Page 53 of What Are the Chances
Grace was grinning like I was Nicholas Sparks reciting his newest novel. Plot twist – the inevitable third-act breakup was coming.
“The good times were good. Like,reallygood.” My cheeks warmed in memory. “But we started spending less and less time together when hockey ramped up. Then this big draft party was being thrown for him and Levi and I didn’t show, so then...” I trailed off to realign my train of thought. “He thinks I pulled away because he was going to get drafted. But that wasn’t it.”
Grace’s lunch was entirely forgotten. Mine was too.
I hadn’t taken this full trip down memory lane in a long time. I’d allowed the fact that Will had cheated to evade all the other details that had led to our breakup. But there was more to it than that.
More than evenheknew.
“What was it then?” Grace prompted.
“My mum got sick.”
And by that point, I’d realised hockey would always come first to Will. As someone who’d always come second to my dad’s sporting career, it wasn’t something I was willing to commit my life to.
“Was your mum okay?”
I shook my head. “She died that summer.”
“Oh, Riley.” Empathy clouded Grace’s soft features. “As a fellow member of the dead parents’ club, that sucks.”
I snickered. “Dead parents’ club? That sounds sad as hell. My dad’s still alive, but we’ve never been close.”
“That’s a bummer.” Grace absentmindedly stirred her soup. “Does Will know about your mum?”
“No. I, ugh, kind of caught him cheating on me before I had a chance to tell him.”
Grace’s jaw dropped dramatically. “He cheated on you? What a bloody wanker. I’m going to kick his ass.”
Laughing, I ripped off a piece of my bagel. Grace was barely half Will’s size. I’d love to see her try.
“And you really hadn’t spoken to him again until I brought him into your office?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Hence the awkwardness.”
“Are things still awkward?”
“Sometimes.”
But for entirely different reasons.I didn’t need to add the second part for Grace to pick up on the unspoken message. A flush crept up my neck that I couldn’t hide.
“It was a one-time, well, a one-and-a-half-time thing,” I hurriedly clarified.
Grace smiled coyly. “Uh-huh.”
“And not happening again.”
“That’s a shame. If you were dating Will, you and I could have some fun.”
I agreed. It was a pity she hadn’t been dating Levi when Will and I were together. I liked Grace Hughes, and I could easily see why the renown Levi Holloway had given up his bachelor status for her.
CHAPTER THIRTY
We’d just broken Holloway
WILL
Grace was sitting at the island, sipping a smoothie while highlighting something in her textbook.
