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It probably had to do with all those years of having to endure her parents’ constant criticism and unconcealed disappointment towards her. Or maybe it had more to do with how boys had always compared Kady to her best friend and constantly found her lacking. Either way, it had made Kady quite insecure every time she had to face a whole class of strangers.
Or at least that had been the case…until now.
In the hundred and twenty minutes that made up her class, Kady had only been half aware of what was going on around her. The other half had simply floated away, lost in a sensual, fluttery cloud of memories of Slade—
Oh, dear.
She couldn’t even make herself complete the thought without blushing. Had that really happened, she asked herself, but not even a second had passed when she ended up answering her own question with a prayer. Please let that be true, God, please.
The Doobie Brothers was singing What A Fool Believes when Kady entered the diner, and she quickly schooled her expression into something polite and unreadable the moment she spotted Eric sitting in one of the window booths.
She was already halfway by the time he realized she had arrived, and he quickly got to his feet. Sandy-haired and boyishly handsome, he used to take her breath away with just a flash of his dimples or a playful wink of his chocolate-brown eyes.
But now that she was standing right in front of him, Kady was stunned to realize that her heart didn’t even feel the slightest bit close to breaking. There was still that tiny, scorching nudge of pain as their gazes met, but that was all.
That was all.
And judging by the flash of puzzlement in her ex-boyfriend’s eyes, Kady realized with good-natured humor that he had sensed the same thing…and was vain enough to question what he was seeing. Oh, if only he knew how his face was giving his every thought away…
Eric saw Kady’s lips curve in a smile that instantly transformed her face into something almost ethereally beautiful. Not for one moment did it occur to him that the smile might be one of amusement, and she could be finding him funny.
Instead, he saw her smile, and his confidence was instantly restored. Poor girl. Whether she admitted it or not, it was obvious she was still in love with him.
After exchanging hellos and Kady suffering an awkward hug from Eric, they sat across each other, and she politely declined his offer to buy her a drink.
“I hate to say this,” Kady told him with an apologetic smile, “but you kind of caught me at a bad time…”
Sure he did, Eric thought, not buying a single word of her excuse. Seeing him must hurt her so much that she couldn’t get away from him fast enough. “So…” He cleared his throat, vowing to himself all the while that he would do his best to break the news as gently as possible. “You’re probably wondering why I asked to meet up out of the blue.”
“Kinda.”
“You never said anything before,” he said carefully, “but I know I must’ve hurt you when you found out about Margaux and me.”
Kady stared blankly at him. “I didn’t realize I have to say a thing for you to realize seeing my ex with my best friend would hurt.”
Eric flushed. “Yeah, well…” His voice trailed off. He hadn’t expected her to twist his words in such a way, and he couldn’t help saying testily, “This conversation won’t go anywhere if we can’t be civilized.”
Her mouth opened and closed. Unbelievable.
Kady’s silence was satisfying, which Eric once again unknowingly misinterpreted as his ex-girlfriend finally returning to her senses and going back to her usual docile self.
“Anyway…” Eric’s chest puffed at the magnanimous gesture that he was about to make. “That’s why I’m here.”
Loft condescension practically oozed from his voice, and she could only feel her incredulity growing with every word Eric uttered. Had she truly once thought herself in love with this guy?
“I don’t want to make the same mistake twice and end up hurting you again.”
Because right now, she couldn’t even see one single thing about him that was marginally cute. And my God – had she really heard him right? Did this guy really think he still had the power to hurt her?
“Margaux and I are engaged.”
Kady blinked. Was that it?
She must be in shock, Eric thought. Poor Kady. He cleared his throat and reminded himself once again of his promise to break the news gently. “I know it may seem sudden and hasty, but it simply feels right.” More silence, and Eric’s remorse grew. Poor Kady.
“Congratulations,” Kady said finally, seeing that Eric seemed to expect a response from her.
“I hope you mean that.”
Kady blinked. “Of course I do.”
“Because if you don’t—”
“I just said I do,” Kady protested.
