Thirteen (Love by Numbers Book 4) by E.S. Carter Page B

he’s a bit of a stallion.”
    “A Crufts winning dog?”
    “No, although he’s a reformed dirty dog.”
    “Well, then, I’m all out of guesses. Take me to this superstar so I can worship at his feet.”
    I give her a smirk, “He’d like that, so please restrain yourself should you get the urge.”
    “Do I get a clue?”
    “Nope. Superstar is clue enough.”
    “Fair enough, take me to your superstar. I still don’t see how this is a payback date, though.” She wrinkles her nose in confusion.
    “You’ll see,” I say, smiling smugly over at my unsuspecting victim who is about to meet the most drooled over man on the planet.
     
    W e pass the rest of the short journey discussing random things, from music to movies. I find out she’s a huge Fast and the Furious and Son’s of Anarchy fan, just like me. She also likes indie rock and has a soft spot for The Stone Roses. Could this girl be any more perfect?
    As we drive towards Jake and Em’s place, and the houses start to become more and more like mini mansions, her eyes widen, and I get the feeling she’s starting to take what I said a little more seriously.
    We pull into their street, and I swear I hear her gasp at the wealth that surrounds us.
    “You weren’t shitting me were you? Someone famous lives here.”
    My grin is my only reply, and I glance from the road to her a few times and watch as she gets more and more nervous.
    I turn left towards Jake’s long driveway and stop at the recently installed security gates to press the buzzer. Since his fame has skyrocketed and then baby CJ came along, Jake is taking the safety of his family very seriously.
    “Wow.”
    I turn to look over at Lilah and watch as her gaze rakes over the magnificent house in front of us.
    “It’s like an episode of Through the Keyhole or MTV Cribs.”
    I let out a chuckle and hit the intercom; seconds later the gates swing open, and I drive down the gravel driveway, swinging the Banana Mobile around to park outside the huge quadruple garage.
    Once I’ve shut off the engine and unbuckled my seatbelt, I take another glance at Lilah and see she’s gone a little pale.
    This is the reaction I was looking for on our payback date, but the glory of getting one over on her falls flat, and I just want to reassure her that there’s nothing to be worried about.
    I reach over and grab her slightly shaky hand. “Hey,” I call softly to get her attention which is riveted to the double front door, “These are good people, in fact, they’re the best and my best friends. You have nothing to worry about they will love you.”
    She makes eye contact with me and nods once.
    I tug her hand lightly, “C’mon, Bunny Girl. Let’s go and meet J and Em.”
    “ Fuck! Did you just say, Eminem? I thought he lived in The States?”
    If it’s possible, her face goes even paler. “No,” I speak slowly and clearly, “I said J and Em. C’mon, gangster rap fan, let’s go and eat before Jake scarfs down all of Em’s awesome cooking.”
    I release her hand, exit the car and walk around to let her out. Nobody can accuse me of not being a gentleman.
    I offer her my hand, and she hesitates for a brief second, before placing her slightly sweaty palm in mine.
    I notice her movements are clunky as she gets out but put that down to nerves affecting her balance. She stands next to me, an awestruck look on her face and I have to fight the urge to kiss her if only to shake her out of her nerves. No, it’s more than that. I want to kiss her for my own selfish reasons.
    “Let’s go. I’m serious about missing out on the grub if we don’t get a move on.”
    I lace my fingers through hers and drag her towards the house, meeting a little resistance at first, before she manages to get her feet to move in a forward direction.
    I don’t bother with the front door, instead, I drag her around the side of the house, aiming for the side door, or servant’s entrance as Jake calls it every time I use it.
    Sure enough,