Page 95 of Good Girl's Guide to Love
I shoot him a look, and I can’t hide the shock on my face. “You know?”
“Of course I know,” he says. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
I let out a breath. “I assumed you didn’t. You never said anything.”
“I know when to keep my mouth shut,” he says. “I realized pretty quickly at karaoke that it was a swing in and save the girl moment. Which, maybe I should’ve done it. Maybe Ainsley could be my girl right now.”
I grip the steering wheel tighter and don’t care about keeping my eyes on the road so I can shoot daggers his way. “Back the fuck off, Gallagher.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “I’d never now, man. That’s your girl. I saw the way you were looking at her after the last home game. How you made sure to FaceTime her before we got on the plane to come home yesterday. You might still think this is just for show, but newsflash, my tall, pass-catching friend, you’re done for. It’s time to accept your fate.”
“I’m not done for,” I argue as I make the easy drive from our facility to the Mexican restaurant. “Ainsley and I know where each other stand. Everything you’re seeing is part of the act.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” Maddox says as I pull into the restaurant. “I’ll go get the food. You think about it. And whenI come back out, maybe you’ll realize you’re in deeper than you realize.”
Maddox jumps out of my car, but what he doesn’t know is that I don’t need a moment. I know exactly what I am.
Fucked. That’s what I am.
Ainsley is perfect in every way.
Hell, I think I started falling for her the second she ran into me.
But that doesn’t change who I am. And maybe, if things were going good, I’d be able to think that I’m not who I was. But then there are articles like today that remind me that the guy I was is never far away.
That’s who I am. Who I’ll always be.
And that man isn’t good enough for Ainsley.
So I’m going to take what I can get. Keep being the “boyfriend” and the selfish bastard who holds her as she comes apart in my arms. All while knowing that the only woman I’d ever let in is the one woman I have to keep out.
“Oh shit,” Maddox says as he climbs back in. “You really are done for, aren’t you?”
I nod, because there’s no use denying it. “So fucking screwed my man. So fucking screwed.”
guide to love rule #76
Sometimes you need to put your foot down to make your point heard. And sometimes you have to cuss a little.
28
ainsley
Mia
You okay? Though in this article’s defense, I don’t know the answer, and I thought I did.
Ainsley
Yes. And you and me both…
I’m working until 8 tonight. Want me to come over?
Thanks. I’m good. Linc’s finishing up practice then coming over.
Good. Text me if you need anything.
Will do
