“Ouch.” Brooks chuckles. “Guess birthdays don’t prevent the burns.”
“Hey, have you talked to Em tonight?” Cam wonders: his date disappeared ten minutes ago and never came back. I’m pretty sure she and Mollie are at the bar trying to escape hockey talk. “She told me she was coming.”
She’s coming?
“Yeah, I just got off the phone with her.” Brinley’s smug gaze falls on me. “She should be here soon.”
Something’s going on. Something I know I won’t like.
“Do you know who she’s coming with?” he continues.
My eyes go wide. She has a date tonight. She’s coming here with another guy. I guess, in all fairness, I came here with another girl, but if I could’ve brought her, I would’ve. I mean, Ember’s my girlfriend. Which we haven’t actually talked about… nor have I actually asked her.
Shit.
She might think I brought Mollie here tonight because I’m not serious about us. We never established that we’re exclusive. I assumed we were, but we never talked about it.
Ember had been scared to put her trust in another guy after what Tanner did, and now I just went and showed her that she couldn’t trust me. That I’d go behind her back and go on a ‘date’ with someone else.
“Perfect timing.” Brinley eyes the entrance.
I turn, and standing in the center of the doors is Ember. Her hair falls in waves over her shoulders. She’s definitely wearing something new… or from Brinley’s closet. I know her well enough to know she doesn’t just have a dress like that lying around. And if she has, it’s a shame she hasn’t worn it out before.
The red silk lays perfectly on her body. Hugging her in all the right places. But she still looks like herself. And even though I’m too far away to make out the look on her face, I’m sure she’s smiling.
She looks beautiful… sheisbeautiful.
Without thinking, I stand up. But then I see a hand land low on her back, and she turns toward her date. I can hear her laugh from here.
He must’ve said something funny. I hate it.
I adjust my suit and sit back down, playing it off like that’s all I was doing in the first place.
She looks toward our table, and we make brief eye contact, and that’s when I finally see the person standing behind her. Her date. And I let my mouth fall open, unable to hide my surprise.
She’s here with Zeke.
twenty-eight
Ember
It’s like I’m drawn to him the second I walk through the doors. I see him before he sees me, but the second he does, my skin feels like it’s on fire.
“Are you okay?” Zeke asks, placing a hand on my lower back.
“I don’t know,” I reply. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come. I mean, this isn’t me.”
I look down at the stunning dress Brinley not only forced me into but then forced me to buy. It’s not me… nor was this dress made for someone like me.
“Em, you look beautiful.”
“I never said I didn’t,” I tease. “Showing up here like this. Trying to make someone jealous. That’s not me. And you probably have something a lot better to be doing.”
“I’m helping out a friend.” He smiles. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“I don’t even know what Declan and I are.”
“He likes you. I can tell you that much. I don’t know why he’s here with Mollie, but I know he’d rather be with you.”
