The Rules of Dating(32)

“Yeah. So you spent the night to make your friend happy.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, I hope you used a condom at least.”

She tried to walk away again, but I stopped her. “I didn’t need to.”

She rolled her eyes. “Great.”

“I mean because I didn’t sleep with anyone. In fact, I slept alone in the bathroom, even though I could have had a threesome.”

The minute the word threesome came out of my mouth, I knew it was dumb.

Billie’s cheeks heated. “You should’ve stopped talking while you were ahead, Colby.” She started walking again.

This time I grabbed her arm. “Wait. I don’t want to leave you upset.”

She frowned as she stared down at the cement. “I’m not.”

“Billie, look at me.”

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her eyes to meet mine. What I saw made my chest tight. She looked so damn hurt.

“Nothing happened. I swear.”

She looked at my hand on her arm and then back up to me. Her eyes filled with tears. “Please let go of me.”

I immediately released her and stepped back, raising my hands. “Sorry. I’ll call you later?”

“Sure.”

She walked away and never looked back.

Fuck. This is not good.

***

“Daddy, look what I made!” Back at our place, Saylor removed drawing after drawing from her backpack.

“Wow, that’s beautiful, baby. Is it a giraffe?”

My daughter giggled. “No, Daddy. It’s you!”

I squinted at the paper. “What are those things on my head?”

“It’s the party hats you wore on my birthday.”

“Oooohhh.” I nodded. That made sense now. When we sang happy birthday to her, I’d been wearing two of those cardboard hats with elastic strings on top of my head.

Saylor clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth. “I made it with the markers Billie gave me for my birthday.”

Hearing that name from my daughter’s mouth made my heart sink. I’d called Billie three times today. The first two times it rang and rang before going to voicemail. The third time it rang once and went to the recording immediately—like she’d hit ignore on her phone. Which gave me an idea. I looked at the time on my cell. It was only about five. She might still be working.

“How would you like to stop by Billie’s shop downstairs and show her what you made?”

Saylor jumped up and down. “Yes! Yes!”

I smiled. “Go grab your shoes.”

Justine was at the desk when we walked in. She smiled. “Hey, Saylor. How are you?”

“Good.”

I motioned toward the back. “Is Billie still here?”

“Yep. She just finished up her last customer. You can go on back. It’s just her and Deek cleaning up for the day.”

“Thanks.”

Billie was washing the mirror at her workstation. Her face fell when she saw me in the reflection.

Shit. It’s even worse than I thought. Like a coward, I nudged my daughter to walk into the room first. “Hey. We just stopped by to show you the picture Saylor made with the markers you got her.”

Deek looked over at me and folded his arms across his chest.

Damn…she told him, too. I lifted my chin anyway. “What’s up, Deek?”

His answer was to shoot daggers at me. After an awkward couple of seconds, Billie and Deek exchanged glances before she took a deep breath and walked over to us. She knelt in front of Saylor and put on a smile. “Let me see what you made, honey.”

Saylor handed her the construction paper.

“Wow, good job. It looks just like your dad.”

My brows shot up. “How did you know it was me?”

She pointed to the paper. “The party hats.”

I smiled. “Guess that’s why I’m an architect and not an artist.” Shoving my hands into my pockets, I rocked back and forth on my heels. “How was your day?”

She glanced up at me and pursed her lips. “Saylor, sweetheart, why don’t you show your beautiful artwork to Deek.” Turning to her employee, her tone didn’t leave much room for options. “Deek, would you mind taking Saylor up front to look at her drawing? I think Amazon delivered a few cases of snacks earlier. I’m sure you can find one she’d like.”

He nodded. “No problem, boss.”

When he walked past, he hit me with a warning glare. “I’ll be right out there.”

As soon as Deek closed the door behind them, Billie poked her finger into my chest. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

I raised both my hands in question. “Do what?”

“Use your sweet, innocent daughter to try to get back into my good graces.”

I sighed. “How else was I supposed to talk to you? I tried to call you three times.”

“Do you not know how to take a hint? I didn’t feel like talking to you, Colby.”

“Today or forever?”

“I don’t know.”

She wasn’t looking at me, so I crouched down so our eyes were aligned. “I swear to God, Billie, nothing happened. I went as Holden’s wingman. There were three women. Holden was hooking up with one, and I had too much to drink and passed out in the bathroom after puking. When I got up this morning, all four of them were in bed naked.”