Page 13 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
I used to read romance novels, but nowadays I went for action-packed and a high body count. I read the back cover of a bright yellow book, decided it wasn’t something I wanted to read, and slipped it back into its place.
When I looked up, I thought I saw Jake.No way! He’s seriously everywhere.
Trying to get another glimpse, I moved through the aisles. Leaving before he saw me would probably be the smarter option, but I was curious. The types of books he looked at might give me some insight into the guy. Plus, he was nice to look at.
The guy paused in front of a section, and I craned my neck to try to get a better view. He glanced up, toward the top of the shelves, and I was sure it was him. Before he could see me, I ducked behind a stack of books. When I peeked around the shelf, he was coming my way.
Looking for an escape, I hurried down the aisle. Darting out in either direction wasn’t an option—he’d spot me for sure. It looked like he was going to anyway. As he stepped into unobstructed view, I whipped around and snatched a book off the shelf in front of me.
“Darby? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m just checking out books.” I glanced at the one I was holding. Somehow, of all the places I could duck into, I’d wound up in the erotica section. In my hands was a book about bondage.Somebody kill me now.
Jake cocked an eyebrow. “Looks interesting.”
My face heated and I shifted my weight to the other foot. “I-it’s for a friend. Not me. I mean, it’s not what you think. My friend’s getting married. Wow, I’m making me really uncomfortable.”
A smile spread across his face. “It’s okay to admit you were stalking me.”
Quirky sex books or stalking?The fact that I’m actually weighing these two options proves how desperate I’ve become.
“I’ve gotta go.” I slammed the book back down on the shelf and hurried away.
Well, that’ll either spark his interest even more, or he’ll never speak to me again.
Right now, I still wasn’t sure which option I truly wanted.
…
Kinky stuff seemed to be the theme of the evening. A politician who’d been caught cheating on his wife was on all the news channels. This particular guy preferred prostitutes. I picked up my TV remote to change the station but found it impossible to look away. Here was this guy holding a giant press conference, and his wife was right there next to him, looking shell-shocked, but still standing by his side.
“I apologize for my actions,” the politician said. “I regret that people’s faith in me has been shaken. I especially regret hurting my family…”
“Oh, admit it,” I said to him, even though he couldn’t hear me. “You just regret getting caught. Otherwise you’d be with a prostitute right now.”
It was disgusting to see him apologize to his wife in a press conference. You know what his wife didn’t want him to do—besides prostitutes, of course? Hold a press conference to apologize. If he were really sorry, he’d apologize to her in a nice private setting where she could slap him across the face and tell him what an ass he was.
Of course he was groveling like an idiot, claiming he regretted his actions. What else was he going to do? Get up there and say, in front of the entire nation, “Hookers are awesome. I especially love how you can pay them to do kinky stuff that my wife won’t do.” I think I’d actually admire that; at least I’d know he wasn’t full of crap. Because like I said, he’s not really sorry. He’s only sorry he got caught. It’s just how guys are.
With my resolve against Jake wavering, this was the wake-up call I needed. The more I reminded myself why I wasn’t dating Jake, the better.
Chapter Five
Now, I realize I’ve compared myself to Cinderella. I may not have two evil stepsisters, but I do have two evil stepbrothers. Actually, Drew and Devin aren’t really evil, and I love them to death.Now.
But having to spend the end of my childhood in the tiny town of Longmont, when they were making fun of me and lining the horse pens with my clothes, I was sure they were evil. When Mom and I moved in with three guys, it had taken some time to adjust. Eventually, though, they became part of my family. Drew and I had gotten even closer the past few years.
He’d called me this afternoon to say he was driving down to hang out, which usually meant he wanted to go trolling for women. Which meant he and Michelle must’ve broken up.
Drew showed up a few minutes after six and announced he was starving. I grabbed all my take-out menus from the kitchen drawer, flopped onto the couch, and handed them to him.
He started flipping through the stack. “I’m surprised you don’t want to go to Blue.”
“I’m sick of eating there,” I said. “Now, tell me what happened with Michelle.”
“You know I’m not a girl, right? I don’t need to talk it out.” He glanced at me. “Besides, this is a good thing for you, remember? You need me to stay single forever, because you’re obviously not having any luck.”
My mouth dropped open. I smacked him across the chest with the back of my hand. “Thanks for rubbing it in, but we’re not close enough to our fifties to decide that yet.”
