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She glanced at Forrest sitting opposite her, saw that he was still staring at his hands, silent and withdrawn, and sensed that something was definitely off.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

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 this time only

Handsome, talented, well-known.

circle wanted for their daughter. Girls all over town were waiting for the day he'd finally decide to settle down. Now, when he did, she'd been chosen as his date.

arrived today full of anticipation, only to

Sutherland

turn out

that widowed Montgomery woman?

a blind date when they're

widow, no

all the good men end up with her? First Lysander, now Forrest. When the news broke that she'd been Lysander's secret wife for years, the whole social circle had gone wild for ages. The gossip

woman was beautiful and capable... but still. The injustice of it

be outshone by a widow. To be toyed

more Janice thought about it, the angrier she

Forrest's face. He didn't dodge-just calmly wiped the wine away with a napkin, then looked at her and, incredibly, apologized again:

kel

toward the door. At the threshold, she found her way blocked by Mita. Janiceglared at her for a long moment, then turned away without

"Wait-!"

and moved to follow, but Forrest caught her wrist. "It's okay.

didn't explain it to her?" From Janice's reaction, it was obvious she'd come expecting a real date; she had no idea it

Giselle-to reassure her, to make her feel safe

Forrest as in-demand made

it

a fake date

dream

never imagined Forrest would be so up-front with her about the scheme, but once he had, she'd just gone