Page 49 of Pretty Wild

“Agreed.” After a beat, I add, “I’ll figure it out, Ari.”

“I know you will, honey. You’re very business-savvy for someone so young, but if you need direction, call your lawyers. That’s why you retain them, right?”

I nod.

“So, enough about all that. Tell me about that little place you’re staying,” she says, excitement on my behalf pouring through the phone.

My mind instantly flashes to Marcus. “It’s…fine.” I shift in my seat, my clit starting to throb a bit as memories filter through my mind.

“What? What happened?” she digs.

“Nothing.” Of course, my reply is way too quick and with too much force.

She gasps. “Something happened. What? Tell me!” she insists.

“Ariana,” I reply through a groan.

“Ryan,” she mimics, waiting me out.

“Fine. I met someone,” I say quietly.

“Really? Good for you! Tell me more. Where did you meet?” she hedges.

“Actually, we met on the side of the road.”

“Seriously?”

I recall the night we met, just four short days ago. “Yeah, my tire went flat, and he stopped to help. I thought he was a murderer or something.”

“Did he kill you with his charms?” she asks with a laugh.

Not his charms, but his big dick tried to kill me.

“Something like that,” I reply, feeling my cheeks heat.

“Oh, I can practically see you blushing through the phone. Don’t make me FaceTime you,” she chastises.

“Stop it.”

“Youstop it! Is he checking under the bed for bears?”

I roll my eyes. “No, he took me fishing.”

I’m met with silence. “Are you serious? You wentfishing?”

A shiver sweeps through my veins as I recall putting that nasty worm on the hooks. “It was…interesting.”

“I bet,” she replies. “I could never go fishing. I’ll stick to ordering it at a restaurant.”

“I’ll never look at fish the same,” I tell her, even though the fish Marcus made for dinner was delicious.

“So, the sexy mountain man took you fishing, huh?”

“He’s not a mountain man, Ari. There aren’t any mountains here. He serviced my car.”

“Okay, fine, I get it. But tell me this.” After a beat, she asks, “Are you at least getting your vagina serviced while you’re there too?”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

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