TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 110

One hundred and ten

Lisa POV

“You look like someone handed you a bag full of problems,” I said.

Franklin sat on the couch with the remote and flipped through channels, as if the television might suddenly solve. his life.

He had been doing it for a while.

Nothing stayed on the screen long enough to matter.

“Just tired,” he said.

I leaned back against the pillows and took another sip. The straw scraped the bottom of the glass.

I held the cup out to him.

Franklin looked at it.

“You’re getting spoiled,” he said as he stood.

“I never asked for it,” I said. “I’m pregnant.”

A low chuckle left him as he walked to the kitchen and poured more mango juice.

The scent of fruit followed him back into the room. He handed me the glass.

Something still felt off.

He moved through the room like the air pressed down on him. Even with the television on, his attention kept drifting away.

“Aren’t we supposed to be buddies of some sort?” I asked.

He looked over.

“What kind of buddies?”

“The kind who share problems.”

Franklin dropped back onto the couch and rested the remote on his knee.

The television kept talking to itself while he stared at the dark edge of the screen.

Then he leaned forward and breathed out.

“I’ve been thinking about something.”

“What kind of something?”

“The annoying kind.”

“That doesn’t help.”

He rubbed his palms together and braced his elbows on his knees.

“Have you ever loved someone and known it was a bad idea at the same time?”

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That question did not catch me off guard.

I already knew where this was going.

“Explain,” I said.

Franklin stared at the floor.

“I can’t stop thinking about her,” he said. “She’s already moving on with someone else. I know it. Everyone knows it.”

He leaned back into the couch.

“And I’m still here thinking about her like an idiot.”

Nadia.

He did not say the name, but it sat between us anyway.

I shifted the pillow behind my back.

“Look,” I said, “this might sound harsh.”

“That usually means it will be.”

“I don’t think she deserves you.”

A dry laugh escaped him.

“That’s generous of you.”

“I’m serious.”

He turned toward me and waited.

“She’s beautiful,” I said. “She’s smart. She walks into a room and people notice.”

Franklin nodded.

“Exactly.”

“But is it worth it?”

His expression tightened.

“You bending yourself into something miserable just to stay close to someone who doesn’t want you.”

He stared at the floor again.

“It’s clear she doesn’t want you.”

“I know that,” he said.

His voice carried no fight now.

“That part isn’t confusing.”

He pressed his hand against his forehead.

“What hurts is watching her marry someone else.”

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7

The room went quiet.

Then he added, more to himself,

“My brilliant idea of fake dating Cora clearly didn’t work.”

I drank from the glass and watched the juice move against the sides.

“Well,” I said, “someone better will come.”

Franklin looked at me.

“You think so?”

“There are millions of women in the world,” I said. “One person not working out doesn’t mean your life stops there.”

I shifted against the pillows.

“You can’t sit around being miserable while the person you love goes out and lives her life.”

Franklin held my gaze.

Then he lifted the remote and pointed it at me.

“I hope you take your own advice.”

I frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“You and Cameron.”

My back pressed harder into the pillows.

“You’re seeing things that aren’t there.”

Franklin smiled to himself.

“You two act like a pair of lost puppies.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?”

“It’s a contract,” I said.

The words came out fast, like they could shut the conversation down.

Franklin leaned back.

“I’ve heard that speech before.”

“It’s still true.”

“Sure.”

The television washed the room with shifting light.

Franklin changed the channel again, but neither of us paid attention.

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I stared into the glass in my hand.

This was a contract.

That was the truth.

It had always been the truth.

Even if Franklin decided to imagine something else…

Even if people whispered.

Even if Cameron’s name tightened something deep in my chest.

I repeated the same words in my head.

This was a contract.

Nothing more.

If I had to repeat it a thousand times before I believed it, then that was exactly what I would do.

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