Page 126 of The Heart You Kept

“Let me take a photo of you, Colette.” I hold up my phone. “Smile.”

She smiles playfully and I take a photo. I linger with my phone out waiting for them to come back from the bar and I casually glance over.

The fuck are they doing over there?

I keep pretending to take photos and eventually they come back to stand with us. Click. I snap a photo of Thomas and immediately send it to Philippe.

Thomas starts yapping on to Colette again and my eyes go to Alora. “So…what’s the deal here?”

“What do you mean?”

I lean in closer so they can’t hear us. “Who is this?” I gesture to Thomas with my chin.

“He’s an old friend.”

A surge of jealousy runs through my system like a tidal wave.

“What kind of old friend?”

“Edward, this is really none of your business, but I would like to discuss who your date is.”

“An old friend.”

She raises her glass to me and then takes a sip, animosity bounces between us.

Touché.

“We can’t stay long,” Alora says. “We have a dinner reservation.”

I begin to hear my heartbeat in my ears…. If she leaves with him….

“Thomas, we should get going?” she tells him.

“Sure.”

“One more drink.” I try to stall. “My treat.”

“Umm.”

“I insist.” I walk to the bar and order another round.

My phone vibrates with a text in my pocket and I take it out and discreetly read it.

Philippe

His name is Thomas Stone. He’s a male escort.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

EDWARD

What!

My eyes rise to Philippe and he shrugs as if he’s as surprised as I am.

Why would she be on a date with a male escort? As if she needs to pay for sex, every man on earth would give his left kidney to sleep with her. This doesn’t make sense.

I don’t get it.