He smiled. “Ah, the seductive farm girl.”
I stiffened. “She’s changed.”I’ve changed.
“I’m sure you’ll do her justice,” Gray said. He might as well have patted me on the head.
I reached for my wine. “Oscar Diggs says I did a good job with her.”
“Of course he did.” Gray mirrored my action, his eyes bright over the rim of his glass. “You two seemed very friendly the other night.”
“I’m in his seminar.”
“Smart of you to find someone to take you under his wing, so to speak.”
Warmth swept up my neck to my ears. “It’s not like that.”
“Darling, I wasn’t suggesting you’re sleeping with him. He’s a bit old, even for you.”
My hand tightened on my glass.
“I’d simply hate to see you lose your voice,” Gray continued as the server set his appetizer on the table. “You don’t want to find yourself writing children’s books.”
I was furious. With him. With myself. “Better than trolling reader events to pick up fresh... ideas.”
His eyes laughed. “Oh, brava. I suppose the genre could be a good match for you, after all. It doesn’t require the same, shall we say, sophistication? Go ahead and bring the salmon,” he instructed the server. “I have to be somewhere at seven.”
“Where are you going?” I asked after the server left.
Gray’s long fingers squeezed lemon over the oysters nestled in ice. “You’re not jealous?”
“No.”
“I have a little reading at Chapters. There’s been so much publicity around the movie... Well, you know how these things go. My publisher insisted.”
He hadn’t come to Dublin to seeme. He was on tour to promote his fucking book.
“You should come,” Gray said.
Heat moved through my veins like alcohol. “You’re kidding, right?”
He gave me a half grin. “It will be like old times.”
That’s what I was afraid of. “You mean, when you blindsided and humiliated me in front of your fans and the entire English department?”
“I hope you know I never meant to embarrass you like that.”
“Is that an apology?”
His eyes flickered. “Darling, you can’t expect flowers and promises. I thought you’d be flattered. After all, you were my muse.”
“I was your girlfriend. And you...” I choked. “You betrayed me. You lied to me. You lied about me.”
Other diners glanced our way.
“Lower your voice, for God’s sake. You’re making a scene.”
Fight your dragons. “Go to hell.”
Gray sighed. “I can see you’re upset. If the signing makes you uncomfortable, then of course you should stay here.” He slid his wallet from his pocket.
