AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll be there,” he says. “Text me the address and time.”
“All right. I will.” A pulse of mortification sends heat to my face. Here I am, forcing him to play tennis with me all because I want to shove my ex’s face in it. And he’s a client. It’s so beyond anything proper that the embarrassment sinks down to my very toes.
“It’s actually a good thing,” he says, “because I have another favor to ask of you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. There’s a party in the Hamptons this weekend.”
“It’s late August,” I say. “There are parties in the Hamptons every weekend.”
He snorts. “Very funny.”
“One tries.”
“There are, indeed, but there’s one in particular that I need to be at. More members of my family will be there.”
“Oh.”
“If you’re able and interested, it’s this Saturday.” There’s a brief pause. “Food, drinks, and transport will be included.”
“It’s an all-inclusive offer?”
“Yes. I’ll up the personal service, too. I know how you enjoy it.”
“I do.” Being his date to another party would lessen the debt I’ll owe him for the tennis. We’d be even. “Of course, I’ll be there. Text me the details.”
“Good,” he says. “Thank you.”
“Is it something I should be thanked for? Will your extended family pounce on me?”
“They might ask you how we met,” he says, “but we already have that story settled.”
I chuckle. “Yes, on a tennis court at a club you don’t go to. I didn’t think that one through.”
“It works as well as any other story might.” There’s a sudden increase in music playing on his end. It sounds classical.
“Where are you?” I ask.
“The opera,” he says. “In Chicago. It’s the intermission.”
“Oh. Enjoy the performance,” I say. A business trip? Or a personal one? He’d said he wasn’t dating anyone, but it’s hard not to picture him standing in a tailored tux, phone to his ear, a beautiful woman waiting beside him to finish his call.
“Until Saturday, then.”
“Until Saturday,” I murmur. “Don’t stay past midnight.”
“I never do,” he says. “And Sophia?”
“Yes?”
“We’ll win the game.”
11
SOPHIA
That Saturday, Isaac stops outside my building to pick me up for the drive to the Hamptons. It’s not a town car this time. It’s a large SUV, and he’s in the driver seat.
