Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
She nods. “Got it in one.” What does it say about me that I like how no-holds-barred she is? She doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It’s refreshing. “It’s going to take a while to get us out of the hole Louis got us in.”
If anyone can do it, she can.
I turn my attention from Jules and realize my friends are all staring at me. “I get it,” I say. “Louis was crap. Should have gotten rid of him earlier.”
“How is it having a roommate?” Worth asks, changing the subject completely.
It’s like I’ve been slammed into a brick wall of thoughts about my last roommate, Nadia. It’s a stark reminder that for all the jovial banter and relative comfort between us, I really don’t know Jules that well. I thought Nadia was a certain type of person and she turned out to be another. I thought Caroline was in love with me and wanted to be with me forever; that turned out to be a lie, too. I have to be careful who I trust.
“Better than the last one,” I say. Nadia basically moved in, given the amount of time she spent here.
Jules skims her palm over my back and the muscles in my jaw lock tight. “Can I get you anything?”
I shake my head, and I see her register my shift in attitude. I’m being a dick. She’s never done anything to make me the slightest bit suspicious. Things are different with Jules. To start, I know she’s using me. We’re using each other. I want a fiancée; she wants a job. All our cards are on the table. I think.
I hope.
TWENTY-TWO
Jules
I still don’t understand the rules of football. Every couple of years, I google it, or I ask someone to explain, but then I remember I don’t give a shit and get on with my life.
It took them awhile, but Leo and his friends are spread out on the sofa, watching and roasting each other and catching up. It’s cute, even if they are fully grown men. Even billionaires need to blow off steam and be silly from time to time.
“This happens every Monday, huh?” I ask Efa, who’s just come back from the bathroom.
“Every Monday no matter what.” She hops up onto a barstool and starts helping herself to the charcuterie board. “It’s a real priority for Bennett. He won’t miss it unless there’s an emergency.”
“It’s nice, right?” I say. “That they prioritize each other.”
“They pretend it’s about the sport.” Efa laughs.
“It’s not about the sport,” I say. “I’ve been here five minutes and I know that.”
“They trust each other. And they’re so successful, finding people to fully trust can be hard.”
“Finding people you can fully trust can be really hard no matter how successful you are.”
Efa sighs like I’ve pressed a button that brought back a memory. “That’s very true.”
“So congratulations on your engagement,” I say. “I hear it happened fast.”
“Really fast,” Efa says. “I never expected to be engaged so young, but… He says I have an old soul and he’s an immature asshole at times, so we meet somewhere in the middle.”
“A match made in heaven.”
She nods. “What about you? You and Leo seem…” I tense, wondering what she’s going to say next. “Like you’re having a lot of sex.”
My eyes widen and I’m not quite sure what to say. “What do two people having a lot of sex seem like?”
She laughs. “Like you and Leo. So is it a casual thing or…?”
There’s clearly no point in denying it. “Did Leo tell Bennett?”
“No, I can just tell by the way you are with each other. You seem connected. Like more than a fake-engaged couple. Do you like him? What’s the deal?”
The deal is I feel connected to him.
“I don’t know if we have a deal, to be honest.”
“You’ve not talked about it?”
I shake my head. How would that conversation go? “Hey, you’re great in bed, wanna make this fake engagement into a real one and see how it goes?”
“He’s not my usual type.” I pause. “No, maybe he is my usual type. I’m not sure. I haven’t really analyzed the situation.”
“Really?” she asks, taking a corn chip. “Then let’s start.”
Efa is a stranger. I get that she knows Leo and everything, but she doesn’t know me. I can’t go around analyzing my feelings with someone I just met. I don’t even know if I have feelings to analyze.
Well, that’s not true. I’m pretty sure I do have feelings to analyze, I’m just not sure I want to think about them.
“When did the sex start?” she asks, just as Bennett comes up behind her and adds a few more things to his plate.
“Jules, please ignore Efa if she’s being too intrusive. Don’t worry about being rude, just tell her to mind her own business.”
She playfully thwacks him on the arm and he chuckles before going back to the game.