Uncontrollable Bachelor (Bachelor Tower Series), стр. 24
My phone continued to ring. Was Babboo really going to harass me now? I walked over and answered the phone. “Leave me alone!”
“Well, that’s not a very nice way to talk to a friend,” Betsy said.
“Oh, I’m sorry I thought you were…a telemarketer.” Back to lying. It felt so wrong, but no one needed to know what a mess I’d made out of my life by getting involved with Prince Babboo.
“Oh, God, I hate those. Not sure how they keep getting my number. My husband said it’s because I enter those free trip contests. Never won any of them, but I sure do get a lot of sales calls.”
“I’m sure that’s what it is for me, too,” I said. “Why are you calling me again so soon? Slow workday?”
Betsy chuckled. “Now you sound like my boss. Which, by the way? I think I’m going to have some time off. Well, not really, but more of a flexible schedule. Did you want to start meeting up for lunch?”
“I’d love to say yes, but I can’t. Maybe we can talk about this in a few weeks.”
“Few weeks? Did they call you back to work?” she asked.
“No. It’s just not…convenient right now.” Because I won’t be here.
“Are you traveling?” Betsy inquired.
Reluctantly I said, “A bit. Nothing much.”
“Hmmm. You’re traveling. Jace is traveling. You wouldn’t happen to be traveling together, now would you?”
I really didn’t want anyone to know. At least not yet. If Betsy didn’t work for Jace, this would be less complicated. Unfortunately, there was no hiding it. “Yes, but I haven’t told my father yet. So if you don’t mind not saying anything, I’d appreciate it.”
Betsy sighed. “I already placed my shopping order for dinner tonight. Now what am I going to do with all that food?” Before I could even respond she added, “I’m only joking. I hope you two have a wonderful time. But don’t go and get married without inviting me.”
Married? “Betsy, you don’t have to worry about that. There won’t be any justice of the peace where we are going.”
“Oh. That sounds romantic!”
“I didn’t even give you any details,” I chuckled.
Betsy laughed. “You don’t need to. I can hear it in your voice. You’re excited and Jace –well, I think he is too, even if he won’t admit it. Now go pack and we’ll talk later.”
That was exactly what I needed to hear. It meant I was making the right choice by just running off with him. With any luck, it would be in a place my cell phone doesn’t work, because I don’t want another call from Babboo. There was only one voice I wanted to hear for the next two weeks and it was Jace’s.
Once I had packed, I wrote the note for my father. Then tore it up and wrote another. Same outcome. I couldn’t just leave like that. Even though he would be pissed off, I had to speak to him personally.
I called and he picked up on the first ring.
“Hello, Shannon. Is everything all right?” he asked.
I hope so. “Yes. I wanted to let you know that I’m going out of town for a few weeks.” I held my breath.
“I hope it’s not about the…argument we had this morning.”
“No. Not at all.” Of course, if he asked me too many questions, the argument might continue.
“That’s good. Shannon, you know I love you, right?”
I closed my eyes. Those were wonderful words that my father didn’t voice very often. “Yes, I do. And I love you, too.”
“Have a good time. And you know you can come home anytime you want. Just call me and I’ll even come get you if you need me to.”
“Thank you, but I’m sure I will be okay. I’ll see you when I get back.” I ended the call while it was still on a good note.
Everything was going so well that I was actually happy. I’d almost forgotten about the call from Babboo. A sinking feeling came over me – something wasn’t right. Babboo talked as though he knew I was seeing Jace. I know that’s impossible. Babboo was on the other side of the world. Even that’s too close.
Please, Jace. Get me out of here before I drive myself crazy thinking about things I shouldn’t.
Chapter 10
Jace
What the hell was I thinking, bringing Shannon here? I knew I had to get her the fuck out of Boston, out of Prince Babboo’s reach, but this wasn’t the answer. I know what she must have thought when I invited her. We’d be off hiking the woods during the day and spend our nights fucking until we couldn’t remember our names. One look at this place and sex would definitely be off the table.
The cabin hadn’t been used in ten years. Granted, the roof and windows were intact, but it looked like something an unwashed and unshaven, mountain man would live in. Cobwebs hung from the rafters, and dust seemed to have covered every damn inch of the place. If I’d had more time to prepare, I could’ve sent someone ahead to clean and prep the place. But time wasn’t our friend.
After a quick scan of the cabin to confirm there were no unwelcome wild creatures, I blurted, “Fuck. I should’ve rented a place.” Even a one star motel would be an improvement.
Shannon laughed. “I’m glad you didn’t pay for this one or I’d say you were overcharged.”
I knew she was teasing me, trying to lighten the mood, but there was no fucking way she wasn’t shocked about our living quarters. Quickly I ran through options to fix it, but it’d take me a week to get this place in shape. The sun hadn’t set yet, but it would within the next hour. These woods got mighty dark at night and I