Page 58 of How to Ruin Your Ex's Wedding
“It’s fine.” She sighs. “It’s not your fault. It’s just one of those weird things.”
“Actually, part of it is my fault,” I say.
She looks up at me. “Ohmigod, you’re right. You lied, you jerk!” She pokes me in the chest with her fingernail. I back up as she moves forward. “An alias? Seriously? Who does that? I can’t believe you!” She continues to poke at me with each sentence, until finally I grab her finger to stop her.
“Okay, I get it. No need to continue bruising me. I’m a delicate flower.”
“Delicate flower, my ass,” she mutters.
“Hey,” I say, really wanting to know. “You going to be okay with all this? Him and stuff?”
“Oh yeah,” she says with a wave of her hand. “It will be fine. He’s upset. I get it. But nothing happened, other than us getting stuck in an elevator.”
“And me lying about my identity,” I add.
“Yeah, but that’s really something more for me to be upset about, not him.”
I nod. “Did you still want to take a look around before leaving?” I don’t know why I’m asking, it’s not like I own the joint or have any control over her schedule.
She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. I’m probably just going to go.” She sounds subdued. I hope she’s being honest with me when she says it will all be okay.
We make our way back to the parking lot in comfortable silence.
She turns when she reaches her car. “Thanks for standing up for me back there.”
“Of course,” I say. “I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, that wouldn’t be fair.”
“True.”
I nod in agreement. She opens her car door and tosses her purse in.
I don’t want her to leave.
“Yeah. Um, hey, you wanna go grab a drink or something?” I ask.
Her lips curve slightly. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Do you?”
“Eh, probably not. Never hurts to ask.” I throw a half-smile in her direction.
“See you around, Pax.” She gets in her car and shuts the door. I stand there next to my Jeep and watch her until she’s out of the parking lot completely. Then I give it another two minutes before I get in my car to leave. The last thing I need is for the two of us to be next to each other again, whether in traffic, in line, or on the ferry. I’ll wait hours for the next one if I have to.
* * *
“So you told him I would go to the wedding?” Gregor confirms.
“Yeah, G. I had to, man.”
I met Gregor at one of his pubs after leaving the Cascadian House. One, because I had to tell him he’s going to the wedding. And two, because I had to tell him Matthew Hanhauser had been found out. Lucky for me all this shit in my life is going down in the offseason and he’s more available than he would be ordinarily.
“You couldn’t just offer a custom jersey or a signed ball? Something easy?”
“Nah. Offering up you was the only thing that was going to save Tabby at that point. Dimplecock was pissed. And, to be honest, I’m still not real sure why.”
“To save Tabby, huh?” He grins. “Not to save you from a jealous fiancé?”
“Pfftt. No. That guy has no upper arm strength whatsoever. He came in for a punch, and I grabbed him by the wrist and had him twisted with his arm up behind his back before he could even follow through on the hit.”
Gregor chuckles. “I love that he was going to hit you. That shit is funny.”
