Seated in a roped off booth in an exclusive rooftop restaurant with my friend, Ryder, one of the guys from the club last night, I look over the lunch menu. But I barely see it. My mind is still fully consumed with Sapphire.

“You’re kidding, right?” Ryder asks, taking a sip of his whiskey.

Not at all. I shake my head, about to tell him my plan, when the waitress appears. I pick something at random.

“I’m dead serious, man,” I say when the waitress is gone. I take a sip of my own drink. I thought about this all night long, not able to sleep. Sapphire’s special. It was obvious from the minute we first locked eyes across the club. Even more so the more time I spent with her.

“You want to marry a girl you just met? A stripper, no less.” Ryder shakes his head and laughs. “I think you’ve lost one too many brain cells. All that blood draining to your dick 23 hours of the day has seriously impaired your judgment.”

“Say what you want, dude. I think she’s the one.”

It’s so perfect. It makes total sense to me. The whole reason I’ve been resisting going back to St. Albans and marrying isn’t because I’m opposed to marriage like I thought. It isn’t even because I want to live it up and enjoy my freedom, finding a new pussy to spear every night. The only reason I’ve been living my life like this is because I’ve never found a girl that I would be happy to settle down with.

Until now.

Now I can’t even imagine going out and finding some gold-digger just to get my dick wet. All I want is her. I shove my hand in my pocket, caressing that lace thong like it’s a lifeline tying me to Sapphire.

“Look,” I continue, “you know I have to do it at some point. My time is running out. It only makes sense that I do it with the one girl who has gotten to me like no one else. Fuck, no one’s even come close. I’m telling you, Ryder,” I tip my glass at him, stabbing a finger in his direction, “I’m going to marry this girl and take her back to St. Albans and make her my princess.”

I smile. Sapphire looks like a princess. Those eyes. That body. Gorgeous. And I feel like I could talk to her for hours. That’s happened, like, never.

Ryder holds up his hands. “Okay, I get that this chick was obviously the best lay you’ve ever had. That much is clear.”

I cut my eyes at him, pissed that he’s talking about her like that.

“But, Derek,” he continues, “you’ve got to use your head here. The one on your shoulders, not the one on your shaft.” He scrapes his hand over his jaw. “Think about this for just a minute. She’s probably just trying to milk you for money. I bet you ten grand she knows exactly who you are. She saw an opportunity and took advantage of it.”

I sit back, trying to make myself consider his words. Evaluating if they have any merit. But it doesn’t make sense. How could she be playing me? I was the one who wanted to spend more time with her. I was the one who couldn’t keep my hands off her even after she told me I wasn’t supposed to touch her. I was the one who had a fucking conversation with her when all I ever do is get in, get wet, and get the hell out.

Ryder won’t let up, leaning forward as he says, “She figured she could get you on the hook, get you wanting more, then fuck your brains out and clean up. She probably makes a fortune sleeping with suckers just like you.”

Something about his words trigger a memory. But not in a way that makes me agree with him. Something is telling me that wasn’t it at all, but I can’t put my finger on it.

I shake my head. “No, dude. I swear it wasn’t like that. I got her number. There’s something there.”

Ryder scoffs. “You got her fucking number? Dude, you are so fucked. You’ve got it bad. Never thought I’d see the day.” He narrows his gaze at me. “But still, watch yourself. I’m certain she’s playing you. In fact, I bet now that she cashed in on your horny ass, she won’t even pick up the phone.” He grins, crossing his arms and leaning back, then repeats his earlier statement. “Ten grand says she won’t.”

This fucker here has me pissed now. “Fine, I’ll take that bet. Because I guarantee you it wasn’t just me. Sapphire and I had a connection.”

He grins, spreading his hands wide. “Prove it.”

I glare at him and pull Sapphire’s thong from my pocket, resisting the urge to lift it to my nose again, to get another whiff of that intoxicating scent.

Ryder snorts as he leans over to get a better look. “She gave you her number on her thong? Nice.”

Grabbing my phone, I tap out the number scrawled across the crotch of her panties. Pressing it to my ear, I give him a cocky smile. “Prepare to be schooled, asshole.”

The grin slips from my face when I’m immediately hit with a beep and a computerized voice informing me the line has been disconnected. What the fuck?

Ryder lifts a brow, and I slowly lower the phone, ending the call. “Something isn’t right,” I say.

He shakes his head like he feels sorry for me, the bastard. “You keep telling yourself that, man. It’s like I told you, she lured you in for a good fuck, then raked in the dough. Bet you that number wasn’t even real to begin with.”

That’s when that nagging thought clicks into place. I push back from the table, no longer interested in lunch. I don’t have time for it, anyway. I have a princess to woo.

“What are you doing, man?” Ryder asks, confused. “You owe me ten grand.”

I point at him. “That’s what you think. I’m going back to that club.”

“What? Why? To toss out more of your money on a piece of ass? Shit, just give it to me instead.”

I shake my head, a smile spreading across my face in spite of this fucker’s mocking. “Sapphire wasn’t playing me for money. Not at all. She never took any.”

Not a fucking cent. Which can only mean one thing. Everything about last night was just as real for her as it was for me.

Time to go claim my woman.