Page 86 of Betting on the Bad Boy

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, eager to get the meeting over with so I could get back to work.

“It’s this book.” Brittany tossed a hardcover book on the table.

My cheeks burned. I grabbed my bag and felt around inside for my copy ofCarnal Knowledge. Satisfied they hadn’t found me out, I played it off. “What’s the problem?”

Brittany continued. “It’s this couple. They have hot, amazing, mind-blowing sex, and she won’t let him get close to her. Finally, he starts romancing her, pulling out all the stops, and she?—”

“Don’t tell me. I haven’t made it that far yet.” Bailey covered her ears with her hands.

“Wow, that good, huh?” I’d started reading it at the hospital. They were right, it had some pretty incredible sex scenes. I’d put it down when Meemaw woke up and hadn’t looked at it since.

“It’s amazing,” Bailey said. “I can’t wait until her next book comes out.”

“What makes him this book so special?” I asked.

Brittany grinned. “You want to borrow my copy?”

“No.” I shook my head, dismissing her suggestion with what I hoped was an acceptable and believable level of disdain.

“Okay.” Brittany leaned back in her seat. “If you change your mind?—”

“Can we go ahead and get started?” I asked. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

Brittany grabbed the book off the table. “Fine. What have you got?”

We spent the next forty-five minutes going over the holiday sales figures for the Sashay Salon. I opted not to mention my free haircut. We divided up some tasks for the next week and wrapped up.

I walked out, making sure to pass the study carrel Faith usually used. It was empty. Where could she be hiding out these days? Things seemed to be going well between us. Hell, if she didn’t want to be found, I wasn’t going to start looking. I had enough to keep me busy with work, my side gig at the bar, andtrying to get home to check on Meemaw a couple of times a week.

As I left the library, I saw Jess talking to some girls in the lobby. She said her goodbyes and caught up to me.

“Hey, Dante,” she called out.

“Hi. How’s it going?”

“Pretty good. Just wrapping up a study session with some undergrads. Were we ever that naïve?”

I laughed. “You’re probably only a couple of years older than them, you know.”

“Yeah. But in their case, I think a couple of years makes a world of difference.”

I slowed my pace to match hers. “So, have you seen Faith around?”

Jess glanced over at me, a sly smile spreading across her lips. “You two still seeing each other?”

I cleared my throat. I didn’t like talking about my love life with Jess, but if I wanted to find out where Faith had been hiding, it was worth a shot. “I just haven’t seen her around for a while.”

“I talked to her the other day. She’s sick. I think she got a bad cold. She’s had a sub covering her classes.”

“Oh.” That explained it. I didn’t know much about Faith, but I knew she was serious about her career. If she was too sick to make it to class, she must be in bad shape. Maybe I should stop by.

We’d reached the doors, and Jess turned to head left while I needed to go right.

“She sent me a text saying she’s running out of tissues. Maybe you could bring her a box.”

Tissues, huh? At least I could stop by tomorrow after work to make sure she was okay. “Maybe I will. Thanks.”

“Any time. Good luck.”