Page 69 of Craving Francesca

I knew who that was. Well, I didn’t know her, but I’d seen her before. It was the same woman I’d seen him with the morning after we’d hooked up.

Gray reached her, and his hand immediately landed on her hip. She was talking and smiling. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

I didn’t want to see it, but I couldn’t look away even as my heart pounded. They looked good together. He was all rough looking, and she was polished to a shine, his perfect opposite. In heels, the top of her blonde head reached just under his chin.

She reached up and swiped at his bottom lip with her thumb.

He grinned, and I dropped my keys. They fell to the pavement with a crash, and I dropped down out of sight with a curse, scrambling to pick them up so I could get the hell out of there. All I needed after the day I’d had was for Gray to realize I’d been spying on him and his girlfriend.

Slowly enough that it wouldn’t look like I was racing away, but quick enough that he hopefully never realized I was there, I pulled out of my parking spot and got the fuck out of there.

My stomach was in knots as I drove home. It wasn’t like me and Gray were even seeing each other. We were friends, and he’d helped me out when I was in a tight spot. He’d made it pretty clear in all of our interactions that a hookup wouldn’t be repeated. My guts twisted.

Not that I’d want a repeat if he had a girlfriend—and if that woman wasn’t his girlfriend, then I didn’t know what their relationship was about because they were clearly very comfortable with each other, and it wasnotplatonic.

It wasn’t any of my business. I hadn’t heard from him, and that wasfine. We were cool. Everything was totally cool. There wasn’t anyreasonfor my feelings to be hurt or for it to feel like I’d just been socked in the stomach. It wasn’t rational that seeing him with someone bothered me.

I puzzled over it as I drove.

I knew I could only control my emotions to a certain degree. That was life. Sometimes you were hurt by something that seemed inconsequential. Sometimes you were angry about something that was too small to worry about. Sometimes the tiniest thing made you giddy with joy. It was just part of being alive. What I didn’t like was not being able to pinpoint where the feeling was coming from.

I knew Gray saw other people. Of course he did. He was an adult male. Besides that,Isaw other people, or I had before the whole Scott debacle. It shouldn’t have mattered that I’d seen Gray with the blonde woman.

It wasn’t until I’d parked that I realized why I was so bothered, and when it hit me, I smacked my forehead against the steering wheel in frustration.

I’d ridiculously thought that grin wasmine. I’d only seen it when we were alone together. He didn’t smile like that when we were in a group. He rarely smiled at all, but never like that.

Stupid. I was so stupid.

I’d hoarded that grin. Daydreamed about it. Imagined that it meant something, like a little secret between us. How delusional could I get, for fuck’s sake?

That was hisI’m getting somesmile. Every woman he’d ever been with had gotten that same smile.

“Stop smacking your face,” a voice called from outside my window.

“I wasn’t smacking my face,” I argued, swinging my door open. “I was lamenting how dumb I am.”

“Not true,” Myla said, reaching in the back seat to grab the grocery bags. “But what did you do?”

“Thought something meant more than it does,” I grumbled, grabbing my coffee mug and bag from work.

“What?” She closed the back door with her hip.

“Not worth explaining,” I said, locking the doors. “Do you know who’s coming tonight?”

“Just us, and Brody I think.”

“No Bas?” That was surprising.

“I think he had something else going on.”

“And he didn’t cancel when Lou decided out of nowhere that she needed a barbecue?”

“Shocking, right?” Myla said over her shoulder as we let ourselves inside.

“Louise, I’m home,” I called out. “Where are my slippers and scotch?”

“In here, dear,” she called back from the kitchen.

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