Page 47 of Mr. Red

“You, okay? Not having second thoughts, are you?” He lifts my chin up towards him, keeping eye contact. Flecks of green in his hazel eyes stand out against his black T-shirt.

“No, of course not.” Can he tell I’m lying? I need to take the focus off me. “You need to cancel your appointments at the gym with me, still.” I point at his chest.

“Just did.” He winks. “You sure you’re okay?”

I nod with my best smile in place.

“Good, because I need you right now. You’re all mine.” He lowers his head to kiss me.

If only that were true.

Chapter 27

Scarlett

Three hours later, my place is so clean it’s sparkling. I’m meeting my friends to chat at the café. After I told Matt I was meeting my business partners, he left with his chest puffed up more than usual. He’s proud I listened to him about talking to them, I guess. Cleaning helped me keep my mind off what the future with Matt will entail, but now my mind is still on overload. I hope my friends will be able to help me talk this out.

Lana and Paige are at a table outside, so I grab my usual latte and then go sit down with them.

“Hi, ladies!” I smile.

“What happened last night? Angry sex?” Paige teases.

I blush.

“Looks like you’ve made it to the fun side!” She smiles ear to ear.

“Is this what youneededto talk to us about? How many times you got laid last night? I’m not interested.” Lana scrolls on her phone looking like she wants to throw it.

I sent them both a text saying I needed them to meet with me today. “Needed” being capitalized so it looked urgent.

“Those toys aren’t working for you anymore, huh Lana?” I sip my drink.

“I can’t deal with both of you being jolly little girlsafter you get laid.”

“Lana, stop being jelly,” Paige tells her.

“I’m not jealous.” She crosses her arms. “Okay, maybe I’m a little jealous. Don’t mind me, it’s been a weird morning. Tell us about your night.”

“You know Matt showed up last night.”

“Yup, we saw. Are you okay with Matt showing up?” Lana asks. “I thought you were trying to get over him.”

“I was happy to see Matt. Not at first. I was still mad at him, but he explained why he didn’t call. He was helping his sister who was in the hospital because of her boyfriend. Matt left to help her. She’s staying with him now so she could have a fresh start. He showed me a whole new side of him.”

“I knew he wasn’t so bad,” Lana pipes in.

I give her a small smile. “Anyways, Ineededto talk with you because Matt asked me to go on a little vacation with him. Would you guys hate me for taking off before we close on the gym? I can handle a lot from away and can do most of what I was thinking before I go. I think I can swing it, but I want to make sure you guys would be alright with it.”

“Yeah, if anything it’s better to go now then once we open. Lana and I can handle it,” Paige insists. She said the exact same thing Matt did. I swear those two are talking to each other.

“You agreed to a vacation? Where?” Lana asks.

I let out a sigh. “I don’t know.” I rest my elbows on the table and pull at my hair. “It’s making me anxious because he won’t tell me anything. Said he has it all planned. You guys know surprises are not my friend. My mom leaving was all the surprises I could ever want in life.”

“I know some surprises aren’t good,” Paige says, putting her hand on my shoulder, “but some people showlove or thoughtfulness through surprises. He probably thinks he’s being cute.”

“Psh, everyone knows I’m the planner,” I murmur.