Page 23 of Strings

He leans his back against the wall. “You could say they’re friends, I suppose. Bella’s mother and my mother used to work together at the New York Opera House. Our mothers have been trying to set us up for years.”

“Jesus, Bash. What kind of drama did you pull me into?”

I flop down on my couch and stare at Stella. I hope she’s hearing all of this. We’re going to discuss it later.

He sits on the coffee table in front of me and I criss-cross my legs under me. “I am so sorry, Talia. If I could go back to that day on the plane and deny knowing you, I would. I’m not sure Bella would have believed me, but I would have tried.”

I sigh. “So now what? Now you need to tell your mother we broke up, too?”

He stares at me and I feel a moment of déjà vu coming on.

He holds his finger up. “I need one more favor.”

“No!” Jumping up, I walk behind the couch and lean my hands on it to face him. “No way!”

He scratches his head then glances to the right. He does a double-take before staring at my lace panties hanging off the edge of the chair and my bra on the floor. He reaches out to touch them. I leap forward to swat his hand but miss. He gets the idea and pulls it back.

“Do you always undress in your living room?”

“Do you always barge into peoples’ lives and demand they help you?”

His voice softens as he leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “I’m not demanding anything. I’m asking you… begging you for more time.”

“More time for what?”

“Haven’t you ever gotten yourself into a bad situation and prayed for someone to save you?”

I immediately think of the deal I made with God this morning. I promised to help the next person who asked in exchange for not working on the same floor as the CEO. “Oh, come on!” I say as I stare at God on the ceiling. “Not this!”

“I know I’m asking a lot of you.”

He must assume I’m talking to him.

“Bella told my mother she thought I was lying. If I admit it to my mom, she’ll tell Bella’s mom and Bella and then Bella will tell everyone else. The last thing I need is another bad mark against me.”

“Another?”

He sighs and nods.

Sebastian has marks? He seems too goody-goody to have marks. Could I have misjudged him? Is he really in that much of a bind? I sigh. This being a good person thing really sucks. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?”

“Okay, I’ll give you more time.” I throw my hands in the air. A deal is a deal, especially with God.

“You will?”

“You seem surprised. Would you rather I said no?”

He stands, and I sense the relief pouring off him in waves. “No! I was just prepared to grovel at your feet.”

“Oh, then go ahead.”

“You want me to beg? Now?”

“Yeah. I think it would be fun. Tell me how much you appreciate me and how amazing I am to help your sorry ass.”

He seems to look past me as he drones, “You’re amazing and I appreciate you so, so much.”