Hmm. The guy obviously didn’t read smut. “Gare, you can’t just go trumpeting around that we’re sleeping together! That’s breach of contract.”
“No one was around. And the only one who breached the contract was you when you called me Mr. Snark.”
She opened her mouth, perplexed, but he was right. “That wasn’t…I just…”
“…you just broke the rules,” he added coolly, leaning against a shelf with his arms crossed. He didn't seem to notice that the shelf held a row of urinal cakes. God, only Gareth Clark managed not to look foolish in a suit and tie among cleaning supplies. “But you know…” he added darkly, “maybe I’ll skip the punishment if you answer my question.”
She rolled her eyes and sagged against the door behind her, creating more space between them. “No, I’m not sleeping with Simon anymore, Gare. Good heavens.”
She saw his shoulders relax ever so slightly. “When were you with him?”
“Last year, for a few months.”
“Why did you break up with him?”
“How do you know he didn’t dump me?”
“Because the guy’s obviously still half in love with you,” he pressed. “So?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“It’s simply a question.’
“One I don’t want to answer.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Why did you break up with him?”
Because he wasn’t you.
Her heart clenched, and her palms were suddenly sweating. She hadn’t said it aloud. The words hadn’t made it up her dry throat.
But they were stuck in her mind, and that alone made her adrenaline level rise and her skin suddenly feel too tight.
This wasn’t good. She knew why she hadn’t responded to Gareth’s texts over the last few days. It was because they had made her smile, and she had wanted to respond immediately. It had become too much, too quickly.
“Gareth, you hardly know why I broke up withyou. So why are you so interested in Simon?” she asked, wearily.
Gareth blinked, perplexed. “What? What are you talking about?”
Shit. She shouldn’t have said that.
“Gareth, I’ll see you at 7 p.m. Maybe we should just not talk at all tonight while we…”
“Why do you want to meet with him again, Hazel?” he asked urgently.
Because she felt incredibly guilty. Simon was the nicest guy in the world and she hadn’t even been able to give him a proper reason for breaking up with him.
He tilted his head. “Are you into that guy?”
A lump formed in her throat. Yes, she was afraid she was still into that guy. But they weren’t talking about the same guy. “Like you care.”
“Oh, but I do,” he whispered, his feet touching hers as he pushed off the shelf.
Her stomach tightened.
