Page 91 of Betting on the Bad Boy

I crumpled up my sandwich wrapper and moved toward the trash can. “He only comes over twice a week. Wednesdays and Saturdays.”

“Really? You told me you couldn’t meet up on Friday because Dante was coming over after work.”

Damn, she’d been paying attention. “Okay, you’re right. He came last Friday, too.”

“Yeah, if you ask me, he’s coming a lot more than he should be if you’re not technically seeing each other.”

“Very funny. By the way, I’m coming a lot now, too. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

I smiled and hugged a textbook against my chest. Dante and I had reached a very comfortable point in our arrangement. The only wrinkle in my life was that the damn pages of my manuscript kept showing up. I’d found one slipped under my office door and another one on the windshield of my car. I’d been working on a plan to come clean about my secret, but every time I tried to bring it up to Dante, I froze. Besides, I only had a couple thousand words more to go. If I ended things with him before my manuscript was complete, I feared the writer’s block would set in again.

“Whatever floats your boat. But I’m warning you, I don’t think you can keep this up forever.”

“As long as he can keep it up for now.”

Jess rolled her eyes.

I laughed. “Forever is the last thing on my mind. Now stop worrying about me and tell me what you and Jake are doing tomorrow night for Valentine’s Day.”

Dante

I knocked lightlyon Faith’s door. Stopping by her place after closing the bar on Saturday nights had become a habit—one I had no intention of breaking. I turned the doorknob. It was unlocked.

“Honey, I’m home,” I called out.

“Not funny.” She sat in bed, her back resting against a stack of pillows and her nose buried in a thick book.

I draped my coat over the back of a kitchen chair. A vase of long-stem red roses occupied the center of the table. Who the hell sent her flowers? I wanted to slide the card out of the envelope and take a peek. As far as I knew, I was the only one enjoying her nighttime company. Could she be seeing someone else? What the hell?

Playing it cool, I set my bag down on the floor and covered the distance to the bedroom in a few long strides. I placed a kiss on the top of her head and sat down next to her. “What’cha reading?”

She marked her spot and put the book on the nightstand. “Doesn’t matter.”

“I brought you something.”

She cocked her head. “What, like a present? What’s the occasion?”

I pulled the wrapped package out from behind my back and handed it to her. “You must be the most unromantic woman on the face of this earth. It’s Valentine’s Day.”

She reached for the package. “We don’t do commercialized made-up holidays. Not part of the deal.”

I made a move to take it back. “I guess I’ll return it then.”

“Not so fast. I mean, you already bought it and all.” Her fingers fumbled with the red satin ribbon. She ripped the paper and lifted the top off the small box. “What did you do?”

“Remember that day we met on the sidewalk?”

“Yeah. Outside the library. You told me about your favorite sex position.” She lifted the delicate silver chain out of the box. A small silver charm dangled from the end. “What’s this?”

“I know how much you like flowers.” Why was I suddenly so embarrassed? It was cheesy. Dammit, she’d probably bolt again.“Never mind, it’s stupid.” I tried to grab it out of her hand, but she yanked it away.

“Not so fast. It’s a lotus blossom, isn’t it?” She twisted the silver charm back and forth in her fingertips.

I shrugged. “Seemed fitting. You know, your love of flowers, my love of sex.”

“Get over here, cheeseball.” Her arms snaked around my neck, and she pulled me down to her, finding my lips with her own.

My body responded like a well-trained machine. I nudged closer to her on the bed as she parted her lips, and my tongue tasted the minty flavor of her toothpaste.