AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I—no. I haven’t really thought about him since you and I…”
He steps closer, expression angry. “Since you and I what, Kelly. Hooked up?”
“Don’t make it sound so cheap,” I say, pushing him back slightly.
“I’m not the one cheapening it, Kell. I’m the one planning picnics for us. You’re the one kissing other guys.”
I wince because he’s right—so right.
“What’s he doing here?”
Right. Colin. I shrug. “I told you. He just showed up.”
“To kiss you. And have drinks.”
“The kiss was just because of the mistletoe—”
“Yeah? How’d he do?” Mark asks, his voice cold. “He pass your test? That’s been the plan, right? Get them beneath the mistletoe, find out if they’re the fated Prince Charming?”
“Yes, but that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I didn’t ask him here. I couldn’t even find him!”
“But you tried.”
“Would you stop interrupting me!” I shove at his shoulders in pent-up frustration, although he doesn’t budge.
He runs a hand through his hair, his own frustration evident. “Fine. Just answer me this. If you could have found Colin, would you have asked him here? Found a way to see him?”
“I—I don’t know.”
Mark winces, just slightly. “And the fact that he showed up. Coincidence? Destiny?”
“There’s no such thing as coincidence,” I say, before I can think better of it.
He lets out a joyless laugh. “Right. No, of course not. The ex-boyfriend who broke your heart must be here as part of the universe’s grand plan, right?”
I rub my hands over my face in frustration that we can’t seem to get on the same page. “Look, Mark. I chased after you. I’m not ready to end this yet.”
“Why?”
The question’s brutally simple. As the answer should be…
“I think I’m in love with you.”
He goes very still, his gaze darkening with something that looks like hope before he shuts it down. Mark shakes his head. “You think.”
“Well, I mean…this is new, and—”
“It’s not new, Kelly,” he shouts. A couple of people give us startled looks, and he closes his eyes, lowering his voice. “I’ve been right here for ten years. Ten goddamn years I’ve waited for you to get over your childish assumptions that we’re not meant for each other because of our birthdays, or because your damn Magic 8 ball didn’t say ‘soulmate’ whenever you said my name, or whatever.”
Wait, what? “Mark—”
“Ten years, I’ve been right here,” he says again, his hands wrapping around my upper arms and giving me a little shake, “waiting for you to see that I’m the one for you. You want to know why Erika and I broke up? You. You weren’t with Colin anymore, and any fool could see Doug was going to be a short-term rebound. Like a fool, I thought it was time, but then you were gone again, with some other guy. Then another.”
“You were in relationships, too! Plenty of them. How was I supposed to know you…Wait, have you had feelings for me all this time?”
Instead of answering my question, he looks away, his gaze distant. Then his eyes swing back to mine. “I’m opening a restaurant in Manhattan.”
Weird timing.
