Page 30 of The Husband Contract

I am fed up with being the orphan kid who lived with her mean aunt and cousin, who works at their hotel with herbest friends, and has no life. I am fed up with being the woman who has to work two jobs just to save a small amount of money so that, hopefully, one day, I can move on with my life and open my own hotel. I’m not going to tell him that I owe American Express $5000 and have $3500 in student loans from my one semester at community college. I am over being broke and pitiful. I don’t want to be that person anymore. I want to be fun and fabulous. Especially to this man. I want him to think that I am living a good life. I want him to see me as a happy, positive person. Because that is who I am.

“I should go,” I say softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll bring breakfast to your room.”

“Sounds great. Thank you. You have a good evening, Willow.”

“You, too, Sebastian.” I watch as he walks into the B&B, and then I immediately call my friends. The phone rings twice before Katherine answers.

“Hey, how did it go?”

“It was amazing. I’m on the way home. Wait, is Brielle there? Because I don’t want to have to repeat this conversation.”

“Sure. Let me put it on speakerphone. You’re on speaker now, babe.”

“Hey, Katherine. Brielle, can you hear me?”

“We can hear you,” they chorus.

“Guys, I don’t know what is going on. I just had one of the most romantic dates of my life, and I am literally floating right now. Sebastian Laurence is perfect. I don’t know where this is going. Maybe nowhere, but I will never forget tonight or him. My heart is soaring.”

“Tell us exactly what happened. By the way, I spoke to him on the phone, and he soundedhot.” Katherine giggles. “I hope I see him in person tomorrow.”

“He does have a nice voice.” I giggle. “I just don’t understand what’s going on, though. I don’t understand what he wants from me. I mean, why would he be interested in me?”

“Because you’re beautiful and wonderful.”

“I just don’t get it. Life isn’tMaid in Manhattan. Rich billionaires, men with power, they don’t want women like me, who work in hotels and scrub toilets.”

“He has to know that you’re not rich, though,” Brielle says. “It’s obvious that you’re working-class.”

“Yeah, I guess so. He surely knows I’m not rich. Maybe he doesn’t understand just howpoorI am. I just don’t get it. He’s gorgeous. When you guys see him, you’ll know what I mean. He’s tall, dark, and handsome—and when he looks at me, I just can’t help but smile. Girls, my heart flutters. I mean, literally flutters. I’ve never had my heart flutter before in my life.”

“Oh my God. Thank God you said your heartflutters.” Katherine starts giggling.

“What? What are you talking about?” I ask.

“She’s drunk,” Brielle says. “We’ve been drinking wine. Don’t mind her.”

“No, I want to know what you thought I was going to say, Katherine.”

“I thought you were going to say your pussy lips flutter when you think about him.”

“What?” I screech. “You did not just say that!”

“I’m just saying—haven’t you ever seen a guy and just immediately got wet?”

I giggle. “I can’t say that’s ever happened to me, but Iwilltell you girls that I almost fell on some rocks because I wasn’t paying attention, and Sebastian caught me and pulled me into his arms. And he gave me this very quick kiss on the lips. Don’t get excited,” I say quickly, “because it wasn’t like a real kiss, but in that moment, y’all, my heartstopped. It literally stopped. And I’m not going to lie, if he had reached up and unbuckled my pants and slid them down, I would’ve been coming home saying that I had sex tonight.”

“You would’ve slept with him?” Brielle screeches. “You don’t even know him!”

“I know I don’t know him, but he is that hot, and he’s just so personable and charming. He just knows how to say all the right things. He was showing me different constellations, and we started talking about him being a Scorpio and me being a Virgo-slash-Libra, and he’s like the perfect man. I think he’s just—I don’t know. I don’t even know what to say. I sound stupid.”

“You never sound stupid,” Brielle says. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Happy about what? How am I falling for this man that I barely even know?”

“Because you’re attracted to him,” Katherine says.

“Yeah, I’m attracted to him, but when I first met him at the club, he wasn’t very nice. And now he’s much nicer, and he’s flirting with me.”