The Sweet-Talking Cheater

Synopsis

My business trip ended early that night, so I stopped to pick up Julian Sinclair's favorite—lobster mac and cheese. In the elevator, my best friend, Zoe Miller, was still ripping into him over text. [Julian is exactly the kind of guy who talks too sweet. Don't let him play you.] I typed back: [He won't. He said I'm the only one he wants.] She sent a string of voice messages, so furious she sounded ready to crawl through the screen. [You believe him just because he said that? Mia, what the hell is going on in your head?] I smiled and slipped my phone back into my pocket. Julian did know how to sweet-talk me. When my stomach hurt, he drove out in the middle of the night to get medicine. When I said I was afraid of the dark, he wouldn't even turn off the bathroom light. Even Zoe once said he looked at me like I was some skittish little cat he'd never quite tamed, but was terrified of losing. Then I opened my apartment door. There was an extra pair of women's heels in the entryway. Silver glitter clung to the heel—glitter I knew all too well. The bedroom door was cracked open. Julian's voice came out low and rough. "Don't bite. I'm supposed to meet Mia's parents tomorrow." The woman laughed and cursed him under her breath. "You're really that scared she'll find out? She's so stupid. I talk trash about you, and she still makes excuses for you." The lobster mac and cheese slipped from my hand and hit the floor. Through the gap in the door, my best friend looked up at me.