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Something bitter twisted in his stomach at the sight of her with Ryan. Why had he hoped that Tori would see through his slickness and turn down his advances?
Neither had spotted him yet, and for a moment, he debated veering off through the trees to the outside path around the lake to avoid them.
Then her gaze lifted and homed in on him. Recognition flared and she stumbled a bit.
Ryan must’ve noticed because his gaze followed hers.
Yeah, he was screwed.
“Hey, little cuz!” Ryan hollered. “Thought you were still off taking the bar?”
Well, there was no avoiding it.
James stopped jogging once he reached them and drew in a breath to slow his heart rate.
“I was. I got home this afternoon and decided to do a pre-dinner run.”
“How do you think the test went this time?” Ryan asked.
“I honestly feel pretty comfortable saying I nailed it.” His mouth thinned, and without intending it, his gaze slid to Tori. “No big life distraction this time around and all.”
Her eyes narrowed and he winced. She was probably taking that personally.
Well, so what if she did? He steadfastly maintained that if she hadn’t walked into his life, it wouldn’t have gotten so fucked up.
“Good.” Ryan grinned. “Now you just need to sit in anguish for a couple of months until you find out your results.”
James grimaced. “Yeah. Just going to keep my head down and work. Try not to think about it.”
“Get yourself a girl to take your mind off things.” Ryan reached over to touch Tori on the arm. “I keep telling him he needs to get out there and date.”
Tori’s gaze lit with amusement, even as she took a discreet step to the side in what seemed to be a move to get away from Ryan’s lingering touch.
Interesting.
“And how do you feel about that, James?” Her question was innocent, with a hint of mockery. “Ready to jump back into that dating pool?”
“It’s not a top priority. And right now, there’s no one who’s really making me change my mind.”
Her lips twitched. “Really? No one?”
There it was. Without even saying it, she was dropping the reminder of their two sensual moments together.
Both of which he would rather forget.
“Well, if I’m looking for someone to hook up with and forget, I’m sure there are plenty of options out there.” He held her gaze, letting her know silently that she’d be in that category.
Though her smile remained pasted on, he could’ve sworn she almost seemed to flinch.
It was all a bluff though. Sleeping with Tori would be completely unforgettable, which was why he could never do it.
“I don’t know, cuz.” Ryan shrugged. “Might not want to knock it until you try it. You shouldn’t jump from serious to serious. You’re due for a rebound relationship.” Ryan glanced at Tori. “James is getting over a pretty bad breakup. Though maybe you heard about it, being friends with Kris and all.”
“I think I did hear something about that.” Her tone was poison, coated in saccharine. “My condolences, James.”
And there went his blood pressure. Screw this. Time to get home, order Greek food and put on the new Spider-Man movie.
“Well, I’m just wrapping up my run, so I’ll catch you two at work tomorrow?”
