Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Freya
“I can’t believe you spent the night with a billionaire! How was it Did you two do it? Was he good in bed? You have to tell me everything!!”
Geez, I’ve barely even had time to put the seatbelt on, and Maddie is already looking at me with star–shaped eyes. And while I love her she is my best friend–there isn’t that much to tell her. Nothing happened.
Ethan left me to sleep in his guest bedroom and in the morning there was breakfast delivered to my room by a friendly butler. I ate it last like the broke bitch that I am, and then I called Maddie for a ride home. So yeah, there isn’t much to share… If you don’t count the friendly chat I had with Ethan after puking. OH! And I guess I also kissed him, but I can barely remember that.
Maddie continues talking. “I hope you had a good time with him When I saw that he didn’t push you away after you kissed him, I figured I should just, you know, vanish to give you two a shot. And it worked! You finally got laid!”
A blush spreads over my face at the word “laid‘ since I definitely didn’t sleep with Ethan Steele.
“You got it wrong,” I quickly say.
Maddie glances at me at a red light. “Huh?”
I didn’t sleep with Ethan Steele.”
There’s a snort. “Sure, you didn’t..”
“No. I’m serious, Maddie. Ethan is a good guy who just took me home after noticing how drunk I was. There was no touching or getting under each other’s clothes.”
“You didn’t get under his clothes?”
“No.”
“What a waste! That guy is HOT, Freya. If I had been in your shoes, I would have pretended to be drunker than I was and cupped those muscle boobies of his!”
Not only my face but my whole body burns because I immediately get a mental image inside my head, and then I freak ou because Maddie is leering at me.
“You’re thinking about his young, seductive body, aren’t you? Bet you have an image of him naked inside your head right
now.
“No!” I exclaim, and when she starts laughing, I groan in agony because there’s no hiding it. I’m crushing on that baby of a guy, and it’s terrible.
Maddie sports in her seat. “I don’t blame you, girl. The word ‘hot was invented for people like Ethan Steele.”
“I need a fucking water!”
“Ooooh, so you are thinking about him?”
“What? No, I’m-“I groan again. “You’re a terrible influence, you know that, right?”
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Chapter 97
“Yes, because I wasn’t thinking about him neked until you said thing
vene
Maddie giggles like a matwoman until her eyes widen at thing Inn I think your man is headed for the coffee shop at three web
side the car window “Oh my god, don’t look soon. any brown hair and makeup br
Ignoring Maddie’s warning not to look. I whip my head around fast 1 alment very whiplash And there he is–Ether Steele in all his gorgeous glory, striding purpenefully towards aarby etter skup Pot it’s not his effortless good books that catch my attention this time. It’s the small, sparkly makeup Yay ached in his hand.
“Oh my god,” I breathe. “He wasn’t kidding, but the makeup trials”
“Makeup tutorials
“You wouldn’t get it.”
“Maybe not, but She laughs evilly, “if there is something I know, it’s how to help fate happen
“Huh? Help fate what?”
“Let’s follow him!”
“What/No, we can’t-
It Maddie is already pulling over to the curb and unbuckling her seatbelt. “Come on, Freya! This is your chance to bump into him again!”
“Maddie, no! We can’t stalk him!” I protest, but my best friend is already out of the car and heading towards the coffee shop Groaning, I hurry after her. “This is insane. He’s going to think we’re crazy!”
Maddie just grins over her shoulder. “But we are crazy! Now come on!”
Even though every brain cell is telling me to leave, I follow Maddie inside the coffee shop, the bell above the door jingling cheerfully, I spot Ethan immediately–it’s hard to miss those broad shoulders and that perfectly styled hair. He’s standing line while fiddling with his phone.
“Quick, act natural,” Maddie hisses, pushing me towards the counter.
“What does that even mean?” I whisper back but allow myself to be steered into line right behind Ethan.
Just then, Ethan turns around, his green eyes widening in surprise when he sees me. “Freya? What are you doing here?”
1 freeze, my mind going blank. “I, uh.. coffee?”
Smooth, Freya. Real smooth.
Ethan’s lips twitch into a smile. “Coffee. Right. Fancy running into you here.”
“Yeah, what a coincidence,” I laugh nervously, shooting a glare at Maddie, who’s pretending to study her nails.
Ethan’s smile grows wider as he notices her. “And who’s your friend?”
1
“Oh, this is Maddie,” I say, gesturing to my best friend, who’s now grinning like the Cheshire cat. She is loving the attentio know she is, “Maddie, this is Ethan.”
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Chapter 97
“Nice in meet you, Maddie says, extending her hand. “I’ve heard so much about you”
Fresist the urge to facepalm. Could she be any more obvious?
Ethan raises an eyebrow, looking amused. “All good things, I hop
“Oh, the best,” Maddie says with a wink
I seriously wish I could melt into the floor when the barista calls out, “Next!”
Ethan turns back to the counter. “I’ll have a large black coffee, please. And…” he glances back at me, “what would you like, Freya
“Oh, um…” I stammer, caught off guard by his offer. “Just a vanilla latte, I guess?”
“Make that two vanilla lattes,” Maddie chimes in.
Ethan smiles and places the order, pulling out his wallet before can even think to protest.
“You don’t have to do that,” I say weakly.
He just shrugs, “Consider it a thank you for being such an entertaining drunk last night.”
I feel my face heat up as Maddie snickers before leaning in to ‘whisper‘ into my ear, “This guy is great, Freya. Hot, well- behaved, taller than Clark and he is paying for us both without complaining. You need to steal this boy’s heart. Make him marry you.”
I almost choke and glance up at Ethan, who is pretending he didn’t hear my friend while tucking away his wallet. He is trying not to smile.
Ethan turns to face us again, those emerald eyes twinkling with amusement. “So, ladies, any exciting plans for the day?” Before I can respond with something normal like, “Oh, I’m just running some errands,” Maddie jumps in.
“Actually, we were thinking of doing some shopping. Freya here needs a new outfit for an upcoming event. Maybe you could give us your opinion, Ethan? You seem to have good taste.” She gestures to his impeccable suit and the sparkly makeup bag
I want to die on the spot. Is she seriously trying to rope him into a shopping trip?
Ethan’s eyebrows shoot up, but to my surprise, he doesn’t immediately shut down the idea. “An upcoming event, huh?” He looks at me curiously. “Anything special?”
“Oh, um….” I flounder, trying to come up with something that doesn’t sound pathetic. “Just a… job interview.”
Maddie snorts beside me, and I resist the urge to elbow her in the ribs.
“A job interview?” Ethan repeats, his expression unreadable. “Web, that is special. What kind of job?”
I panic, blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. “Makeup artist!”
Ethan’s eyes widen slightly, and I see a flicker of interest. “Really? I didn’t know you were into makeup. You didn’t mention that yesterday.”
“Oh yeah, she’s great at it.” Maddie ‘helpfully‘ says, which really isn’t all that helpful. The woman is practically digging my grave with her mouth
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Chapter 97
With a blush large enough to cover my entire body, I risk a look at Ethan. His lips twitch when our eyes meet, and for a moment. I think he’s going to call me out on my obvious lie.
Instead, he says. “I’m impressed you managed to find a job interview within–he looks down at his watch. “12 hours that’s real impressive, seeing you had no idea what you wanted to do with your life just last night when we talked about it.”
1 freeze, mortified that he’s caught me in my lie. Maddie looks between us, clearly sensing she’s missed something
“1. um….” I stammer, desperately trying to think of an excuse.
But Ethan just chuckles, shaking his head. “It’s okay, Freya. You don’t have to explain.” He picks up his coffee from the counter. “Though if you need a job–and I’m not talking about makeup–Steele Hotels are looking for housekeeping staff. It might not be the fanciest job, but—”
“Where do I send my resume?!” I exclaim without even thinking twice about it.
