Good. He’s noticing.
“Just trying to feed my woman.”
His nostrils flared, then a smirk tugged at his lips. “Enjoy her while you can. We’re getting married soon. And once we do, she won’t be talking to you.”
I left my cart behind and took a step closer, towering over him. “If you think she’s going to?—”
“I know she will,” he interrupted, his voice dripping with arrogance. “Franny and I are meant to be together.”
Franny? That wasn’t her name. I growled, the sound low in my throat, stepping even closer. My chest brushed against his as the surrounding crowd shifted uncomfortably. A few people stared; others hurried away, unwilling to get involved. All I saw was the smug bastard who needed a wake-up call.
“Go ahead,” he said, his voice a low threat. “Ask her why she’s going to marry me. Go on. Just ask her.”
He turned to walk away, but before I could stop myself, I grabbed his shoulder, spun him back around, and my fist collided with his jaw. He hit the floor hard, the sound of his fall echoing in the empty aisle.
“You leave her the fuck alone.”
He laughed, the asshole.
We were alone now, but I knew security wouldn’t be far behind. Cameras, probably everywhere, recording every second. I stood over him for a moment, straightened the collar of my sky-blue shirt—the shirt I’d worn for Frankie—and turned away.
“She’ll never be yours,” he spat from the ground.
I stopped, a twinge of something almost pitying for him flickering inside me. He’d lost Frankie—my favorite person. He’d never get to hear her laugh in that way that made the whole room pause, never feel the heat of her sexy-as-hell anger, or see her sigh softly into someone’s chest when she felt safe.
“She already is,” I muttered under my breath.
Without another word, I walked away, not bothering to gather the rest of the groceries I needed. Takeout would do for tonight. I needed answers.
Why did Travis think she’d still marry him?
And was she still in contact with him?
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
FRANKIE
These days, I tried to ignore my phone, with a few exceptions. Griff had his own ringtone, so I always knew to answer for my boss. Sullivan and Shai did too.
And they weren’t the only ones.
When the chiming sound I’d assigned to Teddy went off, my lips curved into a smile. He had that effect on me. What was happening to me? There had been a time when the only emotion he brought out of me was exasperation.
Now… still exasperation, but also more. I couldn’t hide it from myself anymore. Maybe there was a reason failure had been all I felt after ending things with Travis. Sure, I was crushed, but mostly because I’d wasted all that time and had nothing to show for it. I didn’t miss him—not for a single day.
Yet, when I wasn’t with Teddy… Yeah, it was different.
I had been staring at the completed puzzle on my coffee table, trying to be angry that he’d stolen the satisfaction of putting the last piece in place, the relief of seeing that no pieces had been misplaced. But all that was forgotten when I looked at my phone.
Teddy: I’m outside. Can you unlock the door?
He had an aversion to doorbells, but so did the rest of our generation. Doorbells, phone calls, anything that kicked up the dust of our anxiety.
I slipped my feet into my slippers and got up. When I opened the door, Teddy was sitting on the bench right outside it. He’d promised to make me dinner tonight, and while I’d been a little scared—or a lot—I’d also looked forward to it. He’d been so earnest when he asked, like he was inviting me on a first date. We sort of skipped that step. The dating. The wooing. But here I was, wooed.
But there were no grocery bags dangling from his hands, and the look he gave me said there would definitely be no easy laughter, no dancing in the kitchen—not that I would’ve said yes to that.
“Is everything okay?”
