Page 74 of Beg Me

Markie:

I lock the screen and look up to see Drake smiling.

“I don’t need to ask who that was,” he says, chuckling.

“Is it that obvious?”

“There’s only one person who puts that look on my face. So yeah, pretty obvious.” He narrows his eyes like he’s trying to decide whether to share what’s on his mind or not. “Can I give you some advice?”

“Sure.”

Drake takes both checks and pulls out his wallet. “If you don’t watch yourself, you’re gonna be fucked in more ways than one.” He slides his credit card out and holds it with the checks. When he looks up at me, he’s smirking. “Trust me. When it comes to women like Gianna and Markie, they get under your skin before you even realize what’s happening. You just sort of look up one day and realize you’re in way over your head … and there’s nowhere else you want to be.”

He gets to his feet, heading toward the cash register to pay. I stay back, letting his words filter through my head.

This isn’t new information. It’s incredibly easy to see how Markie St. James could really fuck with your head.

“It’s complicated. I live here. You and your dad don’t. And since you’re both going back to your homes in a couple of months, it doesn’t really make any sense to be too serious. Do you know what I mean?”

I take a deep breath.

But she’s my fake girlfriend, and it’d behoove me to remember that.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

Markie

“This looks good, Brandy,” I say, closing the ledger that we’ve been working on for over an hour. “Thanks for staying and going through this with me. I have to send a report to the town board, and this helps a ton.”

“Not a problem.” She gathers her things. “You know I’ll always be here to help. I love this place.” She casts a warm smile my way. “Have a good night.”

“You, too.”

I sit back, taking my first real breath of the day, and close my eyes.

There have only been a few moments to steal for myself since I left my house early this morning. It’s been one thing after another, and every mini-catastrophe required my assistance to resolve. There are only a few days a year when I wish the market didn’t depend so heavily on me, and today was one of them.

My phone lights up on my desk. It buzzes a few times in quick succession. I pick it up, already knowing it’s the group chat.

Astrid: 5 days until Auddie’s wedding! I hope you’re all making progress on your to-do lists. Can I get an update when you have a sec?

Audrey:

Audrey: I can’t thank you guys enough. Every time I think about how you all jumped in to help, I start crying.

Astrid: We’re shocked.

Audrey: I mean it. You took our simple barn wedding idea and ran with it. It’s going to be so special because of my friends.

Gianna: You’re welcome. Now let’s not get all emotional about this, or I’ll have to exit the chat.

Mira:

I giggle, too, and type out my contribution.

Me: My update—I found the pianist. He’s good-looking and extremely talented.