Page 76 of Bidding War

“What does that even mean?”

Callie sighs and gazes out the window. “When I sleep over at Daniel’s, I get up an hour before he does. I take a shower. Brush my teeth. Put on a full face of makeup. Then I crawl back into the sheets and pretend I was there all night long. He thinks that I wake up looking like this.”

My mouth drops at first. Then I snort a laugh. “You've got to be fucking kidding me.”

“I wish I were.”

“Oh my God, Callie, show him who you really are. I bet you don't even burp in front of him.”

She gasps. “Hell no. Of course not.”

“Fuck. Are you joking?”

“How could I possibly expect him to marry a woman who burps? He's perfect.”

I can't help it. I just start laughing.

“This isn't funny!”

Once I catch my breath, I point out, “You're upset because he thinks you're perfect, right? Well, you think that he's perfect. Any chance that he's doing the same kind of thing that you're doing?”

“Daniel is not as insecure as I am.”

But I smirk and fight a laugh. “I bet he thinks the same of you.”

Finally, something in her cracks. “Do you really think so? You think he's hiding his flaws from me?”

“He's human. He has flaws. If you have not seen them, then yes, he's hiding them. Have you ever heard him burp?”

“Well, no.”

The snickering comes out whether or not I want it to. “Then I am pretty sure he's pulling the same con that you are. You two need to sit down and have a real talk. Especially before you go getting engaged.”

She takes a deep breath and lets it out very slowly. “You might be right.”

“Of course I am. Maybe do it while you drink some soda together. That way, you can get the burping thing out of the way first.”

She rolls her eyes at me. “How are you and Anderson doing? When you texted me, the two of you had gotten back together. I was happy for you, but I really haven't heard back from you much. He's keeping you too busy, huh? All that make-up sex?”

I smile at the thought and realize I haven't heard from him pretty much all day. As I speak, I shoot him a text to check-in. “We're doing as well as we can.”

“And what does that mean?”

I lift a shoulder, unwilling to commit to that portion of the conversation. No matter how much she already knows, I can't tell her about everything. Doing that would put her in danger. She doesn't know about Neil, and I plan to keep it that way. “We're still figuring things out. But it's external things. Anderson and me as a couple? We are really good.”

“I am so glad to hear that. I have never seen you as happy as you are with him.”

Nodding, I sigh. “That's because I've never been as happy as I am with him. Didn't know that things could be this good.”

She gets a funny look in her eyes. “And do you think there's the possibility that you might be going down the aisle, too?”

The question flutters through me. Between my job and his father, getting married feels like something that could be a wonderful thing or a huge, crushing mistake. “Oh, let's not go thinking about things like that right now. I am focused on the present. The future will have to take care of itself.”

Odd that he hasn't texted back already. Anderson is usually one of those fast texters.

“Well, whatever it is, I need a girls' night. Do you think we can catch a movie after this?”

As much as I would love to go home and curl up next to Anderson, I haven't seen Callie in a really long time. It gets too easy to neglect my friendships when I'm with a guy. Even one as wonderful as Anderson.

---