Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 156145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Oh, my God. My heart is on the line.
She sat down heavily. She’d known she cared about him, of course—hard to be friends and not care about someone—but her heart being in danger had nothing to do with friendship and everything to do with deeper feelings.
Real feelings.
The same kinds of feelings that made a person blind to another’s faults and left them emotionally bloodied and bruised. She didn’t want that. She’d actively worked to avoid that.
And yet here she was.
She got ready, mostly to escape the doubt plaguing her. It was fear talking—it had to be. Having a meltdown about their first speed bump during this trial dating thing they had going was just going to prove how unready to date or marry Lucy really was.
Obviously something had come up with Gideon that required his attention and prevented him from coming back to spend the day with her. Just as obviously, if it was important enough to need his presence then it would make his sending her a bunch of texts impossible. He’d arranged dinner tonight and paused in whatever he was doing long enough to let her know that they had plans, and that was a good sign.
She was overreacting.
Simple.
But she didn’t feel any better two hours later when she stood in front of the Blue Lagoon, shivering in the cold beneath her thick coat. This is fine. Everything is fine. She walked inside and gave Gideon’s name. The host smiled welcomingly and led her to a semi-private corner.
Lucy caught sight of a man sitting there already, but her steps stuttered when she realized he wasn’t Gideon. What the hell? There was nothing to do but keep following the host. She started to reach for his arm to let him know that there had been some mistake, but as they came even with the table, she recognized the man. Aaron Livingston.
No. Oh, Gideon. Why?
She had to fight to keep her expression neutral as Aaron rose and smiled. “Lucy, it’s been a while.”
“I’m surprised you remember.” She let him pull out her chair, her mind racing a million miles a minute. Gideon had set this up. It should have gone without saying, but she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Twelve hours ago he’d told her that he wanted her to pick him—only him—and now he’d set her up with another man.
Aaron resumed his seat. “It’s been a few years, but you’re not a woman one forgets.” He smiled charmingly, and though she could recognize why BuzzFeed had labeled him one of the hottest bachelors in NYC, his perfect features did nothing for her.
They also did nothing to explain why he was here.
You know why he’s here, just like you know what it means.
If she was a better person, she’d sit and make small talk with Aaron and keep her eye on the prize—the whole reason she’d put this plan into motion in the first place. A husband.
But Lucy couldn’t focus on anything beyond the fact that Gideon had set her up. She lasted a full thirty seconds before she pushed back her chair and rose. “I am so sorry, Aaron, but I’ve got to go.”
“Go...?” Those keen dark eyes took her in. “You didn’t realize you were meeting me, did you?”
“I’m really very sorry.” She headed for the exit as quickly as she could without actually running. Lucy made it onto the street before she found her phone at the bottom of her purse. She dialed Gideon’s number and listened to it ring and ring and ring before clicking over to voice mail. She hung up without leaving a message.
That was the moment she should have stopped. It was clear Gideon didn’t want her, that he’d misled her horribly. She didn’t give a flying fuck. He didn’t get to put her in this position and then avoid dealing with the fallout.
She scrolled through her contacts to find Roman’s number. It wasn’t one she’d used more than once, and that was years ago when she’d planned Jeff’s surprise birthday party. I was such an idiot. Apparently, I am still an idiot. She dialed, holding her breath as it rang. He’d probably changed his number by now—most people did at one time or another.
But she recognized the cultured, masculine voice that answered. “Lucy?”
She lifted her arm to hail a cab. “You’re going to tell me where he is, Roman, and you’re going to tell me right this instant.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE SECOND GIDEON heard the buzzer being pressed repeatedly, he knew it was Lucy. He hadn’t even tried to hide. He’d known what he was doing today and, as sick to his stomach as it made him, Roman was right—it was the right thing to do. Hurt her a little now and set her back on the path she’d carved out for herself.