Tempting Me: A Bad Boy Romance by Roxy Sinclaire, Natasha Tanner Page B

now.”
    What did I do to deserve meeting such a generous soul in my greatest time of need? I hug her back even more tightly than she hugged me.
    “Thank you, Theresa. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
    “I’m just paying it forward, Aria. And we’ll see if you’re singing the same tune after you spend all night pouring drinks for crazed women and then have to sleep on my ancient couch. Now tell me, what in this glorious closet of yours can you not live without?”
    Two hours and two stuffed-to-bursting suitcases later, and we are heading back to Theresa’s apartment.
    “I’m going to call Mickey and get you a job working the bar. Do you know how to mix drinks?”
    I have never worked a day in my life and the only drink-mixing skills I have constitute topping off my mom’s Cabernet with a Super Tuscan. But I am not in a position to quibble over anything right now. So I smile and nod just like I used to do at Xavier’s client dinners and tell Theresa I can do it.
    It’s not really a lie, I tell myself. If I can finish business school and master client dinners with Xavier, I can mix drinks for drunk women that mostly want change to give to their favorite dancers.
    “We may need to lie about your experience. But that’s okay. Ryan lied about my experience to Mickey, so I’ll just do the same for you,” Theresa says.
    “Don’t lie,” I tell her. “We need to spin my experience. As in, I have attended many catered collegiate functions and black tie events. They don’t need to know that it was as a guest instead of a server.”
    “I love it! To be honest, you will be way better at dealing with the high maintenance guests than I am. After all, you’ve been one.”
    Theresa covers her mouth with her hand the second after the words come out of her mouth.
    “I’m sorry Aria. I didn’t mean to imply you’re high maintenance or anything.”
    I pretend for a second to be offended but I know how ridiculous it all is.
    “I was high maintenance, but not anymore. I am done with expecting people to cater to me and take care of me. So what better way to start off my new life than as a server for women who expect to be catered to? And until I can pay rent and stop freeloading off of you, I am going to clean, cook, and do the laundry for us.”
    “I think you are about to get a healthy dose of reality but I know you can handle it. And if you actually cook for me, I may not let you move out once you’re self-sufficient and standing on your own two feet.”
    I wish I could shrug her words off but I know she is right. I am indeed clueless as to what it means to be self-sufficient and I am about to learn the hard way.
    My father is adamant with me that until I come to my senses, I can’t spend a dime of the family’s money. The big caveat is that I only have one week to do so or he will disown me. I know my father well enough that I do not take his threat lightly. He cut-off my oldest brother and it has been years since anyone in my family has had contact with him.
    I have nothing to claim as my own except what Theresa and I managed to pack into my suitcases. I may not be depending on the kindness of strangers but I am definitely depending on the hospitality of newly-made friends.
    I wonder if Xavier is thinking about me? Does he regret cheating on me with Ella? Does he at least regret getting caught and losing me as his future wife? Despite how he betrayed me, I miss him. Or at least, I miss the idea of him. It was comforting to know that my whole life was planned out for me and that the hardest decision I would have to make is what private school my children should attend.
    This is a very real and new world I have to face. My friends and family will see me as a traitor. I am someone who threw away the good life for no reason other than misplaced pride and naivety.
    At her apartment, Theresa pushes her clothes to one end of the sagging hanger rod and leaves me about a third of the closet. She pulls out some