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“I appreciate that.” She relaxes back into my touch, and we spend the rest of the morning lying in bed, holding each other in our arms.
* * *
I findHenry at the Velvet Lounge, sipping on a fruity looking drink. I nod to Jerry as I pass him by, and he flees to his office, probably not wanting to deal with me and more of my questions about who could be stealing from the club.
“What the fuck are you drinking?” I ask him.
“What? It’s a pina colada, man. What’s wrong with pina coladas?”
“It has a fucking umbrella in it,” I say, grabbing it out of the drink and flicking it at him. He swats it away.
“So, have you finally come here to tell me you’ve fucked your wife?” He sips his drink like the cat that ate the canary.
“No. In fact, I’ve come here to say the bet is off.”
Henry almost spits out his drink. He manages to keep it down but ends up in a coughing fit. The bartender, a twenties-something looking guy, looks over in concern. “The bet can’t be off. One of us has to win it.”
“Hey, you tried telling Francesca about the bet, remember? You were willing to change the rules. Well, so am I. And I say the bet is off.”
“You can’t just call it quits. If you’re having trouble getting Francesca to fuck you, then that’s on you, man. I’m not making myself look like a fool in front of Marco because you refuse to finish the bet. And I know if you call it off, I’ll have no shot at your job. So, no.” He laughs, taking another sip of his goddam pina colada. “You are not calling the bet off.”
I grab him by the shirt and slam him into the bar. His drink drops to the ground, spilling white liquid all over the place. “The bet is off. If I say it, then that makes is so. No more discussing this. Both our lives will remain unchanged. You get to keep your car and your job, and I get to keep mine. We’re even.” I let him go and turn to walk away when he calls back out.
“This isn’t over, Leo!”
Well, if I say it is, then it is.
I bump into a blonde woman on my way out the door.
“Ouch. Watch where you’re going,” she grumbles. I recognize her voice. It’s Cindy, the girl whose nudes I posted online. When she looks up and sees me, her face drains of color. “You!”
Shit. Cindy was my most recent conquest before setting my eyes on Francesca. And I did her dirty. Like really fucking dirty.
“I know,” I say before she can start screaming at me. “I shouldn’t have done what I did.” The words sort of surprise me, but they most definitely surprise her. “I was an asshole. You didn’t deserve that. You were a nice girl, and I used you.”
“Yeah, you did.” She hooks her purse around her shoulders. “You put my naked photos online. Oh, and you slept with my mom. Now my reputation is ruined.”
That was what Emilia and Marco warned me to not do to Francesca. I already ruined a lot of other women’s reputation. I did make a deal with Fran to treat other women with more respect, and I guess it’s time I step up and really do it. “I’m … sorry,” I say, making her eyes widen. “I shouldn’t have done either. Here, I have a guy who can wipe someone’s record clean. He’ll remove any naked photos of you from online. He’ll scrub it so well that no one will be able to see any naked photos of yourself ever again.”
“You … you can do that?” she whispers, not quite believing me, and why should she? I literally ruined her life. All because I thought it would be funny.
“I can. By tonight, all naked photos of you will be removed from the internet. I know you have no reason to believe me, but what other choice do you have?”
She frowns, realizing I’m right.
“I hope you take care, Cindy.”
“What made you change your mind?” she calls out before I can leave.
I glance at her over my shoulder. “The love of a woman.”
She snorts. “Whatever.” With an eye roll, she walks away. I’ll probably never see her again, which I’m sure Cindy will be very happy about. I smile as I leave the club, knowing I did one good thing, at least.
* * *
By the timeI get home, I know I need to tell Fran about the bet with Henry. Even though I just called it off, she deserves to know the truth. She deserves to know the man she’s married to.
“Leo?” She comes running into the foyer as I walk into the house.
