“Stop gawking, you fucking creep.” I smack him on the back of his head.
“Brother, any man with eyes would gawk at her. She gets hotter every time I see her.”
“If you don’t stop, you’ll be a man without eyes.” I put out my cigarette on the brick building and go inside. If I have to pretend not to want her all night, I’m going to need a drink.
Or ten.
I weave through the crowd as loud rock music blares overhead. At the bar, I order a beerand find my spot for the night. If I don’t put myself in timeout, I’m going to drag her upstairs like a caveman.
“Hey, stud.”
I spin around to find Lily standing behind me in a green dress that ties at the back of her neck. Pulling her in for a hug, I say, “Lil.”
“I hate to break it to you, but I think you fumbled that one.” She nods toward the door just as Ash strolls in.
You have no fucking clue.
She gets a smart-ass grin on her face, and I know I’m not going to like what comes out of her mouth. “You know, it really is a shame you wouldn’t share her back then.”
“Lily,” I warn.
She cackles. “Does she know?”
“What?” I grumble, turning back to my beer just before bringing it to my lips.
Sliding onto the barstool beside me, she flips her hair over her shoulder. “That you’re still in love with her, you doofus!”
Closing my eyes, I let out a long exhale. It’s almost as if Lily doesn’t know when to shut the hell up. “How did you become the world’s most annoying human? Was there like an application process or…”
The whole time we’re talking, I can practically feel Ash moving around the room behind me. Like I’m just painfully aware of where she is at all times.
“Ha ha. Listen, you can act like you don’t care all you want, but you’re just as in love with her as the day she left. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
And this might be the first time Lily’s voice of wisdom has ever been wrong. I’m more in love with her than I’ve ever been. And it’s eating me alive.
42
ASH
OCTOBER PRESENT DAY
Ihave no right to be jealous. He’s not mine. Hasn’t been in a long time, but the sight of that damn redhead with her hands on him makes me want to scream. She has her arm slung around his shoulders at the bar. It’s fucking annoying. Like,God, it’s been six years. Let it go.
You have a lot of room to talk, Ashton.
She’s literally never done anything to me, but I can’t help it; I hate her.
And the worst part is, there will probably be other Lily’s, and I’m going to have to watch them because we have a child together.
Now that he’s present in Maggie’s life, I can no longer pretend he doesn’t exist. I have to see him. I have to watch as he pulls up in front of my house on that goddamn bike and takes off his helmet, shaking out his hair. I have to watch as he smiles at our daughter like she’s the stars and the moon and the whole galaxy. And I may have to watch as he builds a life with someone else one day.
I tip my drink and take a hefty sip.
“Easy, killer. I didn’t wear the right shoes to carry you out of here,” Jess says from the chair beside me.
I roll my eyes.
Her nose scrunches. “You know, green is not your color. Let’s go dance.”
