Chapter 413
413
413
During dinner , Vanessa called Aria about coming to Mandino City ,
Aria hadn’t put her phone on speaker , but the table was so quiet that Owen caught most of the conversation they were planning a night out for furt
Owen knew that Aria would never be the type to suggest hiring male models .
That had Vanessa written all over it . Honestly , if anyone should be panicking , it was Kim , not him .
He lounged comfortably with a book , but a few minutes later , he realized he’d been staring at the same page for ages .
What if those models got a little too handsy and Aria couldn’t fend them off ?
A sudden image flashed through his mind – shirtless models flexing beside Aria , deliberately showing off , leaning in close with no shame , making her flustered .
He shut his book , suddenly a little tense .
He remembered that time she accidentally caught him changing .
She’d turned away in a panic .
Aria had zero experience with this kind of thing .
He got up to change his shoes , grabbed his keys – then hesitated .
What right did he have to go ?
He hadn’t even won her over yet and was about to start laying down rules ? Anyone would get annoyed , and Aria didn’t even like him yet .
If he showed up and she got mad , that’d be even worse .
He put the keys down . But the scene in his head kept playing .
His eyes landed on a potted plant ; almost without thinking , he plucked a flower and began pulling off petals .
“ Go . Don’t go . Go . Don’t go . Go … ”
When there were just two petals left , the answer was “ Don’t go , ”
He yanked off the last two , and said aloud , “ Go . ”
Decision made , he snatched up the keys and left , slamming the door behind him . Only the lonely petals remained on the floor .
On his way out , Owen pulled up his chat with Julia .
Owen : [ Hey , cutie , what are you all up to ? ]
It took a few minutes before Julia replied , clearly too busy having fun :
Julia : [ We’re playing games ! ]
Then she sent a photo .
な
The shot was of Aria , caught mid – laughter , her profile glowing , one hand resting under her chin , the other holding an almost empty wine glass .
Across from her , a hand with a bottle was reaching in for a refill . Several empty bottles littered the table .
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Owen exhaled , got in his car , buckled up , and messaged again . is someone coming to pick your all up ?!
Julia : Nope ! Are you coming ? ]
Owen smiled – well , Julia invited him , not him barging in .
Owen : [ Sure , I’ll come get you ! ]
He floored the gas .
At the club , Julia pouted after reading Owen’s message . She hadn’t invited him – at least, not on purpose ! They weren’t done partying .
She tugged Cloe’s sleeve , pointing at her watch . “ Mom , Owen says he’s coming to pick us up .”
Cloe glanced at the chat , lips curling with a mysterious smile . She reached over and powered off Julia’s smartwatch . “ Don’t worry about it . Keep playing . ”
The group was in the middle of the world’s most old – school drinking game : truth or dare , with a spin – the – bottle twist .
Just now , one of the male models – Sonny Sanford , the “ fair one ” Julia had praised – had lost , and his penalty was singing .
While he crooned , Julia had been distractedly fiddling with her watch .
When he finished , Sonny gave Julia a soulful look . “ Julia , you weren’t even listening ! ”
Julia giggled , clapped . “ I was ! It was awesome ! Your turn
to
spin the bottle . ”
Sonny gave her a helpless smile and spun . The bottle stopped – pointing straight at Aria .
Julia let out a delighted squeal . “ Aria , truth or dare ? ”
p
Aria grinned . “ Truth . ”
the male models interrupted , “ Hey , since you ladies are all friends , shouldn’t we get to ask the
the
Vanessa was just about to lob a question when one of question ? ”