Page 9 of Only If You Dare

Chapter Four

“So that explains why you dumped me for lunch.”

The smile I held stretched my face to the point that I covered my mouth and laughed. It was 8:46 pm and I was trying to get back into Santana’s good graces by treating her to dinner. The pizzeria we sat in was busy for a Monday night. I supposed the patrons were trying to get over the day just the same as we were.

“I didn’t dump you for lunch.”

At the unassured look on Santana’s face, I cajoled, “I promise!”

“Somehow,” she said, “I don’t think you put up a fight.”

“But, you don’t know because you weren’t there.”

My stomach growled as a waiter passed by us to deliver pizza at a nearby table. The smells of freshly baked bread, mozzarella cheese, and savory, ripe tomato sauce filled my nose. College jocks cheered and whistled when the waitress arrived at their destination. Santana turned to their ranting, and a few of them sent winks and blew kisses our way. She smiled demurely then turned back to me.

“I’m about ready to go over there and flirt with them if I can get a slice of pizza. Wonder what’s taking them so long with our order. Didn’t we sit down at the same time?”

I nodded as my eyes lingered on the steam that rose from their piping hot dish. “Yes,” I said, “We did.”

“Don’t try and change the subject,” Santana berated.

“How am I trying to change the subject when you’re the one who changed the subject!”

A smile formed at the corner of her mouth and she leaned forward. “What exactly did Fredrick say?” Before I could answer, she held a finger in the air and shook it. “I want details. No, he made me do it speeches, either.” She peered at me with untrustworthy eyes.

“Well, he did,” I shrugged. Santana glared. “Okay, you want details. It seems that Julian Alexander Rose—”

She interrupted. “That’s the guy whose brother is engaged to your sister, right?”

“Yes, that would be him,” I said. “For whatever reason, he decided that now was the time to give Fredrick the exclusive first look at a photo spread he’s modeling in Dubai, and he’s personally asked that I write the story.”

Her mouth fell open. “So, you’ll be traveling to Dubai with that gorgeous hunk of a man?”

“Apparently.”

“Oh, you’ve gotta be more excited than that.”

“Why should I be?”

She smirked at me and ignored my question. “Continue,” Santana quipped.

“Julian asked me if I had plans for lunch and I told him, yes, but Fredrick made it a point to say I didn’t so we ended up…” My sentence trailed off.

“You ended up what?”

I shifted in my seat. I had a feeling Santana was going to accuse me of being a harlot once I told her how our afternoon turned out.

“Don’t get quiet now,” she chirped.

“We ended up in his hotel suite.”

Santana’s eyes popped.

“It’s not what you think. I didn’t know we were going there, but by the time I questioned Julian, we had arrived.”

“So?”

“So what?”

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