Dating Games(27)

Chapter Eleven





“What the hell is going on?” Chloe asks once the line goes silent. I clutch the phone for a moment longer while I attempt to recover my composure enough to face my friends.

“And who is Julian?” Nora teases.

I turn around, meeting their curious eyes, at a loss for words.

“Based on your conversation, he sent you flowers, which made Trevor jealous, and now you’re going to dinner with him. Who is he and where did you meet?” Chloe presses.

I worry my bottom lip, rubbing my hands along my jeans. What do I tell them? What can I tell them? If I’m supposed to pretend to date Julian, won’t we have to keep up appearances? But this is Chloe and Nora, my two best friends. We’re the three amigas. Three musketeers. Sisters from another mister. Am I expected to keep up the charade in front of everyone?

“Okay.” I blow out a long breath. “But you can not tell a soul. No one else can know about this.” I narrow my gaze on Chloe, my stare harsh, trying to relay the severity of the situation. “This is so far off the record, it would be akin to career suicide if you were to print it.”

“You have my word.” Her light eyes are bright and filled with all the sincerity I’ve come to expect from her, especially when discussing private matters. There are few people I believe when they make me a promise. Chloe’s one of them. “This will stay between us. No one else.”

Secure in her assurance, I walk to the couch and sit down. Chloe and Nora follow, sitting next to each other on the opposite end. Once they’re situated, I face them.

“I spent yesterday morning in the Steam Room, like I have been all week.”

“Yeah, I know,” Chloe says.

“What you don’t know is that as I was trying to figure out who August Laurent is, Mr. Armani Suit came in.”

“Shut up!” Nora playfully jabs me. “He did not! What are the chances?” She bounces with excitement.

Ever since I’d shared the story of waking up in a strange man’s bed and struggling to remember what happened, she made it her mission to get to the bottom of who he was. She’d even asked Aiden, the bartender, if he knew, to no avail.

“Apparently pretty good.” I roll my eyes, feigning annoyance with the idea of seeing the man I swore I had no desire to cross paths with again.

“What did you do?” Chloe inquires, not as excitable as Nora.

“I did what any self-respecting thirty-year-old woman in my shoes would do when facing a man whose bed she woke up in after a night of drinking.”

“You tried to hide, didn’t you?”

“Do you blame me? I hoped to never see the guy again. So I did my best to act disinterested, although… Holy hell, girls.” Warmth radiates through me as I melt into the couch, unable to contain my smile. “On a scale of ten, this guy is, like, a solid eleven. He was even hotter than I remember. Usually, it’s the other way around. And bonus, I learned his name is Julian, so there’s that.”

“What did he say?”

I stare into space, recalling our conversation in the coffee house. One thing stands out above all others. “He wanted to know why I left without saying goodbye. He appeared genuinely upset by it.”

“Aww…,” Nora and Chloe say in unison, passing each other an endearing look.

“No. Not aww. This is not an aww moment.”

“It is,” Chloe insists.

“No.”

“It’s destiny, Evie!” Nora beams as she clutches my hand, squeezing. “You get wasted and sleep with who I can only imagine to be God’s gift to the male form, can’t remember a thing, then cross paths with him two weeks later. I’m not sure the odds of something like that happening, especially in a city the size of New York, but it’s got to be unheard of!”

“It’s not destiny.” I brush off the idea, even though I’d briefly considered it. “And…” I trail off.

“And…what?” Chloe leans in, clinging to my every word.

I expect them to break out the popcorn as they take in the story I’ve kept from them for twenty-four hours. I’m not sure why I thought I could keep it from them forever. Maybe because I assumed yesterday was the last time I’d see Julian. Boy, was I wrong. Maybe it is destiny.

Returning my attention to them, I admit, “You were right.”

“Right?” Confused, Chloe’s brows pull in.

“We didn’t sleep together.”

“I knew it!” She pumps her fist in the air. “I mean, who in their right mind would have the wherewithal to put her bra back on after having sexy times? Hell, what woman would fall asleep with her bra on in the first place, unless they were completely incapable of taking it off? And there’s no way he wouldn’t take it off to get a look at those girls.” With a laugh, she gestures to my chest. “You have fantastic boobs.”

“Thank…you?”

“Start at the beginning,” Nora orders. “And don’t leave out a single detail.”

With a grin, I run them through yesterday’s unexpected events. Seeing Julian and learning his name. Dismissing him so I could work on finding August Laurent. Being unable to focus after our encounter. Running into Trevor with another woman as I left the coffee shop. Bumping into Julian again. Him telling me what happened the night of my birthday, then proposing a little arrangement.