Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Something deeper.
My smile faded, and I took a step back. My legs were shaky, and my heart pounded so loud that my words sounded muffled as they left my lips. “This was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened.”
Her smile disappeared immediately, and she pushed off the arm of the sofa, standing straight with a glare fixed on me. “Right. A mistake.” She frowned, tugging her leggings back into place, hiding all her sweet parts from view. “Asshole.” Venom laced her words, but her blue eyes were watery with unshed tears, her bottom lip quivering. Without another word, she slipped on her sweater, shoved the bra into her pocket, snatched her coat off the floor, and stormed out of the farmhouse.
She was right; I was an asshole, but I was something else too. Something worse than a callous bastard who would say that to the most beautiful, most responsive, most incredible woman I’d ever been inside.
I was a fucking coward.
Chapter 9
Torey
“Hey, where’s your other half?” Jane Moon stood in front of me, her smile bright but her eyes gleaming with barely concealed hunger for gossip.
“On his way,” I lied smoothly. “He had a few errands to run before the first event.” I wasn’t sure if that was true or not. I wasn’t even sure Ryan would show up for the First Annual Holiday Grove Couples’ Trivia Challenge, as the mayor had started calling it. I hadn’t spoken to him since I fled the farmhouse, the memory of what we’d done still clinging to me like a second skin.
A mistake. The regret hit me before the afterglow had even faded, leaving me feeling used—like nothing more than a convenient outlet for his desire. No man had ever made me feel so good—not ever—and then so worthless in the span of a heartbeat. It was a skill, that much was certain.
“Just know that if he doesn’t show up, I have just the replacement partner for you.”
My smile was polite, though Jane’s blatant but well-meaning disrespect grated. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” The trivia started in fifteen minutes, and I hadn’t called to remind Ryan, hadn’t checked to make sure we knew enough about each other to pull it off. I couldn’t.
Stupid.
Rejected.
The words looped in my mind, each one cutting deeper than the last.
So I stood beside the chairs set up on a small stage in the park, pretending nothing was wrong. The single-digit temperatures bit at my cheeks, but I didn’t flinch. Nothing is wrong, I told myself. Ryan was right—it was a mistake. But not for the reasons he thought.
I liked him. Damn it, I liked him. And he was leaving. This was exactly why I avoided relationships. Too much uncertainty. Too much drama.
Too much pain.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. Parking’s a nightmare.” Ryan stepped onto the stage, his stiff smile still potent enough to charm the socks off anyone with a pulse.
“No problem. We still have time before it starts.” My voice was cool, distant.
“I tried to call you so we could get together. You didn’t call me back.”
I’d ignored his calls and deleted his messages without listening to them. “We’ll be fine, I’m sure.”
“Torey,” he began, his tone dipping into that universally recognized prelude to bad news. Or worse—the dreaded it’s not you, it’s me talk.
No thanks on both counts. “It’s all good. When we lose, people won’t be surprised when we break up. I’ll be right back.” I left the stage and rushed across the park to the public restrooms before I started crying in front of half the town. It’s okay, I told myself. This only hurts because rejection sucks. Nothing else.
I splashed my face with cold water, glued on my fake happy smile, and made my way back to the stage just as Mayor Stevens took her place to start the show.
“You okay?” Ryan looked at me like he actually cared, and I had to look away before I believed the lie.
“Fine. Let’s do this!” My words were a little too bright, but he didn’t know me well enough to catch the fake cheer. I was determined to keep my distance—other than for show. As long as the town believed we were a couple, we were good.
“This is an easy one.” Mayor Stevens beamed. “When is your partner’s birthday?”
Ryan and I both held up our dry erase boards, but I didn’t bother looking at his answer. There was no reason he should know my birthday.
“Two points for each team!”
I blinked, shocked, and turned to Ryan’s smiling face. “Surprised?”
Hell yeah, I was, but he didn’t need to know that.
“What’s his favorite sandwich?” the mayor asked in her best game show voice.
That was an easy one, and I answered quickly.
“Another point for Ryan and Torey!” Mayor Stevens’ excitement was palpable. “Billy and Jeanie are just three points ahead. You two better catch up!”