Page 143 of The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée

Chapter 27

Tabitha

Lizzie and Willoware the first to arrive. They shoo Clark out of there and make me move to the bar from my sad table for two.

“Honey!” Jada rushes up, fresh from dress rehearsal, and gives me a giant hug.

“Thank you for coming,” I whisper. I drain the last of my Hot Pink Barbie.

She adjusts my party hat and looks down at my dress—a slinky pink number with a yellow cat heart-eyes emoji on the front done in sequins. “Too cute,” she says.

“Thanks,” I whisper. I felt so happy when I picked it out, imagining the look on Rex’s face—the rise it would get out of him, the way he’d secretly love it, but act like he can’t even.

“You’re too cute forhim,” she says.

“Don’t try to act like there’s not mascara running down my cheeks,” I say. “This is no time for pretty lies.”

“Rex O’Rourke is a jerk!” Jada says. “How about that?”

“Better.” I cross my arms and try to work up anger. I want to be angry. Anger is so much better than heartbreak.

“He blows you off on your birthday,” she adds.

“Right?” I say. “Uhh.”

“The motherfucker sent his friend instead of showing up?” Lizzie says. “What is that?”

“I can’t even wrap my mind around that!” Jada says, taking off her coat. “He couldn’t have designed a more horrible birthday if he tried!”

“I’m sorry, but I run a tech business,” Willow says. “If I don’t want to do business at eight at night, then I don’t do business at eight at night. It’s called being the boss. Same with my brother. If Theo doesn’t want to be in the office at eight at night, he’s not in the office.”

“Did he offer any excuse at all?” Jada asks.

“He texted two hours ago.” I show them my phone.

If you get there first, sit tight—the surprise I have will be worth it, I promise!

“Can you think of any surprise that makes this worth it?” Jada asks. “Because I can’t.”

“Hell no.” I put my phone away. “Though he did send his assistant Clark to let me know that he might be ten minutes late.” I make them all laugh with my description of Clark totally sweating bullets as ten minutes turned into twenty, then an hour. How Clark kept trying to text Rex under the table.

“Then we came and kicked Clark out,” Lizzie says.

“And I blocked Rex’s number,” I say.

“Good riddance!” Jada says.

“Yeah, screw that!” Willow signals the bartender. “Another round of Hot Pink Barbies!”

Lizzie loops an arm around my shoulders. I love that my friends are here, but nothing will fix the hole in me. Nothing can undo the devastation of sitting there waiting while Clark made excuses for yet another man blowing me off on my birthday.

My heart hurts. If only he hadn’t forced me to go out to the TipTop.

I need to recover from this, and I don’t know how. I loved him. And the worst thing about it is that I still do.

“You deserve better,” Lizzie says. “You’re worth more than this. It’s best he shows his true colors now, right?”

“No doubt!” Jada says. “He gave Tabitha a great present—the gift of knowledge—knowledge that he’ll never be good enough for her.”

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