Page 30 of Book Bae

“You have to get a DNA test.”

“I already know that, Bell.”

“When did it happen?”

“At the Books, Baes, and Besties conference.”

“Are you serious? You got a fucking groupie pregnant?”

“She has no idea who I am.”

“Yeah, right.” She scoffed.

“She never attended my panels, and I had a conference room to myself for my signing. She never stepped in there. She doesn’t even like mystery. None of the promotions had my picture, only my books and my logo.”

“Someone may have told her.”

“I kept up the gruff persona people have come to know me for. I smiled during the events, and in-between the events, I kept to myself. They might say hi, but that was as far as it went. When they saw the two of us together on the couple of occasions that they did, they didn’t bother me.”

“Whoever saw you during those times, I’m sure they said something. I think she knows who you are, and like some of the other skanks from your past, she’s looking for a meal ticket.”

“The woman has her own business, Bell.”

She shook her head and headed back out to the lanai. I took a few moments to calm myself down because she had pissed me off.

I returned to the lanai after a moment, and she had her phone to her ear.

“What do you know about this woman, Micaiah?”

“Aren’t you on a call? Talk to me when you finish that shit.”

“I’m on hold. What do you know about her, and what did you tell her about you?”

“She knows nothing about me, and I don’t know anything about her. It was just random sex, okay? Just a night of fucking.”

I immediately felt bad for that lie. Not because I owed Arabella anything, but because it was so much more than that to Myraj and to me. I knew what made Myraj’s toes curl, what made her whimper, what made her moan, and what brought tears to her eyes. I knew she loved Greek and Italian food, she watched reality shows, and her favorite colors were aqua blue and orange. When she wasn’t at her travel agency, she loved traveling and reading. I knew that she loved being free to explore life, and I knew how great she was in bed despite the fact that she was a virgin.

“Hello? Hey, Mac. I need an urgent request. Yes. I need a background investigation into someone. What’s her name, Micaiah?”

“Whoa. What are you doing, Bell?”

“I’m finding out everything that I can about this woman.”

“You need to slow the hell up. You’re moving too fast.”

“I’m not about to let some random woman come in and clean you out and screw up your career.”

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m about my business, and I’m not some stupid-ass nigga. Besides, she isn’t that type of girl. End the call.” I hated getting like that with anyone, but I’d do what I needed to when I needed to.

Arabella rolled her eyes. “Mac, I’ll call you back.”

When she ended the call, she headed for the kitchen door.

“Where are you going?”