Page 58 of Scandalous Contract

Aubrey groaned. “All the girls in our dorm have a crush on you. They talk about you all the time. It’s driving me crazy.”

Fuck.“Please don’t tell me India...”

“No! She doesn’t,” she answered quickly. “There’s a guy in her class she likes. But she’s not allowed to date until she’s eighteen. My smarty-pants roommate is the baby of our group. Anyway...” she trailed off, sounding unsure.

I knew that tone. “Just say it.”

“She made a comment the other day,” Aubrey started. “After seeing you in the lobby with her mom.”

I sat up straighter. “What kind of comment?”

“You sure you want to know?” she asked.

“Yeah. Tell me.”

She sighed, and I braced myself. This wouldn’t be good.

“India is eager for her mom to date. She even wants her to get married again. She hates her mom being alone. And India has plans to travel the world when she graduates. So, she’s sort of on a mission to have her mom married before then.”

“Okay. I’m serious about her mom. Marriage is in the plans. I’m not playing around with Stefanie.”

“I know you’re serious. But you’re not quite who India has in mind.”

“Who the hell does she have in mind?”And where is he so I can kill the motherfucker!

“You won’t kill him, will you?”

“Who is it?” I demanded, avoiding her question because I didn’t want to lie to her.

“You can’t kill a man just because he likes the same woman you like, Julian. Got that?”

“Got it. Who is he?”

“I don’t know his name. But India said she was hoping her mom would date some guy who’s her colleague. She said her mom went out with the guy a few times, and India had known him since she was young. He didn’t have any children and had been divorced once. To her, he’d make a great husband for her mom.”

Hold the fuck up! There was a guy at Stefanie’s job who liked her? Who the fuck was he, and when had they dated? It couldn’t have been within the past year because I’ve been monitoring her like fucking crazy.

No one got near her without me knowing. The idea that some bitch ass little work-husband wannabe thought he had a chance with her made my blood boil. Was he the reason she’d turned me down? This fucker had to die. I didn’t see any other way around it.

“She said he was nice, and she liked the way he smiled at her mom.”

That was only because she hadn’t seen the way I smiled at her mom.

“She also said it would be awkward for her if her mom got with someone all her friends were crushing on. Someone like you.”

What the hell? It wasn’t my fault Aubrey’s friends had crushes on me. I avoided her friends as much as possible whenever I picked her up or dropped her off at college. I didn’t even joke with them because some would consider that flirting.

I never wanted to give her friends the wrong idea or make them misunderstand me in any way. Plus, they were babies in my eyes. I looked at them the same way I looked at my sister. Their having a crush on me had nothing to do with Stefanie and me.

Still, if India had a problem with her mom dating someone her friends liked, then Stefanie wouldn’t pursue anything with me. Spring Break revealed to me how much her daughter’s opinion and perception of her mattered to her.

“So, to be with Stefanie, I first have to convince India that I’m the right man for her mom?” I asked aloud, more to myself.

“Pretty much,” Aubrey confirmed. “Oh, wait,” she whispered. “I think Indi’s back. I have to go.”

“Alright, love you, brat.”

“Love you more. Bye.”