Page 17 of Mistletoe Masquerade
Not if they assumed you’d never betray them by sleeping with a cop.
Would they see it like that? I’m not sure. And what about Dean? He has no idea who my friends are. Would it bother him to know? Would he still be interested in me if he did?
Whoever said he was interested in anything more than a night?
Maybe that’s all this should be. A single spectacular memory of a night I’ll never forget.
A poisonous ache spreads from my chest and into my limbs, filling my veins with liquid lead. I weigh just as much as I did five minutes ago, but I feel heavier. Immovable.
I don’t want to go.
I’ve never felt a connection like this with a man. It wasn’t supposed to go like this tonight, but now that it has, how can I walk away?
How can you be okay putting your friends at risk by dating a cop?
My friends are my family.
What if something I say or do puts them in jeopardy of being thrown in jail?
I imagine telling my friends about Dean. Would the guys make their wives distance themselves from me if I was in a full-scale relationship with a cop? Probably. How could they not, considering who they are? And if that’s the case, am I willing to lose them?
My heart constricts painfully.
Dani is my very best friend in the world. No sex is worth losing her over.
This was supposed to be a bit of fun. One night of pretend. That’s all he was probably interested in anyway. I need to accept that it’s best for everyone if I leave.
A single tear trails from my eye onto Dean’s pillow.
I lie awake for two whole hours before I slip out of bed and collect my things. I wait to zip my dress and don’t bother putting on my shoes.
Dean doesn’t wake.
The security system isn’t armed.
The universe is telling me to make my escape, so that’s what I do. I should be relieved, yet I feel more desolate with every step I take.
I suppose it’s only fitting that the best night of my life is also the worst—two sides of the same coin. And I’ll take it because a night with Dean was worth the pain of losing him.
CHAPTER 8
DEAN
She’s gone.
Motherfucker.
When I woke alone, I went straight to the living room to search for Sachi, but she’s not here. And all her things are gone. It’s like the entire night was a figment of my imagination.
I don’t even know her last name.
The only evidence I have of our night together is what looks like mascara-stained tears dried into my pillow. Why would Sachi have been crying? Why did she sneak out inthe night?
I never implied I wanted her gone because I didn’t … want her … to go.
And I know she enjoyed herself just as much as I did. A woman can’t fake the way she creamed all over my dick. So why disappear without a note or anything?
She told me she wasn’t in a relationship. Would she have lied about that? I don’t want to think she would, but I don’t truly know her well enough to say for certain.
