Page 9 of The Ex Project
“Okay. Well. E-mail me about the next steps.” Her voice is clipped, her body language awkward as we figure out how to part ways. She shifts on her feet, bare on the fine gravel. My eyes catch on a silver toe ring wrapped around her second toe. The same one she got when we were teenagers.
She loved it. She went barefoot almost that entire summer because she said it was the only thing she wanted to wear on her feet. I bet her she couldn’t go an entire daybarefoot, so she did. And then to prove a point, she went almost the whole rest of the summer, too.
We laughed a lot that summer. I haven’t seen her laugh once today. She’s barely even cracked a smile. But that silver toe ring is still there. A small but not insignificant remnant of the girl I used to love. And it kills me a little that it’s the only remotely familiar thing about her now.
“Bye, Wren Miller.” My boots crunch on the gravel as I turn on my heel and walk back to my truck.
CHAPTER 5
HUDSON
The cool,dark atmosphere of Jack’s is a reprieve from the early summer sun, especially after I spent the morning sweating in my gear. I spot Cole and Jett at the bar top, shooting the shit with Grady as he pours some drinks for another table.
“Hope you didn’t start without me,” I say, giving Cole a friendly pat on the back as I slide myself onto the stool next to him. “Again,” I add.
“Nah, you’re paying for my beer, remember?” Cole teases. He won the boot drive by a landslide, but only by default. Had Alma Rose not taken up all my time and attention, I would have had it in the bag. But I’m not a sore loser, and fair is fair. Cole saw his opportunity and capitalized on it, I can’t fault him for that.
The idea of a cold beer after the day I had is enough to make me relax a little. I’ve been tense ever since I saw Wren in town, and spending the afternoon with her didn’t help. The way she looks at me makes my heart race and my palms sweat.
She never used to make me nervous, but seeing her today was a different experience. She had this burning intensity about her, and it was unnerving. I can’t help but shake the feeling that there’s somethingoffabout her.
Growing up, Wren never had the animosity behind her eyes that she did today. Sure, I can admit we didn’t exactly leave things off on the best of terms, but there was something else there, too. Something more than a decade-old heartbreak or lingering resentment. It was a seriousness, a hardness about her. Those dark brown eyes had no … spark. Not the way they used to. Not the way I once fell in love with.
“Alright, alright. You’re the official reigning boot drive champ,” I concede. Grady returns from dropping the drinks off and takes our order. We all get a pint of lager, and when he slides the glasses across the bar towards us, my mouth starts watering.
The bitter liquid hits my lips, and I realize how parched I am from standing outside in the heat all day. I must take a bigger gulp than normal because as I set the glass down, I realize the rest of them are staring at me.
“Tough day or …?” Grady asks, and they all wait expectantly for my answer. I guess I was a little tense, and the beer has already taken the edge off after my meeting.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I dismiss them.
It’s not worth discussing, and there’s nothing much to say—Wren and I decided we’d work together from afar, e-mailing only when necessary about this project. It’ll be easier that way, keeping things professional and saving us from being at each other’s throats.
She’ll forward me any plans or blueprints she signs off,and my team will get the work done. That’s it, that’s all. Any personal relationship I had with Wren is fixed firmly in the past. She’s no longer the fun-loving, carefree teenager I used to know, anyways. We took different paths, her and I.
“Did it have anything to do with that gorgeous brunette you couldn’t stop staring at?” Cole asks. “If you know her, give me her phone number. I need to thank her for helping me win the fundraiser.”
“If we’re gonna get technical about why you won today, it was because of Alma Rose, not Wren,” I correct him, before taking another swig of beer.
“Wait, Wren is in town?” Grady cuts back in, turning his full attention towards me now. “And you weren’t going to say anything about this? How are you feeling about it?”
“He’s probably feeling great,” Jett adds. “Now he has an excuse not to get laid like I told him to.” I do my best to ignore Jett’s comment, lingering irritation from our conversation this morning sizzling on the surface. Still, the piece of paper with a phone number on it burns in my pocket.
“Not great.” I say, ignoring Jett’s comment. “She showed up at the lot for the new arts centre in fucking heels and made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with me. She’s changed, and not for the better.”But God, she looked amazing in those heels.
Grady grimaces and makes ayikesface, as does Cole. Jett is still working this new information out in his mind.
“Back up a sec. She’s working on the arts centre? That’s your project,” he points out. “I thought you wanted to do that for Mom.”
“Yeah, that’s the idea. She’s consulting as a structural engineer, so I’m in for a whole summer of this.”
Grady and Cole cringe again.
“Good luck with that,” Cole says, and I give him a nod.
“The only luck he’ll need is for not letting himself fall for her again,” Jett mutters. But he couldn’t be more wrong. I have no interest in Wren. Not anymore.
Ruby barely liftsher head off the couch when Jett and I get home from the bar. She’s always exhausted after a day at the ranch.
