Page 54 of The Undercover Billionaire's Baby

“I can’t wait,” I breathed. “What time are you coming?”

“Our reservation’s for seven, so I’ll come by at six thirty. We can walk down together.”

“Together, yes. Perfect.” I dropped into a chair, limp with relief. Tonight would be beautiful, just like our first date. We’d talk. Figure out what to do next. Maybe he’d stay over, hold me through the night. A glimpse of what, one day, we’d have every night.

The second we hung up, I texted Alice.

Change of plans! We’re going dress-shopping!

Her reply shot back. Brad called?

We’re going out tonight!!!!!!!!!

She hearted my text, and then she called me, and ten minutes later, we were headed up Main Street. Haverford had what sort of passed for a mall — a few small boutiques priced for the tourists; a couple of organic, vegan bistros — but we hit up the local shops instead. I wanted the whole town to know I had a date. I hadn’t been ghosted. Sam would be back.

“Too girly,” said Alice, to my first dress. “You look like a unicorn threw up a rainbow.”

I tried on a red dress with a plunging neckline, its skirt slit halfway to see-you-next-Tuesday. Alice laughed when she saw it.

“Too Pretty Woman.”

Next up was a navy gown with a high collar. Alice took one look at it and shook her head.

“Too, uh… too Puritan. You just need the hat.”

My next dress was perfect, I knew right away, a shimmering gold sheath that made my eyes gleam like honey. It clung to my curves without pulling or pinching. Moved with my body like it’d been made just for me. Alice whistled when she saw it, and her only comment was “Shoes!” I bought a pair that cost way too much, but they were worth it for my date with Sam. It would be our first date with him as himself. The thought of that filled me with anticipation. This would be a fresh start for us, a shining new chapter.

“I can’t wait,” I whispered, then texted Sam the same sentiment. His reply shot straight back — Me neither! Five hours…

It felt like so long, five hours. Forever. But I still had my hair to do, and my makeup. And I’d got messy in my depression, waiting for Sam to call when he never did. I’d need to straighten my place up and put out some flowers, maybe some roses fresh from the garden. Would petals on my bedspread be silly? Cliché?

I left my bedspread alone, but I cleaned my whole place. I gathered bouquets of roses, one for every flat surface, then took a long shower and blew out my hair. I tried a new look from a makeup tutorial, scrubbed it all off, and tried something more classic. By that time, I was bumping up on six thirty. Six twenty-five. Five minutes to Sam.

I ran to the window to watch him pull up, but then I remembered, a watched kettle never boils. So I went back to the mirror and futzed with my hair, tweaking my curls till they hung just so. By then, was that Sam I could hear on the stairs? I cocked my head to wait for his knock, but it didn’t come. My phone chirped — from Alice — Have the most fun!

The time flashed on the screen, six thirty-five. Sam was late, but no problem. We were still fine. It didn’t take half an hour to walk to Belden’s. Maybe he’d hit traffic. Stuck in rush hour. I grabbed my phone to text him, but no. I’d seem needy. What could I do to make the time fly?

I got up and paced, then sat down again. Touched up my eyeliner. Fluffed up my hair. Then I stood up and smoothed out my dress. Practiced my catwalk strut down the front hall. In the street, gravel crunched, and I ran to the window, relief flooding through me in a cool, soothing tide. But the car that pulled up was just Mrs. Schneiderman’s. She opened the back door to let Wiener out. Six forty-five, now. We were cutting it fine. But we’d still be okay if Sam hurried up.

I glanced at my phone to see if he’d texted, then checked again just to make sure. Another minute ticked by, then five, then ten. I typed a text out to Sam, then deleted unsent. Called Belden’s to let them know we’d be late. Traffic, yeah. He’ll be here any second. But why hadn’t he texted? Phone dead? No signal?

I typed out my text again, Hey, you okay? Called Belden’s and let them know we’ll be late… I stared at it, then deleted the part about Belden’s, scared it might sound passive-aggressive. Then I wrote it back in again, because he deserved it. Five past seven now, and not even a call!

I went out to the back steps to wait in the fresh air, then ducked back in, embarrassed, when I thought someone might see me. Someone might walk by and see me dressed up, and then hear tomorrow that I’d canceled at Belden’s. Then the whole town would know I’d been stood up, and I’d been sitting out here, waiting in vain. But Sam would be here. He’d be here. He would.

The minutes ticked by, seven fifteen. Seven thirty. Seven forty-five, and nothing from Sam. My hair had gone limp, my makeup flaky. I tried to touch up my eyes, but they welled up and watered. Eight o’clock almost, and no word from Sam. I couldn’t keep pretending our date was still on.

I called Belden’s again and let them know we couldn’t make it. Then I peeled my gold dress off and put on my robe. I scrubbed my face clean and let down my hair, and ordered a pizza. Pepperoni for one. And as I ate it and time ticked by, I still kept checking my phone for Sam’s text. For the text that’d make all of this somehow okay.

CHAPTER 22

SAM

When I was a kid, I used to play this game, Asteroids. It was a remake of a remake of a game from the seventies, but from what I could gather, not much had changed. You were this spaceship in a field full of asteroids, and your quest was to blow them up before they could hit you. It was easy at first. The asteroids moved slowly, and their numbers were few. But as you scaled through the levels, they got thicker. And faster. They broke into pieces that flew at your ship. Sometimes, an alien flew by and bombed you. You were surrounded, beset from all sides, and all you could do was shoot wildly and hope.

“Gerhardt’s on the line again,” came a voice on my headset. My secretary. I reached for my landline. Lines one through four were lit up and blinking.

“Which line?”

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