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His eyes snap from me to Andrew and then back to me. “Wha—what was that? What did you do, Luke?”
“Ah, that was nothing. He was running his mouth. Deserved it. Come on, let’s go. Let’s leave.”
He shakes his head. “I…Luke, I can’t do that.”
“Yeah, you can. Fucker deserved it, like I said.”
Elliot shakes his head.“What did he say? Tell me.”
I clench my jaw. “He was talking shit about your body.”
Elliot sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “This is just my luck.” He mutters something under his breath and then meets my stare. “I have to take care of this, Luke. I don’t want you getting arrested.”
“No one’s going to jail. They’d have to find me first.”
Elliot eyes me and then says curtly, “Luke, I’m serious. Go to the room and wait for me. We will talk about this when I get back.”
“I’m not leaving you with him.”
“Go. I don’t…I don’twantyou here. I don’tneedyou here.”
My heart sinks a little at his tone, and then I grab onto his chin and force his gaze to mine.
“Don’t let him talk to you like you’re less than. You know he’s just saying that warped, demented shit to try to hurt you. You tower above him. You fucking soar, Eli.”
Elliot swallows and blinks slowly.
“And you have me.Me. And I think you’re perfect.”
Elliot stares at me intently for a second, then wrenches his face from my grasp and turns his back on me.
“Room. Now.”
My stomach drops, and my chest constricts. “Don’t speak to me that way, Eli,” I say softly. “Not after everything.”
He looks over his shoulder at me, his eyebrows meeting, his eyes a little glassy, and nods. “Please, Luke. Go.”
I rub the back of my neck and reluctantly move away from him. He doesn’t want me here. That’s okay. He can fight his own battles. He’s strong, stronger than most probably give him credit for.
But as I enter the elevator and press the button to our floor, my chest clenches and worry gnaws at me.
Probably shouldn’t have broken Andrew’s nose.
Nah, Eli won’t like that.
* * *
ELLIOT
“What in the world were you thinking, Andrew, speaking to him like that?” I ask as I meet my ex’s watery gaze. He’s holding a bag of ice up to his bloody nose. The space around his eyes is already starting to turn purple. Part of me is hysterically pleased with this new development, and the other part is scared shitless.
Andrew is notoriously spiteful and I wouldn’t put it past him to press charges. I don’t want Luke getting in trouble because ofme.
“I thought that you had better taste. I didn’t know your new toy was feral.”
“Did you call him a toy to his face?” I ask and narrow my eyes at the man I thought I’d loved years ago. The man I’d bought a ring for, gotten down on one knee for.
The one who scoffed at my proposal.
