Page 29 of Baby for My Enemy Billionaire

“It’s not Nate again, is it?” Maddison asks. “I thought you blocked him.”

“I have. It’s either Carmen or Nate who is using Carmen’s phone.”

“She’s still not apologized?”

“If you mean she’s not said ‘I’m sorry’ without adding an excuse to justify her, then no. It’s been all ‘I’m sorry, but…’ and I’m getting fed up hearing it.”

Maddison shakes her head.

“I’ve been telling her she messed up, and I thought she understood. Sounds like she hasn’t actually listened to me.”

“I doubt she listens to anything at all.” I shake my head. “I don’t want to deal with her. Not right now, with all this shit going on.”

“If you don’t want to tell her, then I will. I’ve got your back.”

I know my friend will do that for me. She’s looked out for me for so long that I can’t remember her doing anything else. I know I can trust Maddison.

“So, what will you do for the rest of the week?” Maddison starts eating again, cutting into her lamb. “I guess you’re going to be opening the store for a bit more, seven days a week? Do you need any help with ideas to get people to come in?”

“I guess I’m going to have to.”

“Let me know, and I’ll get everyone to come in and help out. We might buy the whole store out if you’re lucky.”

“I’m sure it won’t come to that, but I appreciate the gesture.” I frown as I remember something. “Shit, I’ve just remembered. I can’t do that on Saturday. I’ve got a date.”

“A date?” Maddison stops eating, her mouth falling open. “Really? You have a date?”

“I do. I’m surprised that I’ve got one, but Laura was talking to me about a guy she knows at work who would be perfect for me at Carmen’s party. She said that I should go back out and start dating again, that I shouldn’t let what Nate did to me get me down.”

“And you actually said yes?”

“It was the only way I could stop her talking about it. She wouldn’t back off until I said I would go to dinner with him.” I make a face. “And now I’ve got to go out with him on Saturday evening.”

Maddison snorts.

“I wish Laura would stop being a matchmaker. She’s not very good at it. Remember Mindy and Jake? That was a disaster waiting to happen.”

I can hardly forget that. Laura thought she was the resident matchmaker and often tried to put people together. In her mind, Mindy and Jake were a perfect couple. Mindy thought they were as well, but Jake wasn’t so happy about it. He finally had to get a restraining order out on Mindy because she started stalking him. Mindy had to leave Colorado, losing quite a few friends in the process.

That was probably the worst one. I don’t believe in Laura’s ability to look for a perfect significant other, even without that.

“At least I get a free dinner out of it. I won’t have to worry about where my food will come from.”

“Don’t be like that. I’d get you over to mine, and we could make our way through a massive pizza,” Maddison declares. “Lots of barbecue sauce and meat. Plenty of meat.”

“Is that really what you should be saying right now, Maddison? I’m getting correlations between that and this blind date.”

“Sorry.” Maddison giggles and starts to eat again. “But I am there if and when it goes wrong, so you don’t need to worry about a bad evening.”

I’m grateful for that. After finding out about my rent being raised to something I can’t afford and my landlord not willing to talk to me, I know I will need all the help I can get from Maddison. She and Dad are my rocks, and I’ll certainly want them around if my dreams start crumbling around me.

***

Finn

I stare at the screen, but nothing seems to be sinking in. There are so many emails, and I can’t tell which are genuine or what is spam that needs to be deleted. They keep coming through even after deleting, reporting, and blocking spam. It’s ridiculous.

But I can’t get my mind focused on anything. Not when everything somehow reminds me of Jade. I see her in her bookstore, clearly devoted to her work and her love of books. Her store made me feel like I was at home; there was a warm, inviting feeling about the place. I can see why Katie likes it.

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