Page 37 of David's Proposal

“Hi… Are you in town?” she asks in a hesitating voice.

The edge of my teeth rolls slowly over my lower lip.

One of the main reasons I pay Sabina is not to get questions like this from her.

“Yes. Why?”

“Someone told me you were in the Casino.”

Sweat forms at the back of my neck.

“I’m listening.”

“No, there’s nothing. I just wanted to know if you’re in town.”

I suppress a harsh retort.

There must be more than that to her question, but I won’t get into that with her right now. I remember Julie’s advice and wonder how much heart Sabina has put into this.

I appreciate Julie’s concern, but Sabina sounds more like my ex than a woman having a crush on me.

If I didn’t know years have passed since my ex and I went separate ways, I’d say she is her––my ex.

This is like deja vu.

She’s checking on me––although this has never been our deal––while the girl I want to meet with is somewhere in town, making new friends, ignoring my text messages.

I reach for my tie and loosen the knot.

“I’m at the Casino, having dinner with James Sexton. I’ll call you later. Are you at home?”

I put an effort there to make the dialogue sound as casual as possible because I want this to be over, but this is not the time to make a scene.

“Uh… Yeah. I might go out later, though. Call me when you can,” she says and ends the call.

Weird.

Are we pretending we are lovers or something?

Shoving my phone into my pocket, I grind my teeth and enter the restroom.

I wash my hands when my phone pings again.

I take it out, my hand still wet.

Oh.

How I wanted to see this alert.

I lock the door from inside, step back, and lean against the edge of the sink.

First, there’s the confirmation that my guest arrived to my hotel suite.Then the cameras are on.

My first instinct is to turn them off.

But my curiosity gets the best of me.

The cameras stream live, and I finally get to see her.

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