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“I wish, then at least I’d have a reason for my stupid behavior. What do I do, Mary?”
“Is there any chance at all that he likes you?”
I scoffed. “No way. He doesn’t think of me like that at all. I’m like the annoying little sister who gets on his nerves. The only time he talks to me is if he’s forced to, or in this instance, when he needs me to help in his evil plot to get his ex to call off the wedding.”
Mary leaned forward. “Why didn’t you just say no to helping him?”
I swallowed hard. “Well, it was more than a bribe…he actually blackmailed me the other night.”
“Did you kill someone? Because that would be the only thing I could think of that would make you do something like that, Clare!”
Groaning, I scrubbed my hands down my face. “Oh God, I’m going to go to hell.” Pointing to Mary, I added, “But in my defense, you have no idea how mean Rory can be! If she finds out I’m the one who ruined her wedding dress, and was the person responsible for her not having a video of their wedding because I caused the videographer to drop the camera and ruined the memory card, she’ll be the one killing me.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Mary tilted her head and gave me a look that made me want to squirm in my chair.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because. Just because. I actually think you’re doing this simply because you like him.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “Yes, I said I was attracted to him, but in my defense, he is hotter than hot. Like, he’s hot. Really…hot. And he makes me so angry when I see him that I can’t help but say mean things to him.”
Her brow was raised so high, I found myself wondering how she was doing that.
“Clare, it’s like when we were young. If a guy liked you and asked you to do something stupid, you did it as a way of impressing him. You helped him because you wanted to help him.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. I’m not a middle school girl with a crush on a boy.”
“Really? You already said you’re attracted to him. He treats you like an annoying little sister and that bugs you, so you annoy him more. Yeah, you’re right. Totally not a teenage girl with a crush on a boy.”
I snarled my lip at her. “Well, when you put it that way.”
“So back to the original question…why does he want to meet for lunch?”
“He left his coat in my apartment.”
Mary stood and started to pace. “He left his coat? How does someone leave their coat when it’s this cold out?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Something happened and he kind of freaked out, maybe he had second thoughts about this stupid plan of his. He couldn’t get out of my apartment fast enough. I think he felt guilty for dragging me into it all because after he brought up the blackmail, every time he looked at me after that, he acted weirder.”
She turned slowly and just watched me. “Really?”
Staring at her, I said, “Are you trying to go all psychiatrist on this guy?”
“First of all, I’m not a psychiatrist, I’m a therapist who specializes in injured athletes. And I have a theory.”
I leaned back in my chair. “This is going to be gold.”
She waved me off. “You said he rushed out of your apartment. Did anything happen between the two of you?”
A small chuckle slipped free. “As in physically? God, no. I told you, he doesn’t like being around me. We argue more than we talk.”
A slow smile appeared on her face. “Right. Okay, this is good. Meet him for lunch and give him the coat.”
“Oookay. Why are you smiling like you know something I don’t know?”
With a wink, she replied, “That’s because I do know something.”
She turned and started for my office door. Turning back before she left, she said, “Oh, and unbutton that blouse just one more button before you walk into the restaurant.”
