And it must be the baby inside me, I thought.
“It had better smell wonderful,” joked Sara. “Otherwise, the cooking classes I’m taking would be an utter waste of time.” She looked at me closely. “Do you really want some? You're usually always complaining about how you want to keep your figure and hate eating bad food.”
“Yes,” I growled. “Like now.”
Sara grinned at me. “Those assholes must have really gotten to you. You sound like you’re ready to pig out. But, bad news—they won’t be done for another fifteen minutes.”
Fifteen minutes? Damn woman, what was she trying to do to me? “Okay, I’ll go get washed up then, and when I come back, they’d better be ready.”
Sara chuckled. “Okay, Mistress Bella.”
I left the living room and went into my bedroom to get a change of outfit. I took a quick shower, even managing not to fantasize about Stefan while in it. After, I was blow drying my hair when my cell rang. I walked over and grabbed it off the bed, swiping the touch screen.
My mother’s smiling mug popped up, underscored by a Call from Evelyn Livingston.
I stared at it while the cell continued to ring. I was tempted to answer—boy, was I tempted.
After an intense internal struggle, I let out a sigh and silenced the phone. Stefan and I were in this mess together, and I wanted to be on the same page with him, so that meant I was going to do whatever he told me to do, no questions asked.
Several minutes later, I was sitting at the living room table, stuffing my face with delicious chocolate cupcakes.
“Gosh, Bella,” Sara said, watching me eat. “I’ve never seen you so ravenous.”
“I’m stressed the hell out,” I said over a mouthful of creamy cupcake. I was going to have to get Sara to teach me how to make them. They were damned good. “And you’ve got skills. This is fucking delicious. What do you expect?”
I saw sympathy flash in Sara eyes, and she slowly reached out and placed a hand on top of my hand that wasn’t holding the cupcake. “You know what, Bella? I can’t pretend to understand what you’re going through, but I know a good person when I see one . . . and I honestly believe you about the . . . mistake you made.”
I nearly choked on my cupcake, not because of Sara’s empathy, but because she was absolutely wrong about me and Stefan. Even had I known that Stefan was behind the gladiator costume—and I was not yet convinced that I hadn’t known on some subconscious level—I would still have screwed him willingly, eagerly letting him ravage my body for everything it was worth.
Before I could finish chowing down the cupcake and reply, there was a loud knock at the door.
Sara rose to her feet, looking at the door. “I wonder who it is?”
I quickly swallowed down the rest of the cupcake. “Don’t answer that,” I gasped breathlessly, almost choking on crumbs. “It’s probably one of those stupid school officials, here to ask more questions.”
Sara bit her lower lip and stared at the door. “They’re going to know we’re here, Bella.”
“So?” I whispered. “We don’t have to answer if we don’t want to.”
I was wasting my time trying to tell Sara not to answer. She was too much of a goody-two-shoes.
“I’m going to answer it,” she said finally. “If it winds up being one of those investigators, I’ll tell them that we don’t want to talk.”
“Whatever,” I said.
“Don’t worry, Bella. I’ve got your back.”
Sara walked over to the door, peeked through the peephole, and then cracked it open so whoever was outside could not look in.
I started with surprise when she said, “Hey, Stefan, what a surprise to see you here.”
“Hey, Sara, is Bella here?” I heard Stefan ask, my heart quickening a few beats.
“Um . . . she’s . . .” Sara sounded flustered, and I took pity on her.
I jumped up from the table and ran to the door, pushing Sara out of the way.
“What are you doing here, Stefan?” I demanded. My heart fluttered at seeing him. He was so sexy, dressed casually in jeans and a black shirt that fit his cut torso like a glove. His hair was slicked to the side, but what really got me is that he looked extra pissed off. “I thought we agreed to . . .” I glanced at Sara quickly and bit my lower lip.
“I came to talk to you,” he replied, his voice urgent. “And it couldn’t wait.”
He pushed past me without asking to come inside, and I closed the door, my pulse racing.
Stefan looked over at Sara, who was staring at Stefan like he was a piece of meat. It made me jealous, and I wanted to tell Sara to back off and find her own man. Stefan read my expression, though, and turned to my roommate. “Sara, can you give us a moment alone, please?” Stefan could be the absolute gentleman when he wanted to.