Page 57 of Just One of the Groomsmen
The only thing he knew for sure was it wasn’t worth risking their friendship.
That thought didn’t do much to cool the jealousy that flooded him when he saw the dentist making a beeline for Addie.
If he so much as laid a hand on her, Tucker would happily remove it for him.
…
Football with shirtless boys was obviously a bad idea, especially if one of those boys was giving confusing signals. He wanted to take care of her? Why? In, like, a sisterly way, or did he…?
No. She was projecting.
Was she projecting? This would be where having more experience with dating and flirting would come in handy.
Did somebody hurt you?he’d asked, his tone conveying that he would hunt them down and make them pay, which would be quite the feat, consideringhewas the reason she’d hesitated to get too close to anyone else since he’d left.
Regardless of not meaning to, his leaving had hurt her.
She knew telling him she’d felt slightly abandoned when he moved away wouldn’t do any good now.
She understood he needed to take a high-paying job after law school, just like she understood life got busy.
Only she’d continued to call, her weekends filled with a whole lot of nothing besides work and studying, and he’d done less and less of it.
Every time she lifted her phone to see if he’d texted or returned her call, only to find a less exciting message from someone else, disappointment crept in.
Until she’dexpectedhim to ignore her.
Why, oh why were these old hurts drifting up now? Apparently once the tap opened, emotions all rushed at you at once.
Another point for shutting them down.
“Addison!”
Ugh,nowDavid wanted to talk to her? Maybe sheshouldlet Nonna set her up with a girl and see if they were less confusing and frustrating.
Maybe girls would pick up the damn phone and call.
“That game looked rough,” he said.
She shrugged. “Ah, not too bad. My clothes didn’t get torn, and I’m not even bleeding.”
Ultimately disturbedbest described his reaction, and she clamped her lips so she wouldn’t laugh at how horrified he was over an activity she used to engage in on a regular basis. “Well, I’m glad I caught you. I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner tonight? I’d give you time to clean up, of course.”
Right. Most people going on a date would care about whether or not their clothes were grass stained with a side of ground-in dirt.
But why now? Why last minute, after yet another week of radio silence?
Perhaps he wasn’t stringing her along, and maybe he had valid excuses for only calling late at night.
She thought of Tucker telling her she deserved better, and she did. Honestly, so did David.
Her feelings for him weren’t strong enough to justify dragging this out any longer, anyway.
“She’s already got plans,” Tucker said, stepping up next to her, and he was seriously testing her patience this afternoon.
She gave her overbearing friend a menacing smile with teeth. “This falls under things I can handle myself.”
He crossed his arms and, with his gaze locked on hers, took all of one step back. “I’ll just be here waiting for you so we can walk to the bar.”
