Dirty Bad Boys Box Set: Forbidden Romance Collection
“While your suggestions are appreciated, I would like to discuss all this with Haden,” I say in my polite yet gritting voice.
“I’m sorry.” She places her hand on mine, making me feel very uncomfortable. “I think this weekend will be great for the both of you. Gives you time to talk about plans and schedules.”
“You won’t be joining us?” I ask, pretending to play dumb.
“No, I have a dress fitting, plus my bachelorette night.” She smiles playfully.
The looming wedding is a dark grey cloud hovering over me. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were getting married so soon.”
“Still six months away but my schedule is so busy and my best friend is getting married in two months, so it was the only free weekend I had.”
I look at my watch, praying that time is up, and thank the fucking stars it is.
“Listen, I have to head back to work. It was really nice chatting with you, Eloise.”
She places her hand on mine again, and this time I wait with patience. “No, thank you, Presley. Haden told me how nice you were and that we would get along.”
“I highly doubt that.” I chuckle. “He doesn’t think very highly of me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” She pulls back almost immediately, her perfectly-shaped brows furrowing in concern. “When we met in London, he never stopped talking about you. Sure, it was work related, but it was your name that I heard, and with admiration.”
“Honestly Eloise, you must be mistaken. Maybe he was talking about Dee. Haden and I don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things.”
“I know what I heard. To be honest, I thought you guys dated by the way he spoke about you. I was even jealous for a while.” With a disturbingly fake laugh, she continues. “Anyway, timing was perfect for us. He met me, and look, we are getting married!”
Is this true? Shell-shocked by her comment, I pass it off as nothing, but my brain is going into overdrive. “Anyway, thanks for lunch, Eloise.”
Back in the office, I stare at my screen in a daze. So much of what she told me doesn’t add up. Obviously, she knows Haden better than I do. Actually, I don’t know him at all, yet the conversation on the way he talked about me fills me with a desire to find out more. So what if he said nice things? It doesn’t mean anything. Remember, he said I meant nothing to him. Those were his exact words to Marcus.
“Hey.” Haden is leaning against my partition, and the smell of his aftershave hits me. God, he smells so good. And why is that deep burgundy shirt accentuating his perfectly-toned forearms?
“Oh, hey.”
“Sorry I didn’t warn you about lunch. It was kind of sprung on me after many arguments.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry if it caused arguments.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire. You are so not sorry!
“So you’re leaving tomorrow?” He swiftly changes the subject.
“Yeah, an early morning flight. So I’ll pick you up on Saturday morning from the airport?”
He appears calm, but again that stare leaves me breathless. I need to remember that he is nothing but the sperm donor in this equation. These stupid thoughts, feelings, they need to be buried along with my libido.
“I’ve hired a car. I’ll just meet you at your parents’ in the morning,” he responds quietly. “I’ve got a meeting all afternoon, so I’ll see you then?”
“See you then.”
He begins to walk away and I let out the huge breath I’d been hold
ing till he turns around, forcing me to suck it back in.
“And Presley . . .” Our eyes meet and something catches me off guard, a force or pull that makes my stomach flutter . . . or perhaps that was the baby. Whatever it is, I need to ignore it or I’ll be in trouble. It’s a slippery slope once this shit starts. With a deep penetrating stare, his eyes narrow and his lips twitch nervously. “Have a safe flight.”
Chapter Thirteen
The second my feet land on my parents’ front porch, it’s a bittersweet moment. Having grown up in this house as a child, I am now standing here as a grown woman with child. Yeah, let’s blame the hormones again, but it was definitely worth a good cry.