Page 35 of Suddenly Mine
Christian:Is it okay to pretend to be someone you’re not if there’s a beautiful woman involved? Asking for a friend.
He stared at it for a second, then added:
Christian:@Blake @Nate You two are in different time zones — any moral wisdom from abroad? Or just tell me I’m not a total asshole.
He hit send, locked the screen, and exhaled. Maybe tonight had been a bad idea. Maybe he should’ve told her the truth.
His phone buzzed in his lap.
Nate:Mate. If pretending gets you laid, I’m not judging. Just don’t get caught — or do, depending on how good the sex was.
Christian huffed out a laugh as another buzz sounded from his phone.
Blake:Depends. Are we talking pretending to like her taste in music or pretending you don’t own a billion-dollar brand?
Christian rolled his eyes, but his grin widened.
Nate:Tell the truth eventually. But if she’s hot and cool she might be worth the risk.
Blake:Seconded. You need to be honest with her. And can you give us a description? Or a photo?
Christian stared at the screen for a beat, thumbs hovering. Then he sent the photo he’d snapped of Merry with her candy cane.
Christian:I’m in trouble, aren’t I?
The typing dots appeared instantly.
Blake:Big trouble.
Nate:Hot. Mate, if you’re not honest with her soon then I’m swooping in and rescuing her from you.
Christian:You two are the worst and also may be right. This went further than I meant it to, and now I don’t know how to undo it.
He hit send, then slid his phone back into his jacket pocket just as the cab slowed in front of Carroll’s. Christian paid the driver, pulled up his collar against the lingering drizzle, and headed for the staff entrance.
Chapter 15
MERRY
Merry slouched through the toy department, too tired to even glance at Santa. She was late again, but this time it had nothing to do with traffic and everything to do with a tall, dark stranger.
“Honestly, if you never see him again, it was still worth it,” her roommate had declared over cornflakes that morning. “You look like you’ve been hit by a truck, in a good way. And that was the hottest sex I’ve ever heard.”
Merry had blushed, bleary-eyed and sore in places that made walking feel oddly theatrical. But as she pulled on her boots in the hallway, trying not to wince, the ache in her body was nothing compared to the one sitting squarely in her chest. Christian was leaving New York. He’d told her that much.
She’d hoped — stupidly, maybe — that he’d change his mind. Or at least say something in daylight that made sense of the way he’d looked at her in the dark. But when she woke up alone, with only a half-drunk glass of water by the bed, she wasn’t sure if she’d been something he wanted or just something he needed. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to know the difference. Maybe it didn’t matter.
As she reached the staff area door, it started to open. Two girls that Merry half knew from the store floor walked out, and when they saw her they burst into giggles. Merry frowned, watching them go and feeling suddenly worried. Had she forgotten to put on trousers? Did she have I-had-hot-sex-last-night written on her face? She patted herself down as she walked into the corridor, but everything seemed to be where it was supposed to be.
Another girl walked past, her cheeks reddening and her mouth curling into a smile as she peeked at Merry. Then a guypassed her, and he too was smirking like she was the butt of some joke.
“What?” Merry said to his back, but her words were too quiet for him to hear.
It felt like one of those nightmares where everybody stares at you and you end up naked. Ahead, the locker room door opened and Alice skipped out, doing her hair as she went. Her eyes widened when she saw Merry, and she pulled the hairpin from between her lips.
“Yes, Merry!” she said, pinning her hair back. “You’re here.”
“What’s going on?” Merry asked. “I feel like I’ve got, like, a teapot growing out of my head or something.”