Page 22 of The Fantasy League
How could I forget? That was humiliating. I felt like I was a one-night stand being shuffled out the door before the guy’s roommates woke up. I nodded my head up and down in response.
“Aera Chase, she’s the designer of the dress.‘Inamra’ is the name of her fashion house.”
“You’re lying.”
Mae handed me over the tag to show me the label of the dress with tiny letters that read,“An Inamra exclusive.”
He gave me a dress that was designed by one of his flings.
I knew I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up thinking that he had thought of this by himself. She had probably left it at his house when she visited last fall and he was trying to get the dress out of his closet.
“Burn it.”
I wanted to stuff it in the fireplace and watch it go up in flames. The blood underneath my skin turned hot and my body went rigid as I gave the dress another once-over.
“No. We’re not going to burn the dress.” Mae drew back her shoulders and a curl played at her lips as she held up the dress in front of me. “Because when he sees you in it, it’ll bring him to his knees. And it will be more satisfying to watch him suffer.”
A conniving grin took over my face.
Watching him suffer was something I could get behind.
* * *
I’d almost considered wearingone of Mae’s dresses out of pure rage, but decided against it after trying on the dress Abel had given me. Mae was right, I looked damn good in it.
Like forget your ex was the one who made the dress good.
At seven sharp, a knock sounded on the front door and my pulse began to race. My heart beat recklessly against the walls of my chest. Why was I so nervous all of a sudden? It wasn’t like this was a real date. I took a calming breath before opening the front door.
Holy hell.
Abel looked hot.
The “we’re no longer going to this party because I’d rather practice making babies with you instead” kind of hot.
Was it appropriate to think those thoughts about your boss? Probably not, but I couldn’t help it. The three-piece black suit he wore was tailored to perfection, showing off every handcrafted muscle on his body. I raked my eyes over him another time for good measure.
I’d never seen him out of workout clothes before, but this was just… wow.
“You look gorgeous.” Abel smiled, looking me up and down with a heated gaze that made my thighs clench together as he stepped through the door. Unsure if I should go for a hug, I settled for a small wave and what I’m sure was a stupid grin. “The dress is… wow. You’re beautiful, Red.”
“Thank you,” I bit out with a curt tone. I didn’t want to talk about the stupid freaking dress anymore, especially with him.
Although it was gorgeous, this dress would find its new home in my trash can after tonight’s event. Exactly where it belonged.
“Should we get go—” I started before Mae’s holler from the living room cut me off.
“Scarlett, wait!”
Mae waltzed into the entryway with her laptop held out in front of her so the screen was facing Abel and me. She tried to hide the stupid grin on her face while the video call connected and the screen expanded, showing us two old dudes lying on the beach.
Oh no. No no no.
“Hi Dads.” I waved sheepishly at the screen; I could see my face flushed with embarrassment in the small box in the upper corner with our faces in it.
I should’veknownthey’d do something like this.
Dads and Mae played a “fun” game where they tried to ruin my dates before they even started. This game was part of the reason I could count on one hand the number of dates I’d been on in this lifetime.
