Page 103 of Love or Leave

She would likely win the hand if she stayed in—and she'd love to beat him—but she hated that she was allowing herself to get sucked back in by him.

It had to stop.

"Fold," she said, tossing aside her hand. "I'mnotstill in this."

Antonio's face dropped at the phrase she threw back at him.

"You win," the dealer said, looking at Antonio, added "somehow” under his breath.

Cara gathered her chips and stood.

"Cara," Antonio said, his voice laced with urgency. "I don't want you to go—"

She gave a slight shake of her head, avoiding his eyes, but she was spared from answering. Before he could finish what he was saying, the table erupted.

Hoodie and Grisled leapt out of their chairs, hurling accusations of cheating. Biker sat still, fists on the table, threatening to kill everyone.

She decided she was better off walking away entirely—much like she'd emotionally done with Antonio. He was a bad hand that required more risk than she could afford to take.

Hopefully, he got the message.

thirty-two

Antonio arrived at the observatory, parked, and hopped out of his car. He zipped up his coat as he walked toward the front doors.

It was a cold, clear night, and the sky was brilliantly dotted with countless twinkling stars. He pulled open the door to the round room and spotted Cara immediately.

She was standing in the middle of the room beside a gigantic telescope. In front of her were rows of folding chairs, filled with people waiting for her lecture to start.

She looked beautiful, rosy. He hoped she wouldn't tell him to fuck off and go away. It was a risk, showing up, given her reaction to him at their poker game.

He knew the exact moment she saw him—she paused mid-sentence with the older woman in the front row, locked eyes with him for a split second, then let the pleasant expression slip from her face and rolled her big brown eyes at him.

He fought off the wave of sadness that came with knowing the woman he loved now hated him. All he could do was hope hecould find a way to get them back to where they once were, and the only way to do that was to remind her how good they were together and hope she'd give him another chance.

He stood back at the edge of the crowd and waited, unsure what to expect. Would she march over and tell him to get lost? Call the police?

Nope.

She tossed her hair away from him and continued her conversation, ignoring him entirely.

He fucking hated the silent treatment.

He sat down in the third row and waited. The minutes ticked by slowly before she finally turned and addressed the crowd.

"We're ready to begin," she said. "Tonight, we're going to talk about the event horizon of black holes and look at the closest one to Earth, Gaia BH1."

Before she could say anything else, the older woman in the front row shot her hand up in the air. She didn't wait to be called on to speak.

"You forgot to introduce our new members," she said. "We always begin by introducing our new members."

Antonio unleashed a wide smile and suppressed a laugh.

There was no way she forgot. She just didn't want to address him.

"We have a lot to get to tonight, so I—"

"It'll only take a moment," the woman said. She stood and faced the crowd, putting Cara behind her.

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