Read Online September: Calendar Girl Book 9 by Audrey Carlan - Free Book Online Page B

your way right off that train…literally. There is no going back, ever.” My own voice was low and held a warning.
    He shook his head and pursed his lips as he twirled the wine goblet around in a circle. “Those two meant nothing to me. I was just blowing off a little steam since you hadn’t said yes to my proposal.”
    “By having sex with two women?”
    “Of course, Mia. A man had needs and pride. You wounded mine.” He gave the excuse as if what he had done was his right as a hot-blooded male.
    “So you fucked two whores to make yourself feel like a man?”
    His eyes got hard then, and his voice turned to steel. “You of all people cannot possibly be implying that I’m not a man.”
    I shook my head. “Why are we even having this conversation?”
    “Isn’t it obvious?” He blinked slowly and stared.
    “Not to me.” I was there for one reason and one reason alone. Ginelle.
    Blaine placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his palm. He was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected, whereas I was unraveling from the inside out with worry and fear.
    “I want you back. In my bed. In my life. As my wife.”
    Those words dropped like a nuclear bomb damaging everything in its wake. I looked around the restaurant to see if anyone else had survived the blast. It was that monumental, alas, only in the tiny little speck of a thing I called my life.
    Saying I hadn’t expected this would be an understatement. I would have expected the second coming of our Lord and Savior over this announcement.
    “Blaine,” I whispered, barely able to speak. “You can’t be serious.”
    “Deadly so. And I’m willing to negotiate the terms. Here. Now.”
    “This has to be a nightmare. Blaine, are you hearing yourself? You just told me you want to pick up where we left off when we broke up.”
    “I know exactly what I want, and it’s you. I think I’ve made that clear. Now shush and listen to what I’m offering.”
    I did listen, not because he told me to, but because I was so shocked that the additional thoughts it took to form words were not forthcoming. The man was officially certifiable. Undeniably. Absolutely. There really was no other explanation.
    Before he got down to telling me what the offer was, the waiter delivered two steaming hot pizzas, one margherita and one supreme. The smell alone had me salivating. It had been a couple days since I’d had a full meal. The Rains and Maxwell had been trying to get me to eat, but food just didn’t have the appeal it once had, since Weston was probably starving to death and Pops was getting his meals through a tube. Tonight, though, I was going to eat for no other reason than to get this over with as fast as possible.
    “Now, since you’ve been away, I’ve had time to reflect on our relationship and our life together,” he said.
    Since I’ve been away? We broke up. I moved out of state, had been an escort for the past eight months, and lived in Los Angeles for six before that. Altogether, that was over a year apart, and he made it sound as if I’d left him last week. I’d been with other men, fallen in love. None of this made any sense.
    “Blaine, I’ve been gone over a year—” I started, but he cut me off with a flick of the wrist.
    “No matter the time or distance. You’re here now, and I’ve figured out that you are the woman for me.”
    “Did you come to that monster conclusion before or after you fucked the twin fun-bags for the hell of it?”
    “I’m trying to connect with you here, Mia,” he growled. “You would do well to mind your manners. I’m only going to make this offer once.”
    “No deal. I don’t want what you’re selling.”
    He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I think you might find my offer one you won’t be able refuse, if you’d just listen. All of your problems would be solved, and everything would be back as it should. With us, together, running all of this.” He opened his arms wide, as if he were