Chapter Seventy One
“Gilmore Girls!” Lori shouts when she arrives home from her latest trap. She flops down beside me. “I can’t believe you’re watching it without me.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve saved Pretty Little Liars to watch with you.”
“In that case, I forgive you.” She takes off her jacket.
“What does chapter fifty five mean?” I ask, eyeing her T-shirt.
“A Court of Mist and Fury. If you know, you know.”
I laugh. “I don’t know. How’s your day been?”
“Crap. What about yours?”
“Crap.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really. Do you?”
She laughs. “Not really.”
“If you change your mind, you know where I am.”
“Same.”
We spend the next half hour watching Gilmore Girls in silence until my phone rings. My stomach flips at the thought of it being Mason. I’m half relieved, half disappointed when I see Kristen’s name. “It’s Kristen,” I tell Lori. “She’s probably checking up on me because I still haven’t met Emily’s demands.”
“When are you planning on visiting her?”
“Tomorrow.” I sigh. “Hello Kristen. Tell Emily that I don’t have any updates for her.”
“This isn’t about Emily. I need to ask you a really big favor.”
“Okay?”
“I’m sorry to do this but I double booked Jenna and all of the other girls are on traps or unavailable.”
I groan. “You want me to go on a trap?”
“Will you?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Of course you do. I’ll just have to reschedule it. The girlfriend is pretty desperate though. Her fiancé called their wedding off.”
“When and where?”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! You need to be at Anderson’s in an hour.”
“An hour? Thanks for the notice.”
“I’m sorry. His name is Scotty. I’ll text you a photo.”
“Is it a full trap?”
“No, just a half. I’m sure you’ll be home after an hour or two. He sounds like a real dick.”
“Oh, great.”
“Aww, come on. Just treat it as a bit of practice. I don’t want my best girl getting rusty now, do I?”
“I’ve already agreed to it, you don’t have to sweet talk me.”
She laughs. “You’re a star. Check in with me afterwards.”
“Do you want me to go instead?” Lori asks as soon as I hang up.
“Nah, you’ve only just got back from one. Plus, I could use the distraction.”
“Do you even remember what to do?”
I laugh. “Of course I do.”
So much for a quiet night in.
An hour later, I walk into Anderson’s wearing one of my favorite red dresses. The thought of flirting with someone other than Mason feels wrong, like I’m cheating on him, which I know is completely messed up. Maybe tonight is what I need to remind me that there’s a life outside of the Mason Hunter bubble.
I approach the bar and realize that I haven’t even looked at Kristen’s text because I’ve been in such a rush. I pull my cell out of my purse and open up the text just as somebody calls my name. I turn around and come face to face with Scott Parker. Scott Parker who cheated on me and broke my heart. Scott Parker whose photograph is now on my phone screen.
Fuck. I’ve been hired to trap my ex.
“I thought it was you,” he says as he looks me up and down. “You look incredible.”
I don’t know what to say. The last time I saw him, he was inside another woman. “It’s been a long time,” I reply, wondering if the girlfriend who hired me is the same one he cheated on me with. Karma’s a bitch.
“Too long,” he replies.
Not long enough more like. I used to think that Scott Parker was the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on but now he just looks like a little boy compared to Mason. “Are you alone?” he asks.
“Yes.” I gesture to my cell as I place it back inside my purse. “I was supposed to be meeting a friend but she’s just cancelled.”
He smirks which pisses me off more than it probably should. “Good thing I’m here then, isn’t it? What a coincidence.”
If you mean a planned coincidence which has been paid for by your fiancée, then yes. “What about you?” I ask. “Who are you here with?”
“Just a couple of my work buddies. Do you want to join us?”
Time to get to work. “Maybe later. I’d rather us have some time alone. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
His eyes fall to my chest. “We do. You’re a woman now.”
I laugh. “And I wasn’t before?”
“You know what I mean. You were just a girl back then. Now…your curves…wow. I was an idiot for what I did to you.”
“Yes, you were.”
“If only I could turn back time.”
Then you still would have cheated on me. “It’s all in the past.”
“You know, my dad still has your poster framed above his fireplace.”
“What poster?”
“The one of my face on a leopard’s body.”
“It’s a cheetah’s body. You know, because you cheated on me.”
“Ohhhh, I get it now. I always wondered what that was all about.” I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. “Well my dad framed it to remind me of what I lost and to make me think twice before disrespecting another woman.”
Too bad it’s hanging up at his dad’s house and not his own. “I always liked your dad.”
“He always liked you too. I think he probably liked you more than he liked me.”
“And did you learn your lesson?”
“Of course I did. I was really hurt by it all. It took me a long time to get over.”
He was hurt? “So are you dating anybody?”
He hesitates and I fully expect him to lie to me but instead he sighs. “Yes. We’re going through a rough patch but I really want to make it work.” I’m caught off guard by his honesty. “She wants to get married but I’m not ready. She’s a few years older than me. I keep reminding her that I’m only twenty four.”
“And? What exactly are you waiting for? What’s going to be different in five or even ten years time?”
“I’m not exactly sure.”
“Do you love her?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Can you live without her?”
“I wouldn’t want to.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing her like I lost you.”
You only lost me because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants. “You can’t let the past ruin your future. It’s different this time. You’ve grown up since then. Plus, your dad still has my poster on his wall to stop you from doing anything stupid.”
“True.”
“But please don’t marry her if you think you might hurt her.”
“I wouldn’t…I won’t.” He smiles. “Thank you for being so wonderful, Sophia. I’m glad we ran into each other today.” He pulls me into a hug and finally after two years, I get the closure that I hadn’t even realized I needed.
“You should go and talk to her,” I say as I pull away. “Just be honest with her about everything.”
“You’re right.” He laughs. “Hey, where do I claim my reward?”
“Huh?”
“On the poster you put that you’d give a million dollars to the person who could find my respect for women…” I stop listening to him when I glance over his shoulder and see a familiar pair of eyes watching me.