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“Well, we’ll say bye before we leave,” he promises.
He drops another quick kiss on his mother’s cheek, grinds his teeth at Troy, then he turns me toward the throngs of tables and guests and servers crowding the room.
“Bye, Nadia. Bye!” I hear Noelle calling after me.
Laughing, I wave back. I like that lady.
As we move through the crowd, I spot Sera and Jace with Katrina and Knox at a table across the room. I blow a kiss and my friends, and they wave frenetically, their eyes bouncing from me to the handsome man at my side and back again.
But Harry keeps marching us along until we find our assigned seats. I read the other names at our table—a kind, elderly exec from one of Liam’s companies, his wife, and a few other business owners in the area—all decent people. I start to sigh with relief.
But then a familiar voice nearby has me choking on my own breath.
Luke.
Luke and his perfect Barbie girlfriend are seated at the table right next to ours. I groan inwardly. My gosh. Why is my luck so, so shitty sometimes?
I take a few steps closer to my assigned seat and every step feels like walking on thumbtacks.
“Hello, Luke,” I say stiffly, faking a smile.
I could have—shouldhave—ignored the man entirely, but I’m doing my best to be mature about this instead of stooping to Luke’s level. Although it’s so, so tempting. Why is doing the right thing so freaking hard?
“Nadia,” Luke breathes in a schmoozy voice that grates on me like pointy acrylic nails on a chalkboard.
Good grief. Did healwayssound like that? I resist the urge to wipe the creepy crawly feeling off my bare arms.
I shift awkwardly, ready to hightail it over to my table. But then Luke holds his hand up. With a nauseating smirk, he introduces me to his new girlfriend. “Nadia, this is myBambi.”
Bambi? Are you kidding me?
“It’s Alabama, actually,” the woman tells me in an adorable Southern accent, her teeth gleaming like freshly-polished fine china. “But my Lukey is so affectionate. I love it when he calls me his Bambi.”
Lukey? Affectionate? Really?I definitely didn’t become acquainted with any ofthatwhen Luke and I were together.
“That’s, um…sweet.” I reach out to shake her hand, but she does a weird little curtsy instead. And that’s adorable, too.
What the fuck?
In fact, everything about her is adorable. It’s annoying.
Here to save me from dying of awkwardness, Harry steps forward. “I’m Harry Westbrook, Nadia’slover.” He winks at me and gives Luke’s hand a strong, confident shake.
Never mind. Still dying of awkwardness.
Bambi’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree when Harry says his name. She immediately steps up to his opposite side, squeezing his bicep. And not just once. She squeezes his arm all over and over, to the point of groping my date. “Oh, I should have known it was you. I’m a big football fan. Wide receiver. That’s my favoriteposition,” she says, batting her eyes up at Harry.
With a fake grin, he steps back, closer to my side. “Me, personally, I like whatever position my Dream Girl wants me in.” He kisses the back of my hand, his eyes on my ex the whole time. “Her preferences change from night to night. Keeps things exciting.”
Bambi’s eyes bulge and she whimpers out loud.
I momentarily close my eyes and hold my breath to keep from having a fit of snickers through my nose.
It’s clearly written on Luke’s face that he’s not happy about his date fawning all over Harry. “Ahem.”
Bambi immediately calls to attention and returns back to Luke. It’s icky, how she scurries back to his side like a puppy.
He sends daggers in Harry’s direction with his dull eyes. “Shall we find our seats?”
