It was only after shopping that things started going downhill. We grabbed lunch in Chinatown, but King was on his phone the whole time. I brushed it off as him being busy with work, but things did not improve when we got back in the car. He responded to my attempts to start a conversation with terse answers until I finally gave up. We sat in silence, the sick feeling in my chest growing with every mile.
Did he regret what we did? After how vulnerable he’d been last night, sharing about his family, I’d deluded myself into thinking he might want more from me than just sex.
He put the car in park.
“I had a good time, Lucy.”
Lucy. No longer baby or princess.
I nodded. “Me, too.”
Here it came.
“I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be in town, and I’ll be busy with this real estate sale…”
He trailed off and I swallowed the hard lump in my throat at the obvious rejection. This was fine. I could be a cool, casual omega. New year, new me and all that. Maybe twenty-nine would be the year of attachment-free hot sex. Wasn’t that what your twenties were for, anyway?
I pasted on a smile. “I’m glad we met and that I could help you with the event.” I pulled the door handle. “Maybe I’ll see you around before you go.”Oh god, did that sound desperate?“You know, because it’s a small town,” I added quickly. “Thanks for helping with my fabric errands.” I pushed the car door open.
To my dismay, King got out and popped the trunk. Duh. My bags. I went to take them, but he scowled. “I’ve got them.”
I held my front door open, and he set the armload of bags inside. I’d just had the best fucking sex of my life. I should be orgasm-drunk and happy, but I was on the verge of tears. How did other people do one-night stands?
Not everyone gets as attached and needy as you do.
Right. That.
He hesitated and my chest filled with a burst of hope. Had he changed his mind? My cheeks heated when I realized no, I was justblocking the exit.
I scooted aside with an awkward laugh. “Give me a call if you need me to bid at another auction.”
Unlikely. Mainly because I realized we hadn’t exchanged numbers, but also because I was sure women were constantly throwing themselves at him in New York.
His eyebrows knitted together. “Lucy…”
“Oh, wait. Do you have my phone?” I’d given it to him before the gala and had completely forgotten about it.
“Shit. It must be in one of the tux pockets.”
Our first stop of the day had been to purchase him an outfit at thehotel gift shop, which meant he was currently a walking advertisement for the Boston Red Sox between the branded sweatpants, sweatshirt, and baseball cap.
He’d grumbled about the outfit until I’d told him he looked hot.
I followed him outside as he grabbed the garment bag. Luckily, Main Street was uncharacteristically empty, so I didn’t have an audience for my heartbreak.
King fished my phone out from the inside pocket of the tux jacket. “Sorry about that.”
My phone was dead, which was not shocking since my battery lasted for all of five minutes. I was sure I had a flood of messages in the group chat demanding updates, not that I had any to give besides:
Lucy: 0
Heartbreak: 2
He returned the garment bag to the trunk.
“If you want to wear the tux again, I could do a more thorough tailoring job. Although, I’m sure you have lots of custom tuxes in New York. And tailors. I could always mail it to you if you don’t want to come back here.”Oh my god. Where’s an anvil falling from the sky when you need one? Did anvils even exist anymore?
“Oh, uh, I’ll let you know about the tux.”
