Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(35)

My cheeks warmed, and I couldn't stop the smile on my face. "I will work harder at not tempting you."

"That is an impossibility. I'm tempted just by looking at you. But if we maintain our distance, I will do my best to resist."

"I will too." It seemed like an easy thing to agree to, but since we'd agreed to it before and failed miserably, I questioned my ability to hold fast to the vow this time.



Reed was nice enough to lend me a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt to return home in. "They're going to be too big for you, but they’re warmer than what you arrived in. I'm sorry I don't have any shoes that will fit you, so you're stuck with your slippers."

His clothes were large on me, at least in the length. I was sure I still looked like I was taking the walk of shame, but at least my legs were covered.

When I arrived home, the condo was quiet. I went to my room, took a quick shower, and changed into jeans, but I put on Reed’s sweatshirt again. It was silly, but I liked having his scent on me.

I spent the rest of the morning cleaning up my bedroom and sorting my laundry, but I didn't start a load because the in-unit washer was a little bit loud and I didn't want to wake Betts. I prayed that Paul wasn't in her room with her. The last thing I needed was for him to get up first and corner me again. I didn't want to have to deal with him again. It was bad enough that I needed to tell Betts what he had done the night before.

It was just after noon when Betts made her appearance. I was in the kitchen making lunch when she staggered in. Her hair was a mess, and she was bleary-eyed, likely from a hangover, but she still had a smile on her face. To be smiling during a hangover could mean only one thing—she was happy about her engagement. And I had to be the one to burst her bubble.

"Hey, thanks for taking off last night and leaving me and Paul here to celebrate our engagement. I won't go into details about how we did that, or where we did that." She glanced at the dining table, and I reconsidered eating my lunch there. Funny how I hadn’t considered that after having breakfast this morning on the table on which Reed had taken me to Pleasureville.

"Sure," I said, scanning my brain to figure out how I could tell her what Paul had done.

She made her way to the coffee machine, putting in a pod, and after filling a cup with water and pouring it into the coffee maker, she pressed the brew button. She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the counter, her head down.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Maybe I should wait until she felt better to tell her about Paul.

"Oh, yeah. It's just being upright is hard at the moment. It'll be fine."

I found a glass and filled it with water and then got her two pain relievers. "Maybe you should have this before you have your coffee."

She popped the pills in her mouth and washed them down with the water. "It's so great having you here, Analyn. That's the only bummer thing about getting married. We won't be able to be roommates anymore." Her face then morphed into concern. "But I'll help you find a new roommate or a new place or whatever. I’m the worst, asking you to move in and then leaving you like this."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Besides, unless you're leaving Las Vegas, we’ll still be able to see each other, right?" I should be telling her not to marry Paul, but the words weren't coming.

"Right. We’re going to stay in town. We’re actually talking about buying a house."

Marriage and a house were huge commitments. I couldn't let my best friend get trapped by them with a man who was willing to cheat on her with her best friend. What were the odds he'd already cheated on her with somebody else?

I tried to act nonchalant as I poured myself a glass of seltzer water to have with my sandwich. "I know you and Paul are in a good place now, but you've had some rough spots in the past. You’re sure about getting married, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn’t have said yes otherwise."

Inwardly, I kicked myself because I knew that was true. It wasn't like she was going to tell me she had concerns but said yes anyway. Maybe I needed to treat this situation like a Band-Aid and just blurt out what happened.

"Listen, Betts, when you were gone last night—"

"I appreciate your concern,” Betts spoke over me. "But Paul and I are in a really good place. Both of us have grown, and we know better who we are and what we want."

Crap, she was making this hard.

I opened my mouth to try again to tell her what he'd done, but she turned to get her coffee and began prattling on and on and on about Paul and how he proposed, and how romantic it was, and all the promises he made to her. I swore I could see joy and happiness emanating like an aura around her. I knew I had to tell her the truth, but my courage and strength to do so in this moment failed me.

I gave her a hug but didn't tell her I was happy for her. She’d assume that was what the hug meant. In my mind, the hug was an apology that I was going to have to ruin her happiness. Not right now, but later today.

We spent our day doing our own things. I finally got my laundry done and bills paid. I started to look for a new place to live but then remembered that I wouldn’t need to once Betts learned about Paul.

As dinner time approached, I knew I couldn't put off the truth any longer. I went to Betts’s room expecting to find her resting, recovering from her hangover. But after I knocked and she told me to come in, I opened the door to find her preening in a full-length mirror.