Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
But that was beside the point.
“Well, I showed up late and in my jammies because the night before, I got together with Theo White.”
Jill’s mouth dropped open.
“Are you serious? How?” she breathed.
I paused for a moment. Should I tell her about the abduction? Because that’s what had happened, for sure, but biting my lip, I decided against it. Given that Theo and I had ended up in bed, going into the kidnapping vein was too much information that no longer seemed relevant. So instead, I fudged.
“Well, I was standing next to the bike racks over by the gym, and Theo walked by,” was my white lie. “He recognized me from my photo, and we struck up a conversation.”
Jill nodded solemnly.
“Totally, Mia. You’re so beautiful, you don’t even know it,” she huffed, eyes wide. “And then what?”
I paused again, thinking furiously.
“And then we got to talking, one thing led to another, and soon we were on a date sort-of,” I said helplessly, smiling a little. “We’ve been communicating, and I guess that’s why there are flowers now.”
Jill’s nose wrinkled.
“That’s some communicating,” she teased. “But seriously Mia, this is so awesome. A billionaire wants you, and I’m so jealous. You rock.”
I smiled again but said nothing, merely chewing the Danish pastry as Jill kept on.
“He obviously has a thing for you,” she intoned. “He wants to be serious, honey. Why else with all these flowers?” She gestured expansively. “Honestly this stuff must have cost at least four figures.”
Groaning, I chewed on my pastry puff. “I know, I know. But did you see all the photos I posted of him?”
Jill fanned herself. “Yes! Obviously. The entire world did, you made sure of that as Anonimo.”
I scrunched up my nose. My friend was the only one who knew what I’d done. I’d sworn her to secrecy.
“But that’s the thing, Jilly,” I said slowly. “He sleeps with tons of girls. I’m just one notch among a thousand on his bedpost.”
She cocked her head to the side, eyeing me contemplatively.
“Maybe,” she hedged. “But I doubt he sends flowers to all his notches. I mean, look at these roses. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.”
But I wasn’t convinced. Spending a thousand dollars on roses was just a drop in a bucket for a billionaire, so I couldn’t measure his real interest in me just based on how much money he spent. Theo White could afford sending roses to all his paramours if that was his MO. At this point, there was frankly no telling.
“Well, you’ll have to tell me everything,” my friend said. “I’m your confidante, and so much has already happened. Everything!” she emphasized.
I laughed, throwing some potato chips her way until the two of us were in a mild food fight, but it turned out that I didn’t have to tell her anything because the gifts just kept arriving.
A few days after the roses, I came home to another surprise. Jill was on the couch munching on something crunchy. Her eyes opened wide when she saw me. “He sent candy, Mia!”
“Candy?” I asked, surprised.
She nodded her head as she crunched. “Peanut brittle, yum. It’s real good.”
I rolled my eyes. God, my buddy was too into my stuff, it was getting unreal. We had to set some boundaries pronto, but reading my mind again, Jill spoke.
“You honestly didn’t expect me to stay away, did you?”
Sighing, I closed the door and looked at the coffee table. There were twenty different kinds of peanut brittle strewn about.
“Eat as much as you want,” I said in a resigned voice. “There’s a ton.”
Jill nodded happily. “Yeah, I know. Read the card, Mia. This guy is really after you.”
I fingered the small piece of paper. The card had a red heart broken in two on the front. Inside, it read, “We’re broken up over here. Make our brittle security indestructible. Help me put us back together again. -Theo”
The message was pretty cheesy, but I was charmed anyways. Hey, this guy knew how to be creative. And as if on cue, Jill opened a box of peanut brittle, holding out to me. “I think this one is my favorite. It’s called Choco Monster Almond Delight.”
What was with the name? But I popped one into my mouth, the velvet melting instantaneously on my tongue. “Mmm. That is good. Wow.”
Was it possible? Was Theo interested in me for more than my technical talent?
That couldn’t be true. The billionaire could have anyone he wanted, bar none, from princesses to supermodels. So why me?
Jill sighed. “Well at least do you believe me now?”
I sighed again.
“Believe you about what?” Opening a different box, I popped another peanut brittle piece in my mouth. Mmm, this one had the nutty flavor of salted caramel. My favorite.
Jill pointed at the card. “Help me put us back together again?” She shook her head. “Come on! He wants you!”