Page 55 of Bad Boy Done Wrong
Zach stared at the woman for a long moment before speaking in a tone that Carrie couldn’t catch. He suddenly seemed to remember Carrie and crossed back to her. “I’ll get rid of her. Come on.”
“Who is she?” Carrie whispered. “What does she mean fellowship?”
“My ex. This’ll be quick.” He dragged her along.
She dug her heels in. “I don’t want to meet your ex.”
He stopped and gazed into her eyes. “I met yours.” The implication was clear. He’d done her a favor showing up as her date for the ex confrontation. Now she appreciated that even more because she didn’t have the slightest interest in meeting his ex. In fact, she was ready to bolt.
He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Don’t leave. You know I’ll only chase you down and bring you back.”
He was teasing, reminding her of the first time she bolted from his apartment and he’d carried her back inside, tossed over his shoulder. “Fine. I’ll meet her,briefly, and then I’m going straight inside.”
His voice dropped deep and low. “Where you belong.”
Her stomach did a delicious flip. What this man did to her. Despite the evidence to the contrary—the woman had a suitcase like she planned to stay—she told herself to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’d deal with his ex and then return to Carrie as promised. She certainly wouldn’t want to be judged by the appearance or actions of her ex.
Carrie approached the front door, a smile plastered on her face. Zach stuck close to her side and introduced her to the woman.
“Muriel, this is Carrie.”
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Carrie chirped. “I’m just going to head inside.” She pointed around the woman to the door.
The woman grabbed her hand and shook it in a firm grip. “Dr. Muriel Hapsburg. One of Zach’s colleagues at the university and more than that, as you might’ve guessed. A year together, quite serious.”
Carrie’s mind whirled. She turned to him. “You work at a university?”
Zach shoved a hand in his hair. “Yes, a professor of anthropology. I was going to tell you. Right after the anniversary celebration, but then you were crying and we just got back here. I was going to tell you,” he finished lamely.
“Who does she think you are?” Muriel asked.
Carrie stared at Zach, uncomprehending, trying to reconcile reality with what she thought she knew. And then something clicked. “That’s why Josh called you professor. But you said you were a travel guide, who was currently unemployed. And then you got the Singapore gig.”
“It’s not agig,” Muriel said, emphasizing the word like it was ludicrous. “He’s just been granted a senior research fellowship at the Asia Research Institute.” She turned to Zach. “I assume you’ll be continuing work on your book there.”
He inclined his head.
Book?Shit! Josh had asked him about his book too. But Zach had said there was no book. Carrie blinked, willing herself to understand how she could’ve been so manipulated that she believed the man who stood in front of her. A stranger to her now. The man she thought she knew didn’t exist.
“Carrie, listen,” Zach said, “in a way, what I said was true. I study and write about Indonesia and the surrounding Southeast Asia region. I do spend a lot of time hiking and camping in the forest there. And I’m not actively working right now because I’ve been busy with you.”
“In a way?” she shouted. “In what way is an anthropology professor a travel guide?”
He blew out a breath. “You’re missing the point.”
“I’d say she got the point just fine,” Muriel said smugly.
Muriel kept talking, but Carrie couldn’t hear past the roaring in her ears. Fury like she’d never known ripped through her. He’dliedto her. Lied about who he was. Lied about what he did. Lied about not doing long-term.Hello, Muriel!Not a travel guide or unemployed. She’d had the harrowing results of lies during her time with Edward and she would not tolerate them again.
“Goodbye, Zach.” She headed for home on stiff legs, cold to her core, feeling like an absolute fool.
“Carrie, wait!”
She kept going.
He caught up to her and held her by the upper arm. “Carrie.”
She shook him off. “Don’t touch me. We’re done. You lied to me.”
