P.S. Lose This Number (Cupid in the City Book 3) Read online

  P.S. Lose This Number

  J.S. COOPER

  Copyright © 2022 by J.S. Cooper

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Edited by My Brother’s Editor

  Cover Photo by Wander Aguiar

  To Penny and Amanda who saved the book!

  Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Blurb

  To The Guy at The Coffee Shop,

  I did not intend to give you my phone number. I was actually waiting on several dates to show up; don't ask, it's a long story. I certainly didn't need to slip my number into your pastry bag just so I could attempt to catch you. I don't even know who you are, and I don't care. I found you to be extremely impertinent at the coffee shop. Who interrupts someone else's date to tell their own anecdotes and stories? Especially when that someone else is a stranger. Just because we had a five-minute verbal sparring match, it doesn't mean we actually know each other. No, I have zero interest in getting dating advice from you. And I certainly have no interest in learning the art of flirtatious touch. Are you out of your mind? All I can say is please stop sending me daily dating tips. Maybe work on not being a cocky ass before you try to help others.

  Now Leave Me Alone,

  Lilian

  P.S. Please Lose This Number

  One

  Lilian

  Dating in the city sucked. Dating in the city when you were thirty sucked even more. I felt like all the good men were either married, gay, or dead. And I didn't want to wait to be a second wife, which was what some of my best friends recommended. Being a second wife meant taking on another woman's kids, an ex-wife, and baggage, and I wasn't quite ready for that. And so I'd joined a dating app, which felt like selling my soul to the devil and walking a short road to hell. So far I hadn't had much luck, but after witnessing my two new friends, Marcia and Susie, find love with two amazing men, I decided to give it a try. I picked up my phone and opened the dating app to see if I had any good messages.

  The first message was from a guy named Mikey. He looked handsome with short blond hair and only one photo at the gym. I liked the fact that he said he worked on Wall Street. I wasn't a gold digger, but a guy with a little bit of money would be nice. I clicked on his face to see what he had to say.

  Mikey1629: Hey there blondie, I'm glad we matched. Wassup?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Hello, I'm fine. How are you?

  Mikey1629: Not bad. Better now you're here chatting with me.

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: How sweet.

  Mikey1629: What you wearing?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Hmm? PJ's?

  Mikey1629: Want to send me a pic?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: No.

  Mikey1629: Prude

  I deleted his message and blocked him. At least take me to dinner before asking for sexy pics. The next message was from a guy named Jim. He said he was a comedian. He wasn't really my type, but I did like to laugh.

  BigJim69: Sup Lily

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Not much, you?

  BigJim69: DTF?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: No.

  BigJim60: DTS?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: ?? I don't know what that means?

  BigJim60: Down to suck this big cock?

  BigJim60: You there?

  I stared at his messages and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I looked at the next profile. This one looked promising. The guy looked handsome and said he was an attorney. I could do an attorney as he read me the constitution. Though I wasn't sure if that was sacrilegious or something. He had hazel eyes and talked about his love of reading and baseball. He'd be impressed knowing one of my friends dated a Yankee, then.

  RoberttheLawyer4u: Good evening, Lily. Are you really in the sky?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: No, I'm—

  RoberttheLawyer4u: I'm joking. I get the reference. The Beatles right?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Yes! :)

  RoberttheLawyer4u: Only you're Lily, not Lucy.

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Smarty pants.

  RoberttheLawyer4u: Indeed I am. I was a little worried, though.

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Oh?

  RoberttheLawyer4u: I thought you were trying to get a diamond ring out of me and we haven't even gone on our first date yet.

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: uhm, okay...lol

  RoberttheLawyer4u: Bad joke. My bad.

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: No worries.

  RoberttheLawyer4u: How's the app treating you?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: A bit like last week's leftovers.

  RoberttheLawyer4u: What, a beauty like you?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Ha, thanks.

  RoberttheLawyer4u: Interested in grabbing a coffee sometime?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Sure.

  RoberttheLawyer4u: Saturday around 11am?

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Perfect.

  RoberttheLawyer4u: Great. I'll meet you at Dutchman's Coffee on East 5th.

  Lilyintheskywithdiamonds: Sounds good.

  RoberttheLawyer4u: I can't wait.

  I smiled to myself as I went back to his profile. Now that we had a date, I needed to analyze him a little bit more than I had before. I grabbed my phone and called Shantal, a friend from work, who really got me.

  "Hey there, girl," she answered on the second ring. "What you up to tonight?"

  "Swiping and wiping away my tears." I laughed as I sat back on my couch. "What about you?"

  "I'm doing my hair." She sighed. "I got a blow out this evening, so I'm wrapping it."

  "Ooh in a silk wrap?"

  "How do you know about silk wraps?" She laughed, a fun, energetic sound that always made me smile. Shantal's energy was contagious. "But yes, a nice, thick luxurious one. My hair will be shining and silky tomorrow."

  "Your hair always looks nice. Unlike mine, which currently resembles a beehive."

  "Lilian, quit playing. We both know you go to the hairdresser as often as I do."

  "That's why I'm so broke." I laughed and then groaned as I thought about my bank account balance. "Guess what?"

  "What?"

  "I have a date on Saturday with a hotshot lawyer."

  "No way. What?" Shantal gasped. "How'd you meet him?"

  "On that dating app I joined. His name is Robert, and he's a lawyer and he likes baseball."

  "Age?"

  "Hmm, let me check. Thirty-five."

  "Not bad, not bad. Has he been married? Any kids?"

  "No
idea, girl."

  "Is he hot? Send pics."

  "Hold on." I laughed as I put her on speakerphone. "Let me save some photos from his profile and send them to you. I think he's a cutie," I said as I opened up the app again. "He looks like he might be tall." I screenshot the photos and text them to her. "Did you get them yet?"

  "Giirrrlllll, he is fine. If you don't want him, send him my way."

  "Ha. Ha, Shantal, you're a hoot."

  "No, more like I'm just hot and horny and a hottie like him could put out a lot of fires. Man, maybe I should sign up as well."

  "Do it, girl!"

  "I will."

  "So, we're going to go and meet for coffee on Saturday."

  "Oh, that sounds like a good date," Shantal said. "At least you're not committing to a super long dinner or something with him."

  "Yeah, that's right. Because Lord knows I've had some horrible dates that have lasted way too long."

  "Oh, my gosh. Me too, girl." Shantal giggled. "Did I ever tell you about the time I tried to sneak out of the bathroom window, but then my ass was too big and I got stuck?"

  "No way." I started laughing. "That sounds hilarious."

  "It really wasn't hilarious," she said, sighing. "Because when the fire department showed up…"

  "Oh no, they called 9-1-1?"

  "Yep," she said. "How embarrassing."

  "What did your date say?"

  "You don't want to know," she said, sighing again.

  "I do want to know."

  "He said to me, 'If I knew you had a fat ass, I would have left myself.'"

  "No way." I was shocked. "What an asshole."

  "Girl, you know these men."

  "True. I really hope Robert is going to be much better."

  "Yeah, I'm sure he will. He looks gorgeous, and you said he's an attorney? How bad can an attorney be?"

  "True. I can't say I've ever dated an attorney before, and they make good money, right?"

  "I'm pretty sure they make great money. My cousin's ex-boyfriend's dad was an attorney…"

  "Okay…"

  "And he made like 250 grand a year."

  "Hello, that's what I'm talking about. House in Long Island, here I come."

  "Oh, my gosh, you'd leave the city?"

  "I don't know. I'm just joking. I'd love a penthouse apartment, but I don't think 250 grand a year is going to buy that."

  "True." She laughed. "More like 250 million a year needed."

  "Yep. So, what do you think I should wear?"

  "Oh, my gosh, Lilian, you could wear absolutely anything and still look like a bombshell. You are like Barbie come to life."

  "Um, not quite," I said, though I smiled at her words. Shantal always made me feel good about myself, and I actually valued what she had to say because she was absolutely gorgeous herself.

  "But hey girl, can I call you back later? My hot iron is steaming up here. I just want to finish my hair."

  "Oh, of course. I'm going to go back to swiping."

  "What, why? Don't you have a date already?"

  "Yeah, but maybe I can have several dates on Saturday." I laughed. "Don't hate, appreciate."

  "Oh, my gosh, Lilian. Really?"

  "What? I'm just saying, I don't want to work at Winchester Enterprises forever. I mean, it's not like I'm product manager. I'm literally an assistant to the product managers, who are literally dumbasses."

  "I know, girl, trust me. Don't think I want to be a receptionist for the rest of my life. I mean, we're smarter than these people. It's just that we don't have college degrees."

  "I know."

  "I went to the School of Life. Like, hello?"

  "Tell me about it. I went to the School of Hard Knocks, and trust me, it means a lot more than a degree from Harvard or Columbia."

  "Or Duke," Shantal said.

  "Why do I feel like you're referencing someone in particular?"

  "Because I am." She giggled. "But hey, I'll speak to you later?"

  "Sounds good." I hung up the phone with her and then jumped off of my couch. I headed toward my bedroom to check out the clothes in my closet. Saturday would be interesting because an early morning coffee date meant I couldn't dress too sexy, so I couldn't wear any of my dresses, and I certainly couldn't wear a miniskirt. I wasn't going to wear an office outfit because who did that?

  I looked around and pulled out my favorite pair of jeans. These would do. They were tight fitting and complementary to my figure. I looked for a top to go with it. I could either wear something really casual and not too form-fitting, or I could go all out and wear something tight and sexy. Seeing as I was wearing jeans, it wouldn't be too over the top.

  I decided it was between two blouses, and figured I'd make up my mind in the morning, headed back toward my room, and sat back down on the couch. I looked around, feeling bored. I could watch TV, but I'd been watching TV every night, all week. I could call Shantal back and ask if she wanted to go out because she was always down to go out. Even if she was doing her hair, I knew if I said, "Want to hit up a club or a bar?" she'd be okay with it.

  But I didn't want to do that. I wanted to spend the night in quiet, but I didn't want to be alone. I was so fed up with being by myself. I knew I could call Marcia or Susie, but I also knew they were most probably with their boyfriends, Brody and Finn. And Finn, Marcia's boyfriend, was my boss, the CEO of the entire company. As much as I enjoyed being around him, there were just certain things I couldn't say and do in front of him. It was too embarrassing. And frankly, I didn't really want him to get to know the real me because I'd be scared he would fire me. I mean, I even had to watch what I said to Marcia sometimes. I didn't want her to know that I was skipping work for a couple of hours every week to go and get my nails done. I mean, that would be cause for my firing right away.

  I sighed and picked up my phone and decided to swipe a couple more times to see if I could find anyone else to go on a hot date with. I paused as I looked at a guy who was sitting on top of a bull. He had a cowboy hat on his head, and I started laughing at his goofy caption.

  "Cowboy in Manhattan. Do you want to tame me?"

  "Not really," I muttered under my breath, but as I swiped to his next photo, my jaw dropped.

  He was standing there in a pair of Speedos. Just Speedos. He was built, and he had a nice body and he looked like he was packing. I normally didn't swipe on men who had photos in their underwear or who were half naked, but this guy was good looking and he seemed like he might be fun. I swiped right on him, and immediately a message came through. I smiled to myself, even though I did think it was kind of eager.

  Hey there, Blondie. How's it going? he typed.

  Not bad. How are you, cowboy?

  I'm just looking for a woman who likes to ride.

  I stared at his response, wondering if I should unmatch him. I was pretty confident that was a double entendre, but I wasn't going to go there. I'd give him another chance.

  Oh, so you really like horses? I typed back quickly.

  He typed back, Love me some horses. You?

  I've only been horse riding once, and it was an uneventful experience, I typed back.

  Oh? I guess you haven't been riding with the right man then, he typed back. Was it a stallion?

  I stared at his message, wondering if he was still talking about horses, or if he was comparing himself to a stallion? No, it was a regular Chestnut Mare, I typed back. I waited for his response. He didn't type anything. Instead he sent a devil face. I rolled my eyes. I was just about to unmatch with him when he sent another message.

  So, you like cowboys then?

  I've never met any cowboys before in my life, so I don't really know, I responded quickly. How long have you been in the city?

  Forty-eight hours, he responded.

  Oh, wow. You just moved here?

  No, I'm just visiting from Texas. Like I said, I'm looking for a girl who likes to ride. You down?

  So, he was looking for a vacation hookup. I shook my he
ad and exited out of the chat. Not interested, sucker. I didn't know if it was just me that was attracting these losers, or if pretty much every guy in New York City was like this, but I was getting so frustrated with dating apps.

  I was about to walk to the bathroom and run myself a hot bath when my phone beeped again. I looked down, and I saw that I had a new message. I wondered if it was from the cowboy. I was about to put it back down again when I decided to check it. If anything, I would just unmatch from the cowboy. But then I realized it was a message from a new guy. This guy reminded of the model Tyrese, but with The Rock's body. His name was Tyrone. I smiled as I stared at his photos. This man was hot. I clicked on his message to read what he said.

  Good evening, Lily. Still up?

  I responded quickly. Yeah, I was just about to run a bath though.

  Ooh, a bath. Sounds fun.

  Yeah. Sometimes I like soaking, I responded, and then groaned. I really shouldn't have brought up the fact that I was going to be in the bath, because for a lot of guys that would conjured up images of me naked, and then they'd think I was interested in having cybersex or something like that.

  I'm not really a bathtub man. Maybe I'm too big. Haha. He laughed. My body, I mean, he wrote quickly. I smiled at the fact that he had quickly corrected his mistake. He hadn't wanted me to think that he was talking about his penis being big, and I liked that.

  So, what are you up to this evening? I sent him a message so that he knew I wasn't upset at his faux pas.

  I just got back from the gym. I was probably going to a movie, have a beer, he said.