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She sits back in her chair, crossing her legs, regarding me with raised brows. “What quality? Being a liar?”
I grin. “No, beautiful. That you aren’t agoodliar.”
A grin tugs at her lips. She looks over at the bakery case. “Shit. Now they bring out the chocolate croissants.” She lets out a heavy sigh. “I love those things.”
“I’ll be right back.” Standing from my chair, I hurry from the table to the end of the line before Irelynn can say a word. Luckily, I’m the third person in line.
When I get to the cashier and order the chocolate croissant, Irelynn’s gaze bores into my back. My shoulders shake from trying to hold in my laughter. The cashier starts openly flirting with me, but I remain polite and professional, not at all interested.
I walk over to the pick-up counter, my gaze moving to Irelynn. I wink at her, grab the warm chocolate croissant, then carry it to our table. “For you, beautiful.” I put the pastry in front of her, then slide into the chair across from her.
Irelynn looks from the cashier to me, her face softening. “Max, you didn’t have to get up and get me one.”
I grin, grabbing my coffee and taking a drink. “I know I didn’t. I wanted to get it for you. Especially since they just brought them out.”
“The cashier was blatantly flirting with you when you were ordering this.” Her red manicured nail points to the pastry in front of her.
I know she was. But I wait to see where Irelynn is going with this, so I don’t say a word.
“And you weren’t impressed by it.” She gives a slow, disbelieving shake of her head, staring at me.
I take a drink, shrugging slightly. “No, I wasn’t.” I raise my brows. “Should I have been?”
She lifts a shoulder in a helpless shrug. “My ex would have been. He ate up the attention other women gave him.”
Ah. Now I see why she’s saying this.
Setting my coffee cup on the table, I reach over and grab her hand. “I’m not him, Irelynn. And your ex sounds like an asshole. If you weren’t enough for him, that’s his cross to bear, not yours.” Her eyes soften as I speak, moisture in them. “He doesn’t sound like a real man, baby. Because if he was, you would have been more than enough.” I stare at her intently, meaning every damn word I’m saying. I don’t give a fuck if the cashier would have stripped in front of me. I’m only interested in the woman sitting across from me.
She pushes her croissant and coffee to the side of the table toward the wall, then does the same with my coffee cup. I’m confused until she leans across the table, cupping my face in her hands, her lips pressing against mine. The kiss is soft and sweet, and I immediately respond to her, breathing her in, my hands wrapping around her forearms.
When she pulls back, long lashes fluttering open, her eyes resemble the melted chocolate inside her croissant. I hold her there a minute, gazing at her beautiful face.
“Thank you for what you said.” Her cheeks flush. “I’m sorry I lied about being jealous. You’re right, I was.”
“I meant every word of it. And I already know you were jealous but didn’t want to confess to it. I just don’t know why.”
She pulls away and I let her, releasing my hands from her arms.
Irelynn tucks a curl behind her ear, taking a deep breath. She leans forward in her chair, though not as close as she was a few minutes ago. Her voice is low as she looks at the coffee shop patrons surrounding us. She frowns, her brows drawing in, then clears her throat.
“I met my ex-boyfriend, Ben, in my freshmen year of college. He seemed like a nice guy, pursued me hard, but I was fearful. I’d been hurt before.” She pauses.
The look on her face cuts through my heart.She wasn’t just hurt; she was traumatized by something.My hand reaches for my coffee cup, my hand clenching around it.
Her hand goes to her necklace, sliding the pendant that hangs from it back and forth on the chain. “Ben and I dated for two and a half years, and the entire time, he craved the spotlight. And attention from other women. He kept assuring me I was the only one, but deep down, I had a lot of doubts. I would get jealous, and we’d fight about it. He’d leave and most of the time, he wouldn’t speak to me for days.” She winces, shaking her head. “I became good friends with Amber, who was in several of my classes. She and I would study together and sometimes hang out. Vanessa tolerated her but didn’t really like her.” Irelynn shakes her head. “She saw through her better than I did. Anyway, Amber, Ben, and I were in the same Sociology of Disability class and we had a group project we were working on.”
Irelynn slides her cup toward her, spinning it in her hands a couple of times. She takes a drink, then sets it on the table, shaking her head. “The three of us were working on it at my apartment and we were in my room when Vanessa called me. She was on a date, and it wasn’t going well at all. She asked me to pick her up, and of course, I agreed. Amber and Ben said they would continue working on the paper from the outline we put together. Our deadline was looming, so I was very appreciative, promising to hurry back.”
My muscles tense and my spine stiffens, knowing the worst is yet to come. I wrap my fingers around hers, giving her a gentle squeeze.
Irelynn gives me a shaky smile. “I picked Vanessa up and we headed back to our apartment. I was only gone for twenty minutes. I hurried inside, rushing back to my room, consumed with guilt for leaving them to work on the project without me.” She pauses, eyes downcast. Taking a deep breath, her head raises to mine. “I walked in on Ben fucking Amber in my bed.”
My mouth drops open and I clench my coffee cup so hard that liquid splashes on the table. “Shit, Irelynn. I’m so fucking sorry.” My muscles are taut, and I want to punch that motherfucker for hurting her. “How did you react?”
“I freaked out and dumped Ben. I told Amber I never wanted to see her skanky ass again. Ben blamed me for what he did, saying I didn’t give him enough attention and was too jealous. Obviously, Vanessa heard the commotion and when she saw Amber and Ben naked, it didn’t take her long to deduce what happened.” A smile tugs at my lips. “She gathered Ben and Amber’s clothes and threw them out of our apartment, naked. But not before she stomped to the dumpster and threw their clothes inside.”
I chuckle, picturing Vanessa doing that. “She’s a great friend to you.” I smile at Irelynn, getting my first real smile from her since she started talking about her ex.
