Contingency Plan by Fiona Davenport Page B

thing and I’d even have our flight info to back it up, but the only way I’ll get this paper turned in on time is if I stayed locked up in the hotel room.”
    “Crap,” I mumbled. “Which defeats the whole purpose. You wouldn’t be a good buffer between the dumbass, his Barbie doll, and me if you’re always in the room.”
    “I’m so sorry, Sis. If I hadn’t put this paper off until the last minute, you know I’d be there in a heartbeat. I’d happily fly halfway around the world to give the dickless wonder a hard time.” There wasn’t the slightest hint of humor in her tone and I couldn’t help but think her idea of a hard time might have involved my ex falling off a mountain.
    “It’ll be fine. Focus on getting your paper done and I’ll figure something out.” I was totally lying. I didn’t have another plan. But there wasn’t anything she could do about the situation and I didn’t want her worrying about it.
    “I’m sure you will. You always do. Sorry, but I’ve gotta dash if I’m going to make it to my next class on time.” Her voice was breathless, most likely because she was literally running across campus that very second.
    “Love you. Bye.” The beeping sound letting me know the call had ended was the only response. I chuckled lightly at how crazy her schedule had been since she was trying to graduate early. It wasn’t until I heard Brysen clear his throat that I remembered he was there. Double crap.
    “Date fall through for this weekend?”
    “Um, not exactly,” I mumbled, looking up. “It was my sister. I’d been hoping she’d come with me to a work retreat this weekend, but she can’t make it.”
    The gleam in his eyes looked an awful lot like humor at my situation, but I had a funny feeling it was something entirely different. “You needed her there to run interference between you and an ex?”
    I tried to figure out how to answer his question in a way that didn’t make me sound like a complete disaster. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one, so I went with the truth instead. “Yes, I called my baby sister and asked her to be my date because seeing him and the young blonde with fake boobs he replaced me with while we were still together is the last thing I want to do this weekend.”
    “Fucking idiot,” he rasped. “He really is a dumbass if he had you and cheated.”
    “Maybe I’m the dumbass for dating him in the first place.”
    He shook his head while reaching for my hand. “He didn’t realize how lucky he was, but I’d be happy to help you demonstrate it up close and personal.”
    My mind was reeling. Brysen had dated a steady stream of gorgeous women during his time in the NFL. I knew this because I’d done some internet stalking after our first appointment and was a little disappointed to see the kind of women he’d dated since there was no way I was his type. Not that I wasn’t confident in myself, but I was nothing like the models he usually had on his arm. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
    “You get that I’m a man, right?”
    My eyes swept up and down his tall frame, taking in his tousled dark hair, chocolate brown eyes, and rock hard muscles earned over years of being a professional athlete. There wasn’t a woman in the world who didn’t know Brysen Mariano was all man the minute she first laid eyes on him. “Yeah, it’s kinda hard to miss.”
    “Which means I understand how guys think. It’s actually a good thing your sister couldn’t make it this weekend. You showing up with her would have been a win to a guy like that.”
    It stung a little, but he was probably right. “Showing up alone is going to be even worse.”
    “You aren’t going to be alone, Elisa.”
    “I’m not?”
    He squeezed my hand lightly. “I’m going to be your date for the weekend.”
    Brysen was everything my ex wished he could be. He had the kind of money that equated to me showing him five million dollar houses for a cash purchase. Everywhere he went, women