Page 47 of The Marriage Bid
“Oh, that’s right! I saw that article! The way they painted you.”
“It’s a load of bullshit.”
“I believe you. If you’re looking for a distraction from all of that—”
“That is exactly what I am looking for.” I hemmed up the sexiness in my tone.
Lauren giggled. “If you’re looking for a distraction, I hope that means you’ll be at the marathon tomorrow?”
Fuck. I had forgotten that she was training for that. “Yeah, absolutely.”
Cheering on someone like her did not sound like a bad way to spend the weekend. I needed to purge Saffron from my mind. She was driving me crazy. She was turning me into a caveman, and if there was one person who could cure my affliction, it was Lauren.
Chapter 22
Saffron
Malaya’s latest boyfriend was a very handsome and athletic man. He had invited Malaya to come watch him compete in the marathon, and by extension, Malaya had invited me.
“I think he just wantsyouto be there and not a third-wheel cock-blocking friend,” I said when she asked me.
“Please,” Malaya brushed me away. “He’ll be running for a whole three hours, and after that, he’s going to be sweaty. I need someone to be with while he’s doing all that.”
“I don’t know…”
“And besides, I want you to meet him. He might be the real deal, and I want you to tell me what you think.”
And since I had seen and spoken to him, I had to say, Kiran was a nice guy. He was very warm and happy to see me when I came with Malaya, even though she hadn’t mentioned I would be joining her. After he had gone to join the rest of the runners, Malaya turned to me with expectant eyes.
“He’s a fine man,” I said.
She giggled. “What about his personality?”
“He’s really welcoming. I feel like I can talk to him about anything.”
“Right! I’m like that with him.” She said as we joined the crowd of onlookers at the starting line. “He’s not a jerk like theother men I’ve been with before. It’s as though he doesn’t mind being nice not just to me, but to other people.”
“Congratulations on bagging a golden retriever,” I said.
Malaya crossed her fingers. “Hopefully, it’s not for show.”
We waited on the sidelines as the athletes gathered on the start line. I was watching the group when Malaya nudged my ribs. “Is that?” She pointed to a group of people on the other side of the road.
“Who?”
“Nothing. I thought I saw Tyler Hawthorne over there. Or maybe it was Sebastian.”
My pulse picked up. I glanced at the crowd again, but I didn’t see anyone I recognized. Though there was a man behind the crowd who had the same physique as Tyler. Was that him? I couldn’t make him out from where we were.
“I’m probably seeing things,” she said. “Speaking of which, how is it?”
“How’s what?”
“Working with your husband? Is anything in that article true? I mean, we might have to think of contingencies if H&H were to sink.”
I shook my head. “It’s not.”
Malaya breathed a sigh of relief. “You have no idea how good that news sounds to my ears. You’ve been running around a lot lately, so I thought we were on a sinking ship.”
