She flails her arms excitedly. “I swear I'm not, oh my God, but I'm flattered that you think so. I'm just genuinely curious.”
“Sarah and I are just coworkers. That's it.”
“Oh, aw. You guys have such great chemistry. I'm not saying that you guys have to get together or anything like that, like all the internet is saying, but I'm just saying I wouldn't be mad at it.”
“Of course you wouldn't, Lindsay,” I say, smiling.
She giggles again.
Damn it, this girl is giggling at every single word coming out of my mouth, and I know I’m not that damn funny.
My phone chimes.
“Is that Sarah?” she asks immediately.
This woman has zero sense of giving people space when it comes to private business. Good Lord.
“It's family,” I say, truthfully. Because to me, Gabby is still family.
“Do you have to go?”
“I do. Merry Christmas, Lindsay.”
“Have a Merry Christmas, Mr Arnoldson."
“You can call me Lincoln,” I tell her with another smile.
And there she goes, blushing again.
My stomach flutters despite myself, completely flattered that this young woman would be remotely interested in me.
Or maybe she’s just interested in the fame.
Waving goodbye to her, I begin walking towards my car.
She heads the opposite direction, still smiling, before she spins around mid-walk and does a little excited hop, staring down at her forearm where I signed my name.
I drive back to my ex-father-in-law’s place, where Gabby is still on the front porch talking to her father. Both of them are standing there under the porch light, Bruce with his hands shoved into his pockets.
Thesecondhe sees my car pull up, his whole face changes. He rolls his eyes and looks away, like the sight of me physically irritates him.
It hurts. More than I’ll ever admit out loud.
There is no world in which Bruce is ever going to like me again. And honestly, I don’t blame him. I betrayed him just as much as I betrayed Gabby. I broke his little girl’s heart. If I had a daughter, I’d probably want to beat the hell out of the man who did that to her too.
All things considered, the fact that Bruce isn’t putting a bullet between my eyes is downright gracious.
I step out of the car and give him a nod.
He doesn’t return it.
Gabby says one last thing to her father before walking toward the passenger side. She looks at me as I hold the door open for her.
“Thanks so much,” she says.
“No problem. Have a Merry Christmas, Bruce.”
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