by Jillian Dodd
She looks at me, her eyes getting big, her bottom lip puffing out, and tears filling her eyes again.
“Riley, don’t you fucking know anything?” Dallas chastises. “Pregnant does not equal fat.”
I walk over to her and wrap her in a hug. “For god’s sake, how am I going to deal with you pregnant? It’s worse than your pout. And Aiden would have my hide if he knew I made you cry.”
“You can say that again,” Dallas drawls.
She hugs me back.
“I’m happy for you, Riley,” she says.
“I’m happy for you too, Keatyn.”
Vanessa’s Estate, Guest house - Holmby Hills
ARIELA
I’m crazy excited to go out with Riley tonight. Last night—and this morning—was so amazing. I’ve been on cloud nine all day. I confided in Vanessa about what happened with Riley. She immediately got on the phone and started making me spa appointments. I spent most of the day being pampered.
I slide into the sexy black slip dress that Vanessa suggested I wear tonight. She said once he sees me, we probably won’t make it to dinner. And I’m so excited. I can’t remember the last time I truly felt desired.
Collin is a nice man, don’t get me wrong. He’s charming, good looking, and driven. Sex with him, even when we were dating or first married, was never like it was last night. I know he got served with divorce papers yesterday, and I’m a bit shocked I haven’t heard a word from him. I’m praying that he’ll want to get the marriage over as quickly as I do. Annie said if he contests it, it could drag on for months. I know I have the photos that the private investigator took, but I really hope it doesn’t come to that.
There’s a knock at my door, causing my heart to leap in my chest and my stomach to fill with butterflies. I run to the door with my shoes in my hand and throw it open.
“Collin!” I say, when I see him at the door instead of Riley. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to give you these, in person,” he says, handing me the divorce papers.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want a divorce, Ariela. Come back home with me. Please.”
“Why would you want that? You aren’t in love with me. You should want a divorce so you’ll be free to sleep with whomever you want.”
“I only want you.”
“Bullshit. You’ve been screwing your secretary the whole time I’ve been gone. You didn’t stop like you promised. I don’t trust you and I don’t want to be married to you.”
“I’ll fight it.”
“If you do, I’ll ruin your career. You can blame it all on me, if you want, to the people you work with. But if you contest it, you’ll regret it.”
He looks around. “Do you want a house like this? Is that what this is all about? You got out here and decided we weren’t fancy enough?”
“What? No. We have a beautiful home. That has nothing to do with it.”
He looks around some more. “What does a place like this go for?”
“Way more than we could afford.”
“We could put in a pool. You always wanted a pool. Please come back. I have a big appointment with a customer and he’ll only work with stable married men.”
“Then you better get him signed while you’re still married.”
“Will you come back with me? Go to the dinner?”
“No. Just tell him I’m out of town on business. I know that’s the only reason you’re here. You don’t care about me. It’s all about your business. My dad will still make you partner. Enjoy it.”
“I’ll be getting a big raise and profit sharing, Ariela. I want to share my success with you.”
“No. I don’t want your money.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t love you, Collin. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have married you. And the fact that you’re sleeping with people outside our marriage tells me that you aren’t happy either. We don’t have kids. We can amicably split the property.”
“I’ll buy you a bigger house, jewelry, whatever you want.” He reaches out and touches my face. “Anything you want. Please don’t do this. I flew all this way. I want to save our marriage.”
Captive Films - Santa Monica
RILEY
I shower at work and put on an all-black suit. Keatyn says I look vicious in all black, and I’m not only feeling vicious, but also hungry and ravenous. I never imagined when I went to talk to Ariela last night that she’d be wearing lingerie.
Or that we’d make love all night long and all morning.
I can’t wait to get there, but I decide last minute to switch cars, driving to my garage space and hopping in the Viper I got on my eighteenth birthday. It’s neon green with black stripes and totally badass, not to mention fast. I don’t drive this car much, just enough to keep it in working order, mostly because it brings back too many memories. Memories of Ariela. Trips we took. Sliding the front seat back as far as it would go so she could sit on my lap when we went parking. Kissing for hours. Loading picnics in the trunk. It seems like the perfect car to drive tonight.
On the way, I pick up the big bouquet of pink peonies I ordered, her favorite flower. The ladies in the shop all swoon over my choice and tell me she’ll love them.
I tell them I just want her to love me.
I’m on top of the freaking world.
I see another car in the long driveway, but don’t think anything of it. I grab the flowers off the passenger seat and practically skip down the path to the guest house.
But when I turn the corner, I see Ariela and a man.
He’s wearing a blue blazer and sliding his hands across her shoulders. Her shoes are dangling from her hand like she didn’t have time to put them back on.
I hear her say something about marriage and know instinctively that man is her husband.
And I know she just slept with him.
Especially when he delicately touches her face then kisses her passionately.
My heart stops beating.
I turn around.
Drop the flowers.
Walk to my car.
Get in.
“Fuck!” I yell, hitting my non-casted fist on my steering wheel and suddenly hating this fucking car.
I look over and see a few pink petals still lying in the passenger seat.
What the hell was I thinking? This is not me. I don't need fucking flowers or fancy dinners to get laid. I just flash a label, a black card, a hundred dollar bill. Girls wait in line.
I peel out of the driveway and grab my phone.
“Dawson!” I say, when he answers. “I need you to get to the airport immediately. Captive business. You’ll be gone over night. Meet me in twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes? But I thought—”
“Don’t say it,” I say, using my harshest tone. “Just get there. Now.”
“Shit,” he says. “Okay, I’m on my way.”
Next, I call Knox. “Dude, we’re going to Vegas tonight. Meet me at my plane in twenty.”
“Can I bring Jennifer?”
“This isn't boy scout dance night. This is go to Vegas, get buck wild, get a tattoo, close the strip club down because we paid all the girls to come back to our room—the penthouse with the pool, bowling alley, stripper pole. You remember the one—trash a hotel room, and steal a Bengal tiger kind of night.”
“Hell,” he says, “I barely remember half of what we did that night. Sure, why the fuck not. Hey, wait, I thought you were going on a date with—”
“Don’t fucking say it and don’t ask,” I warn. “Are you really bringing Jennifer?’
“I’m not sure. I need to find out how she feels about strippers.”
“Dude, she's anti-stripper. Every girl who isn't a stripper is anti-stripper.”
“Should I call my guy? Have him hook us up?”
“Absolutely. And, hell, the good news is if we bring Jennifer, we can write the whole fucking thing off. A Daddy's Angel contract celebration.”
&nb
sp; “You gonna invite Keatyn?”
“No, and don't you fucking tell her. But invite Buckner and Phillips. We’ll get the old crew together.”
“Buckner is married and Phillips came out of the closet.”
“No shit? I watched him do lines of coke off a stripper’s ass. It was the best thing ever. Whatever. We’ll make our own party.”
“Hell yeah, we will. Are you sure you're not mad at me about Jennifer?”
“Nope. I don’t need that shit. We hung out. I let her drive my fucking car. And still no action. If you wanna pretend you’re in high school again, so be it. But I don't need to work that hard to get laid.”
“Oh, uh, yeah, she mentioned that you two hadn’t done it.”
“When did she mention that—wait a minute. Did you screw her already?”
“Uh, maybe.”
“Knox fucking Daniels, that's why I love you, you pussy getting dog you.”
“Well, what can I say, she liked it Knox style. What happened with Ariela?”
“You are not allowed to say her name again, ever again. But when I went to pick her up, she was kissing her husband.”
“That bitch!”
“Tell me about it.”
“You do need to fucking party. Vegas, here we come!”
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ALSO BY JILLIAN DODD
The USA TODAY bestselling series, The Keatyn Chronicles®
Young adult contemporary romance set in an East coast boarding school.
Stalk Me
Kiss Me
Date Me
Love Me
Adore Me
Hate Me
Get Me
Contemporary romance following the live and loves of those who work at Captive Films in Hollywood. Continues The Keatyn Chronicles series.
Fame
Power
Money
Sex
Love
Keatyn Unscripted
Aiden
That Boy Series
Small town contemporary romance series about falling in love with the boy next door.
That Boy
That Wedding
That Baby
That Divorce
The Love Series
Contemporary, standalone romances following the very sexy Crawford family.
Vegas Love
Broken Love
Fake Love
Spy Girl Series
Young adult romance series about a young spy who just might save the world.
The Prince
The Eagle
The Society
The Valiant
Jillian Dodd and Kenzie Harp
Young adult travel romance.
Girl off the Grid
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jillian is a USA TODAY bestselling author who writes fun romances with characters her readers fall in love with, from the boy next door in the That Boy trilogy to the daughter of a famous actress in The Keatyn Chronicles to a kick-ass young assassin in the Spy Girl series.
She lives in a small Florida beach town, is married to her college sweetheart, has two grown children, and two Labrador Retrievers named Cali and Camber. When she's not working, she likes to travel, paint, shop for shoes, watch football, and go to the beach.
Check out Jillian’s website for added content and to sign up for her newsletter.