Page 16 of Austen Persuaded

He wanted to know if I was feeling better and if I was free tonight.

I took a deep breath and sat cross-legged on the bed. This was it. Before I could second-guess myself, I fired off a quick text asking him to call me.

He called surprisingly quickly. “Annie, how are you doing? I was worried. You’re not still sick, are you?” He did sound concerned.

Probably wanted to make sure I wouldn’t pass anything on to him.

But his tone sounded sincere, I thought with a lump in my throat.

“Not really, I’m doing better. Pretty awful for a few days, but I feel like myself again,” I said.

“Oh good, good,” he said quickly. “So listen, I was going to be in your part of town and wondered if I could come over tonight?” He paused. “I would’ve come sooner, but I got dragged to this literary convention in Duluth with Gregory. Wish you’d been there. I missed you, babe.”

Doubt began to rear its ugly head.

What if he was genuinely serious about me and just had a momentary lapse?

What if Viviana misinterpreted his intentions?

What if he realized he made a mistake and wants to come clean and apologize?

What if he realized he’s in love with me too?

What if …

Be cool, dammit.

“I’d loveto see you tonight, Brandon. I’m actually feeling a lot better, thanks for asking. Do you want to come over around 7 or 8 tonight?”

“Oh, babe, no, I have a work thing. It’ll run late. I was thinking I’d stop over around midnight or so. Is that OK?”

Nope, he’s a scumbag. Definitely a booty call.

And he’d done this before … how many times? I felt sick thinking about it. And then I had an idea. “Sure.” I lowered my voice an octave. “I’ll be waiting for you, babe.”

“Wear the red bow thing. You know the one. I’ll unwrap—”

“I just might,” I said. “Later.” And then I hung up, before I started to feel truly ill.

What had I seen in him? Had I been that oblivious? Or was he just a master player? I’d dated these types before, but usually I could spot them sooner (or Viviana spotted it for me), and we were usingeach other.Rarely was Ithiscompletely blindsided.

Rafael had seen it coming, but he had a weird sixth sense, so he didn’t count. Viviana had seemed genuinely surprised, as had Rainn. Maybe Brandonwasjust really good at hiding his duplicitousness. So I wasn’t just an idiot for falling for him.

I shook my head, trying to clear out the thoughts of that man. After tonight, I wouldn’t think about him anymore. He wasn’t worth it. Just like all the others in the past. Well, most of them.

Picking up the books that had fallen onto the floor, I lovingly placed them on the bed and leaned back against the headboard to look through them. I’d managed to selectGreat Expectationsby Dickens,The Love Hypothesisby Ali Hazelwood,Untamedby Glennon Doyle, andPersuasionby Jane Austen.

Ugh, Austen. Another reminder of Viviana. She was obsessed with Austen. It was hard to think about Austen without thinking about Viv.No thanks, I thought, setting that one aside. Definitely in the “no” pile for now. The question now is whether I wanted a re-read or a new read. And then fiction or nonfiction? I’d readGreat Expectations, of course, and loved it. I hadn’t read Hazelwood’s rom-com book yet, but I’d heard excellent reviews. CouldI really handle reading a love story right now though? I’d heard great things about Doyle too, thoughUntamedwas a nonfiction, personal growth type of book—not really my usual style. But maybe my life was about to take some different turns.

Facing indecision, I set the books down and decided to venture out of my room to see if the guys were home.

“Hey girl,” came Rafael’s distracted voice.

“Guys.”

“Hungry?”

“Starving, actually. Um. What are you doing?”

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