Page 478 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 8
“Lame.” We turned down another hall and arrived at the emergency exit. “Ah, finally! Chad should be right out there.” I went to open the door, but Teddybear put his massive hand out to keep it shut.
“Something actually did happen.”
“I knew it! Tell me everything.”
“So Ididget pulled over.”
“I knew you blew a cop!”
“No. He let me off with a warning. No blowjobs were involved. But when I went into the glove compartment to grab the registration, I found some documents.” He paused. “Case law related to invalidating prenuptial agreements.”
“Chad’s parents are getting divorced?”
Teddybear shook his head. “That wasn’t all. There were also a few collection notices. So I made a few calls, and it seems like the Chadwicks are flirting with bankruptcy. Chastity, I’m so sorry, but I think that Chad’s proposal to you is part of a scheme to steal your money.”
I laughed. “Aw. Teddybear! That’s so cute that you’re trying to break me and Chad up. But I promise there’s nothing to worry about. Chad didn’t propose to me. It was just a promise ring.” I went to open the door, but he stopped me again.
“Are you sure? Chastity, I’m worried…”
“Teddybear, there’s no need to worry about me. I have everything under control.”
“But I really think…”
“And even if everything you said was accurate, it wouldn’t matter. Because after we win this scavenger hunt, Chad is gonna get into the Gryphon Club. And the Gryphon Club wouldn’t dare let one of its members go bankrupt. It would be a black stain on their reputation.”
He just stared at me, still blocking my path from opening the door.
Oh, I knew what was going on. He’d been away from me all day. And he just wanted some attention. Traveling all day on the open road with vagabonds must have been a little straining. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him.
His arms instinctively wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. Teddybear was so territorial sometimes. It was one of the many qualities of his that I appreciated. But I didn’t have time to spare right now. He could have his way with me once we were back home. I gave him one last kiss and pulled back. “Everything is fine.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am. Now let’s let Chad in and go have a dance party in the library!”
***
The dance party was extremely lame. We couldn’t get far enough away from a librarian to actually play music, so we all just pretended to dance.
But I didn’t really care. I was just daydreaming of Adonis the entire time anyway.
“It’s the moment of truth,” whispered Scooter as we neared the exit. “If Adonis isn’t waiting outside…” He stared at Ash.
“He’ll be there,” she said. But her voice did not sound confident.
He smiled. “I see what’s going on here. You just wanted an excuse to climb this beef tower. So you made a dumb bet.”
“That is definitely not what is happening,” I said. “You really should have more faith in Chad. I mean…would I really date someone lame?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out. There’s no way that Adonis is showing up, though. He was definitely trying to give that football to you. I doubt he even knows who Chad is.”
“We’ll see about that. Ash, will you be taking your winnings via PayPal or do you prefer cash?”
“Cash will do,” she said.
Scooter laughed. And then his jaw dropped. Because Adonis was standing outside the library.
I knew he was huge, but he looked even bigger now that he wasn’t down on a football field surrounded by other players. And he was rocking the hell out of those jeans.
