Page 68 of Seductive Scoundrel

This place has become my sanctuary in a city that never stops. The people here, especially Bianca, have become friends. Although it’s only been a short time since I found it, I’ve become a real dog person and the Greyhound Rescue Centre is my new passion. No matter where I move next, volunteering to help animals will remain an important part of my life.

“Earth to Mia,” Bianca says, tapping my shoulder.

I didn’t even notice her walk over. “Sorry. What would you like me to do?”

“You can tell me what’s wrong for starters.”

We make tea and then sit in the back with the dogs. Wally leans against my leg, resting his head on my lap. Just running my hands through his soft fur soothes my broken heart. I’m glad I left work at a decent time and came here. Even the flack I’ll get from GI Jane tomorrow is worth it.

Twenty minutes later I’ve bared my soul. Bianca is a good person, and I’m grateful the crazy ride with Dean brought us together.

She nods slowly. “I can see both sides of the story. It’s unfortunate that you lied to him, but you never imagined your interaction would turn into a relationship. As long as you haven’t lied about anything else, then letting him think you’re the woman from the party isn’t a deal-breaker in my books…And I’m pretty strict with this stuff.”

A smile pulls at her lips. “My hubby lied to me about who he was when we met – and we survived. Two kids and two dogs later, and we actually laugh about it.”

“No way! He lied about who he was?”

Bianca talks about her husband like he’s the best thing since sliced bread, so it’s hard to imagine him as anything less than perfect.

“Yup. It’s a long story. Why don’t we go for brunch this weekend, and I’ll tell you all about it? I need to get home and help Georgina with her science project before bed. If you don’t mind helping Lou finish evening chores and taking Wally for a quick walk; that would be great.”

“You bet. Sorry to keep you.”

Bianca shoots me a smile as she puts our cups into the dishwasher. “Are you kidding, your life is better than Netflix. How about I text you later and we set up a brunch date, or maybe you can come for dinner and meet the liar himself?”

“I’d love that. Thanks a lot for listening, you’re a good friend.”

She hugs me. “Mia, if the guy truly loves you, he’ll forgive and forget. You may have lied, but it wasn’t done out of malice and isn’t the end of the world. Give it some time, he might surprise you. I surprised my guy.”

With butterflies in my stomach, I check my phone hoping for a message from Dean. But there’s nothing.

Something tells me that he won’t be surprising me.

So maybe I need to surprise him.

Chapter Nineteen

Dean

Mia is makingit hard to forget her. Since I’ve never had a girlfriend, I’ve never had a breakup. When it happened, I imagined it would be easy to immerse myself in work and pretend I never met her.

But she had other ideas.

I’m in the middle of a conference call with a few of Dex’s executives who will be helping to manage the transition when an exasperated Jacqueline enters my office. She knows better than to interrupt unless absolutely necessary, so I give her my best, “this better be good face.”

She passes me a package while simultaneously hitting the mute button on my speaker. “Apparently, this package is life or death. It was escorted up by security.”

She doesn't look convinced and neither am I. She waits as though I’m going to open it in front of her, but quickly realizes I won’t and leaves in a huff.

I unmute the speaker and ask what I hope is an intelligent question while my attention shifts to the small, wrapped box in front of me. When I open it, two picture frames are revealed with a simple note from Mia. I would recognize her flowery handwriting anywhere.

I miss you. I’m sorry. Can we talk?

Well, I wouldn’t call that life or death, but the ache she left behind in my chest feels bad enough to kill me.

I rip the tissue paper off the first frame to reveal a shot of Mia wearing a, “My boyfriend goes to Harvard” T-shirt. The next image shows her wearing a tank top that says, “I'm dating an MIT guy.”

No article of clothing can disguise that woman’s dangerous curves, and I have to set the frames face down so they don't distract me. Except I keep turning them over for another look approximately every six seconds.

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