Page 42 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince

“Come on. You know me. I’m not cut out for that. I’m happy with my life. I spend one or two nights with someone then we both walk away. I forget about them by the time I move on to the next.” That was a fact. It wasn’t going to change. Even if my mystery woman had taken up real estate in my mind.

“Mm-hm,” Henri hummed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I growled, regretting I answered my phone.

“So you’re telling me you’ve forgotten all about the blue haired babe you couldn’t shut up about from the ball?”

I wiped at my face with the towel. “I haven’t seen her since, Henri.”

“Not what I’m saying. Clearly, I’m being too subtle for your thick head. You haven’t stopped thinking abouther.”

“Not true.” I’d been thinking about Ashlyn as well.

“Oh, so you’ve totally forgotten about her?”

“Yup.” Why I was fighting this so hard, I had no idea. Henri and I both knew she was imprinted on my mind in a way that I might never forget about her.

I headed into the locker room to grab my personal items.

“How many women have you slept with since then?”

“It’s been—” I hesitated. “You know I’ve been swamped with work, Henri.”

“So none.”

“Shut up.”

“Truth hurts, bro. You haven’t slept with anyone else because all you can think about is her.”

I hit my open palm against one of the lockers and dropped onto the bench nearby, groaning.

“Find her, Dean. What would it hurt? See if it’s as good as you remember. If it’s not, then move on.”

“What if I think I might have already found her?” The words were hard to admit.

My woman in blue had a hold on me. A hold I’d been adamant would never happen again after my experience with Simone.

Henri was silent for a moment before blurting out, “And you didn’t lead with that?”

“I’m still trying to figure out if it’s her. I’m not totally sure. Some things aren’t adding up.” I leapt from the bench and paced. I needed the motion to help me think this through. To make sense of it all.

“Like?” Henri was not good at waiting for answers. His patience only lay in creating the perfect design.

Deep breath. Saying it out loud made it possible, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about finding my mystery girl. “You know the one I told you about? The girl that walked in on me at the office. After I’d gotten out of the shower.”

“Oh, yeah. She caught you in a towel, right?” He laughed.

“Yeah, that’s the one.” I leaned my head against the cool wall. “We’ve talked a few times since then, and there’s something about her that seems familiar. Like I can tell her stuff I normally wouldn’t tell a random stranger.”

“And how are we making the jump to your mystery woman?”

“She told me she’s trying to start a business. Right now, she’s struggling to find a way to get it off the ground. I offered to take a look at her business plan to see if I had any advice for her.” I paused. “You won’t believe what her business is, Henri.”

“You’re killing me right now. Just tell me.”

“Lingerie with empowering messages sewn into them.”

“‘One in a million,’” Henri whispered. “Shit, just like the ones your mystery woman left behind.” My friend was a romantic at heart. “But that could be totally coincidental. I’m sure the idea has been thought of.”