What He Bargains (What He Wants, Book Nineteen) by Hannah Ford Page B

sugary foods, maybe it was because any voice was better than the loneliness of the TV and the Kardashians screaming stupidities at one another.
    Whatever the reason, she picked up and said hello, prepared for anyone except who it actually was.
    “Do you know who this is?” he said.
    Instantly, she did. Jake Novak had called her.
    “How did you get my number?”
    He laughed a little. “It’s not really that difficult, Raven. Think about it.”
    It was true. She wasn’t listed, but he was Jake Novak and obviously Max Mendez had her number, so the question wasn’t exactly relevant. “Okay, then,” she said, sitting up, suddenly very awake. “Why are you calling me?”
    There was a lengthy pause. “I’ve been thinking about what you said to me.”
    “Oh.” She swallowed, her heart beating in her throat. “What were you thinking about it?”
    “I was thinking that I had a lot to say to you. And then I was kind of curious what you would say back if I told you any of it.”
    She couldn’t help but smile at the fact that Jake Novak—THE JAKE NOVAK—had been replaying their conversation from earlier in the day, the same as her. Only he’d probably not done it from a prone position on a shitty couch with empty Oreo boxes and Pringles lying around on the floor nearby. He’d probably been sitting in his limo or dining at some fancy gourmet restaurant.
    She took a deep breath. “Maybe you should tell me what you wanted to tell me and find out.”
    “Maybe I will.” There was another long pause. “Feel like getting some fresh air?”
    “Huh?” She stood up now, pacing nervously.
    “I said—do you want to get some fresh air—as in, come out with me for a bit?” He laughed.
    “I—Uh….I don’t know…I’m…” she started running in circles, panic stricken, trying to determine how quickly she could be presentable.
    “It’s not a big deal, Raven,” he said with amusement. “I’m not talking about buying a home together, I’m just saying I want to take you for a ride and talk for a few minutes.”
    “When did you want to meet?”
    “Well, I’m sitting outside your apartment right now, so the near future would be great.”
    Shit. Shit. Shit .
    Raven ran into her bedroom and hopped onto the futon. Because she was in the basement apartment, her windows were really high up and there were very few of them. Craning her head up, she was able to see the street but couldn’t really tell who was out there.
    “You’re outside my apartment right now?” she said, partly hoping he wasn’t, but also desperately wanting him to be telling the truth.
    “I’m here,” he said. “But I don’t want to wait around forever, Raven.”
    “Where do you want to go? How should I be dressed?”
    “Any way you feel comfortable. Meet me outside in five minutes.” And then he hung up.
    She stared at her cell phone as if it had just bit her.
    Jake Novak is out there, waiting for you. He drove all the way here to Watertown to see you and only you. Out of all the women in the world—literally millions of them—he picked you to call, you to talk to, you to invite out.
    But why? What about her had gotten his attention?
    None of it seemed real and none of it made any sense. She wished that she could be the type of girl to just take it in stride, to feel that she was his equal, to hold herself confidently and expect nothing but the best.
    There wasn’t any time for second-guessing right now, though, and so she stopped worrying and started moving. Five minutes wasn’t very long at all. She ran to the bathroom, stripped down, sprayed perfume, washed her face in less than thirty seconds, pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
    Blinking as water still dripped down her cheeks, she looked and saw a girl who was attractive enough without a bunch of makeup or some crazy hairstyle. She might not have been the kind of girl to turn every head when she walked into a room, but she didn’t need bells and whistles to look cute.
    As long