless. What’s done is done—lesson learned.