AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I tried to turn my attention back to Lynnette, but all I could do was compare her with Marigold. Damn it, that always happened. Marigold was the standard. Whether I wanted to or not, I compared every woman to her.
And they all fell short.
Lynnette and Julia were hot. But Marigold? She was gorgeous. Her long brown hair fell around her shoulders and her flawless skin seemed to glow in the dim light of the bar. She wore a long-sleeved shirt—hard to tell what color from where I was sitting—with jeans and heels. Casual for her, but she looked great.
She always looked great.
“Who’s she?” Lynnette asked.
I tore my eyes away. “Who?”
“The girl you’re staring at.”
“I’m not staring.”
“You were. Let me guess. Ex-girlfriend?”
I scoffed, hoping I could blow this off. “No. I don’t even know her.”
Lynnette raised her eyebrows, clearly seeing through my bullshit. “Now that’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”
“Fine, she’s friends with my sister.”
Julia leaned closer, her eyes brightening, as if somehow that information made the situation more interesting. “Really? Like childhood friends?”
“Yeah.”
“How long have you had a crush on her?”
I chuckled. “I don’t have a crush on my sister’s best friend.”
Lynnette’s expression had changed, too. Her posture was open and her gaze flicked between me and Marigold. “Why? Did your sister insist you not date her friends or something?”
My brow furrowed. “No. If my sister had told me not to date her, I would have just because she told me not to.”
Lynnette laughed. She had a cute smile, but it lacked Marigold’s radiance.
I was doing it again.
“I’m so invested in this,” Julia said.
“I know, right?” Lynnette glanced at Marigold again. “Does she know you like her?”
“No. What? I don’t.” This was going downhill fast.
“I bet she doesn’t know,” Julia said to Lynnette as if I wasn’t there. “Do you think she’s married to someone else?”
Lynnette shifted in her seat. “I don’t see a ring.”
“She’s not,” I grumbled.
“Oh good, then you still have a chance,” Lynnette said.
I shook my head, then took a drink of my beer. Not that I’d ever admit I wanted one, but I didn’t have a chance with Marigold. I’d blown it with her a long time ago. Now I moved between aggressively ignoring her and pretending I didn’t like her. It was stupid, really. And not a great way to live. Especially in a small town where we couldn’t avoid each other.
Marigold went to the bar to order and I looked away so they wouldn’t catch me staring at her again.
Pink. Her shirt was pink.
