Page 108 of Mr. Flirt

“It’s not what it looks like,” Shep said softly.

My eyes flicked to his before landing on the screen again.

“Oh, and if you can get her to sleep with you, I’ll pay you double.” The words rattled around my brain like a grenade about to go off.

“So I was just a bet?” Anger flashed through me, filling every cell with a fire I’d never felt before.

“No. It’s not like that. I didn’t even remember it.”

“Why is this footage out there?”

Shep shook his head. “I don’t know. Mike was recording it for posterity, but I don’t—”

“For posterity?” I shook my head as my body trembled.

I’d been a joke, a wager to Shep this entire time.

I shook my head and shouldered past Shep and his dad into the great room, where I picked up my things from last night and grabbed my suitcase.

“Lucy, don’t. I swear to God that it’s not like that.”

My mind was running wild with things I wanted to say and do to Shep. I could feel my steely resolve rise as if I were in the courtroom. He’d humiliated me in a way that couldn’t be explained away.

And yet the only person I had to blame was myself because I’d ignored the red flags. I pretended that a leopard could change his spots. The worst part was that it wasn’t like I hadn’t been part of one of his bets before.

I gripped the handle on my suitcase and rolled past Shep and his father straight to the powder room, where I stripped off his boxers and shirt and pulled on some clean clothes before sitting on the toilet to call for help.

My mind buzzed with anger, but the sadness etched away at my fire as I dialed Danni’s number. Every part of me felt hollow and as if I were nothing more than a shell of who I was yesterday.

What would my firm think? Would I even have a job?

The moment Danni answered, I sniffled into the phone.

“You okay?” she asked. “I take it you saw the video.”

“You mean the one where I was just a bet?” I sniffled again as I heard Shep and his father arguing down the hall.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Me too.” I wiped my nose with some tissue. “The worst part is after last night, he can collect on the grand instead of five hundred bucks.”

Tears flooded my cheeks as every bone ached in my body. This was exactly why I’d vowed to stay away from relationships, feelings, and men.

“Oh, Lucy. I’m so sorry,” she said again.

I balanced my head on my hands. “I know this is a horrible imposition, but—”

“Tell me the address, and little Lucy and I will be there.”

Hearing my best friend’s words warmed me, and I realized I already had my little family, and that was perfect.

“I’m not going to make you drive up to the mountains. I think we’re almost to Silver Ridge. I was going to call Mae for that, but I was hoping that maybe I could stay at your place for a few days. I don’t want to deal with Shep showing up and trying to win me back. I’ll even take night duty.”

Danni giggled. “Music to my ears. Absolutely.”

I sniffled again and said a quick thank you before hanging up as the images from last night slammed into me. It had felt so real with Shep.

A knock at the door alarmed me, and my entire body went rigid.

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