Page 36 of The Husband Contract

“It’s not new.”

“You weren’t wearing it yesterday, were you?”

“No, I… I wasn’t.”

“Where did you get it? Did you buy it? It’s very pretty. Looks expensive.”

All of a sudden, she looks nervous. Her eyes glisten, like she knows I’ve caught something.

Did she spend money she stole from my brother on this ring?I can feel anger rising inside me.

“You don’t care about my ring or how I got it,” she says quickly and looks away, blinking rapidly.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine,” I reply through gritted teeth.Smile, Sebastian.I remind myself not to let her sense suspicion. I can’t let her see through me. But my good mood is gone.

She’s more complicated than I thought. She comes across as shy and innocent, but she’s not. She’s someone playing this game hard.

She doesn’t wantme.She wantswhat comes with me.I tilt my head, walk over to the table, lift the coffee cup, and take a sip. It’s dark and strong—just how I like it. I let the caffeine hit me, sharpen me, fuel me. Then I turn back to her with the sweetest smile I can muster.

“So… that date. You think you might be interested, sweet Willow tree?”

She blinks. “I mean… sure. If you’d like that.” She licks her lips nervously again and looks away.

“I think we should do something fun,” I say. “Maybe we’ll even go jewelry shopping.” I can’t help but push the knife in a little bit.

Her face goes red. “I… I don’t know what to say. I should go though. I have to work. I’ll see you later.”

I nod, watching as she hurries out the door. I lift the cover off the pancakes—regular pancakes, sliced apples, cinnamon, sugar, and pecans. I take a bite. They’re delicious. Really,reallydelicious.

Then my phone rings. A number I don’t recognize, but it looks international, so I answer.

“Hello?”

“You have a collect call from Sergio Laurence. Do you accept the call?”

“I accept,” I say.

“One moment, please.”

“Hey, Sebastian!” Sergio shouts into the phone. “You there?”

“I’m here. What’s going on? Why are you calling mecollect?”

“Oh, I misplaced my cell phone,” he shouts back. “Had to use this payphone, but I didn’t have cash, so—collect call! I have a huge favor to ask.” I hear what sounds like a party in the background.

“Where are you?”

“I’m in Thailand. You know that.”

“Okay…”

“I need you to wire me five hundred dollars. There’s a moon party tonight.”

“Sergio, what are you talking about?”

“I need you to wire me five hundred. I’ll give you the hotel name; you can do it through Western Union.”

“Sergio, where’s your money? What’s going on?”