Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 490

Blind Date Setup.

Otherwise known, in Mila's mind, as a colossally bad idea.

She'd done the blind date thing before-recently, in fact-but she'd never expected to wind up at one like this. Her nerves were so frayed that she almost forgot the lines she and Forrest had rehearsed. Not that it mattered; even if she remembered, she could barely get the words out.

If only her date was a stranger, she might have managed.

But she knew Janice.

She knew her, and so did her father; they'd worked together on business deals more than once. Doing something this awkward in front of a business partner's daughter-someone her own age, sure, but still-was downright humiliating.

Mila's ears burned with embarrassment. She shot a pleading look at Forrest, who sat at the table, head bowed, shoulders twitching ever so slightly-probably trying not to laugh. He didn't look up, making it clear he had no intention of bailing her out.

Left with no choice, Mila met Janice's increasingly perplexed stare. She cleared her throat, wincing inwardly at how awkward she sounded. "Um, excuse me, Janice, I'm sorry to interrupt..."

"Huh?" Janice blinked in confusion.

She glanced at Forrest sitting opposite her, saw that he was still staring at his hands, silent and withdrawn, and sensed that something was definitely off.

Before Janice could say anything, Mila-still standing awkwardly by the door- finally forced herself to speak. The line she blurted out wasn't even the one she and Forrest had agreed on last night. "I—I'm sorry. I just... Can we end this whole thing? This blind date, I mean. I..."

"Why?" Janice was totally baffled.

"I'll explain," Forrest finally looked up, unable to hide the smile tugging at his lips. He gave Janice an apologetic nod. "I'm truly sorry, Ms. Burke."

He'd tried to be gentle, but Janice wasn't stupid. The truth hit her in a rush. "You're making a fool of me!"

sprang up, furious, eyes darting from Mila-still awkwardly lingering by the door-to Forrest, who sat there with his easy, handsome smile. Frustration warred with humiliation inside her. She'd always hated blind dates, but she'd agreed

Handsome, talented, well-known.

had it he was still single, with a spotless reputation-the kind of man every family in their circle wanted for their daughter. Girls all over town were waiting for the day he'd finally decide to settle down.

only to

Sutherland had

from last year turn out to be true? Was

woman? Was he really

a blind date when they're already in

widow, no

the good men end up with her? First Lysander, now Forrest. When the news broke that she'd been

beautiful and capable... but still. The injustice

outshone by a widow. To be

more Janice thought about

He didn't dodge-just calmly wiped the wine away with a napkin, then

kel

she found her way blocked by

"Wait-!"

and moved to follow, but Forrest caught her wrist. "It's okay. Don't

drew a shaky breath. "What the hell happened? You didn't explain it to her?" From Janice's reaction, it was obvious she'd come expecting a real

her feel safe about working with Forrest, to prove that their partnership was necessary

Forrest as in-demand made

if, honestly, it was a

date to

would dream up

the scheme, but once he had,