Page 28 of Love or Leave

His audacity shocked her into silence.

Did he actually think she was there to help him get into the concert? And were they… together?

Lily had told Cara she was wrong for breaking up with Cooper, but she hadn't expected her to swoop in later.

Cara swallowed down the hurt. "Are you two together?"

Cooper nodded as he slung a casual arm around Lily's shoulders.

Her anger and shock and sadness faded, leaving her with only pity for Lily and irritation at his ongoing harassment. She couldn't believe she actually cried over this guy.

"Cooper," she said, trying to stay calm, "I know your brain struggles to connect simple dots, so allow me to explain things clearly."

He stared at her with his mouth open slightly, as if not realizing she was being incredibly rude and sarcastic.

"There is no universe in which I would come here to help you and your new girlfriend get into a concert that I paid for."

Her voice had started low, but by the last word, she was yelling.

She couldn't stop.

"I stayed awake until midnight," she continued. "I refreshed three screens a billion times, and I paid an absurd amount of money to get these tickets, and then you broke my heart."

Cooper continued his slack-jawed stare while Lily made herself small behind him.

"What makes you think I would then go out of my way for you?"

When she looked away from him, she realized she'd drawn the attention from the crowd waiting in line, including the people scanning the tickets.

Then she remembered Jalen was there, somewhere.

Shit.

Scanning the crowd, she didn’t see him—thank God—but it would probably be best to stop berating Cooper on the sidewalk before Jalen caught her acting like a raving lunatic.

She turned away from Cooper and took Antonio's hand.

"Come on," Cara said, marching them to the front of the line.

The two guys at the front of the line looked a little scared as she approached. "Can I cut?" she asked. They nodded and stepped aside.

"Thank you," she said as politely as possible. She showed her QR code to the attendant and stepped inside.

As soon as she was through the doors, she wanted to leave. The music pounded so loudly it triggered an instant headache. The room was tiny and packed and she hated it, but she'd come this far. She could stick around a little longer, to at least see if she could run into Jalen.

Luckily, the opening act finished the song and announced they were done, and that the headline act would be out shortly.

Cara’s shoulders dropped in relief.

Antonio leaned in close. "You okay?"

She shook her head. "I'm mad at myself for getting so angry. Thank God Jalen wasn't around."

"That guy deserved to be yelled at," Antonio said. "No wonder Max hates him."

Cara nodded. "Still, I’d rather Jalen find out later rather than sooner that I’m a spiteful bitch who’ll yell at someone on the sidewalk.”

Antonio laughed. "I'm sure he'll love your temper." As a crowd walked past and bumped into him, he moved closer to her, andshe tried not to react to his closeness, but it was impossible. He smelled good, and he was being so nice to her. She wanted to fall against his chest and never leave.

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