Page 71 of Betrayed in the Dark
“Are you listening to me?”
“Huh?” I promptly stop biting my thumbnail and spin on my heel to face Scarlett, accidentally knocking over a mannequin in the process. “Shit. Sorry.” I bend down to pick it up, and Scarlett helps me as we adjust it back onto its stand.
“Are you okay?” she asks with a slight frown. “You’ve seemed a little distracted today.”
Me? Distracted?
Pshh.
It’s not like I’ve been spending every second of today replaying the best sex of my life with my bodyguard and not my fiancé.
Nope. Not one single second.
And I definitely haven’t been overanalyzing how I felt when I woke up in his arms as if I could finally breathe again for the first time in a long time.
Or the disappointment that followed as he kissed my temple and then slipped out of my room to help Vin and Alex with something.
Fuck.I drag a hand down my face, knowing things just got so much more complicated.
Not to mention that on top of all that, today is—
“Madeleine?”
Shit.“Sorry,” I reply, forcing a smile as I take a seat on the bench beside us, leaning my back against the wall. “I guess I’m not really in the mood to shop.” I had hoped that spending the day with Scarlett and Alina would help me forget what today is, but I realize there’s only one person who can do that for me. And he’s not here. I glance toward the store entrance and spot Asher standing guard, alert and ready for any potential danger.
“Honestly, I’m not either.” She returns the pink sweater to the rack and joins me on the bench.
“Did I just hear you say you’re not in the mood to shop?” Alina walks up to us, bags hanging from both arms. “Since when?”
I sigh. “Just didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Probably cause I was too busy getting fucked into oblivion.
“Yeah, me neither,” she responds, sitting on the free space beside me and yawning.
“Did you buy out the store?” I ask, glancing at her bags.
She laughs, giving a slight shrug. “I might have gone a little overboard. I just want this Christmas to be…perfect.” Her eyes appear a little lost, and she quickly shakes her head.
“Is everything okay between you and Eli?” Scarlett asks, catching me off guard.
I tuck my hair behind my ear and furrow my brows. “Why wouldn’t everything be okay?”
She casually lifts her shoulders. “I don’t know. You just haven’t complained much about him recently. Thought you might have had a change of heart…”
“About Eli?” I scoff. “No way.”
She grins. “You know, once upon a time, when he entered a room, it was like he was the only one you had eyes for.”
I tilt my head back, staring at the ceiling. “I probably just needed glasses.”
“Oh, please.” Alina nudges my shoulder with hers. “The man worships the ground you walk on. What girl wouldn’t be enamored by a man like that? And did you forget about the part where he saved your life not too long ago?” She dramatically places the back of her hand across her forehead. “So romantic.”
“I’m taking away all your romance novels. They’re clearly a bad influence on you,” I tease.
“Don’t you dare!” She laughs. “Besides…” She waggles her brows. “I’m pretty sure that at the cake tasting, Eli would have preferred a sample of you instead. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
A flush creeps up my neck, and I quickly look away, turning my attention to my manicure.
