Page 411 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 5

“You can’t keep blowing me off, Matthew.”

“I’m here tonight, aren’t I?”

She sighed. “But you were late. Who are you having dinner with tomorrow?”

“A friend.”

“Be more specific, will you?”

“Penny. Scarlett’s mother.”

“Is there something there I should know about?”

“We’re just friends. And you better add her to the list of people you’re not allowed to hurt. All my friends, actually. And my family.”

“I won’t touch any of them. I promise. I need to get back out there.”

I caught her arm before she could leave. “I want to be very clear here. I don’t just mean touch. I mean harm in any way. Including your newfound love for car bombs.”

She pouted. “You’re no fun.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.” She pulled her arm away from me. “Make sure to clear your schedule next weekend for only me.”

Nope. I’ll be out of your clutches by then.“Sure thing, sugar tits.”

“Don’t call me that. It’s your nickname, sugar tits.” She pushed through the doors, leaving me alone.

I rubbed the back of my neck. All this stress was really starting to mess with me. I thought about the bath that was most likely waiting for me back at Tanner’s place. Honestly? A bath sounded pretty great right now. And I assumed I’d have to have a bath if I wanted any updates from Nigel. It was a win-win scenario,minus the whole him ogling me thing. At least he didn’t call me sugar tits. Yet.

Matchmaker - Chapter 43

Saturday

Penny said she had a surprise for me tonight. I had no idea what that was about. But it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was what I needed to tell her. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.

I handed the valet my keys and walked up to the restaurant. It had been a while since I’d been out to dinner with anyone other than Tanner. And it would be nice to not have to pretend to be gay for a meal.

But there was still a sense of dread in my stomach. All Penny knew were my lies. For years I’d told her I’d never been in love. Half the time I was lying to myself about it. But I was done lying. In a lot of ways, Penny had been the closest person to me the past few years. Well, her and Tanner. And Tanner knew the truth about my past. Penny didn’t. I owed it to her to tell her. She deserved that much for putting up with me.

I also needed to apologize for flirting with her. I owed that to her and James. And I’d tell her about Kennedy too. After tonight, everything would be out there. I’d be an open book. For once in my life.

I took a deep breath and tried to get rid of my nerves. Penny would understand. She was very understanding, that was one of the reasons why we got along so well.I got this.

Instead of walking up to the hostess stand, I scanned the restaurant looking for Penny for a moment. She was usually easy to spot with her red hair. But I didn’t see her.

“Hi,” I said to the hostess. “I’m meeting someone here. I’m pretty sure the reservation is either under Caldwell or Hunter.”

“Ah, yes. Hunter. Right this way.”

It felt like I was just a few steps away from my fresh start. Especially because Nigel had told me last night that he was pulling together some great dirt on Poppy. He refused to share any of it yet, but he looked really happy. And as Tanner liked to say, Nigel was happiest when he was serving others. I considered his gleefulness a sign of the job being done well.

The hostess stopped at a table where someone was sitting. Someone that was definitely not Penny. Because that someone was a man.

I stared at him. “Justin?”

He looked back up at me. Yup, it was definitely Justin.