Page 70 of The Bluffing Game

“No, you won’t,” Izzy cuts her off. “If he’s here with Kendra, trust me, I’m going to say something to him.”

“Really?” I question her.

All of us look at her in surprise.

“I know I’ve been acting like a bit of a fool, like one of those women who puts up with shit just because she’s desperate to be in a relationship. But trust me, after the last conversation I had with him, I’m over his bullshit. He has been gaslighting me long enough, and seeing you girls being so strong and putting yourselves out there … well, why am I going to stay with a loser? Plus, he sucks.”

“Yeah, he does,” Rosie says.

We take a seat, and Lucia grabs the menu.

“Okay, they do have waitresses here and servers, but it’s going to be a lot faster if I just go up to the bar and grab the drinks.”

“I’ll come with you.” I jump up. “Do you guys know what you want?”

“Surprise us,” Izzy says, and Rosie nods.

“And get some food as well.” Rosie rubs her stomach. “I’m kind of hungry.”

“Sounds good.”

Lucia and I make our way to the bar and stand next to two men wearing football jerseys.

“How are you doing?” The taller of the men looks over at Lucia. “Having a good evening?”

“We’re having a girls’ night,” Lucia says with a shrug. “Sorry.”

“Hey, we like girls.”

“Yeah, but tonight, we don’t like men so much.” She turns to me. “What drinks should we get?”

“I don’t know. What are you thinking?”

I love Lucia. She is such a badass, and I don’t know if I would’ve been able to speak to those men in the way that she did, particularly because they are very good-looking.

“I think we should get martinis tonight. Class it up a little bit. Plus, I think we’re going to have to get really drunk.”

“Oh, why is that?”

“Because I’m almost positive that Colton is still seeing Kendra.” She lowers her voice. “So, I created a fake Facebook profile a couple of months ago, and I befriended Kendra. She posted a couple of hours ago that she’s got a hot date tonight. And, well, I’ve got a feeling that’s with Colton. I told Izzy about the date. I did it because I don’t trust him, and I don’t like how he was treating her.”

“Wow, good for you. I suppose nothing is black and white, and you had your reasons for the fake profile. Why do you think Kendra is after Colton for more than sex?”

“Because Kendra has wanted Colton for a million years—and not even because she’s super into him, but because he has a lot of money. I think she thinks that if she gets with a guy with a lot of money …” She pauses. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to sort of …” Her voice trails off, and I laugh.

“It’s okay. I mean, yeah, I’m looking for a man with money, but not just because he has money. I would never be with a non-monogamous guy who was cheating on his girlfriend. I have some standards. Also, you should never feel embarrassed to say what you truly think. I will not take offense.”

“I know. I just thought that was rude of me to bring up the fact that she was a gold digger. Not that I think you’re a gold digger,” she says, grinning. “In fact, I would love a man with money myself. It’s weird, having grown up with money and now not really having any.”

“What happened?” I ask, curious to know why they no longer have money.

Lucia lets out a long sigh. “I promise I’m going to tell you one of these days. Tonight is just not the night. There’s already going to be a lot of drama going on if Colton and Kendra end up here.”

“True. Plus, I’ve got my information to give, which might be a little dramatic.” I grin.

I am dying to know Dalton and Lucia’s story, but I’m willing to be a little more patient.

“Oh my gosh, tell me now.”