Dating Games(20)

“He doesn’t seem your type.”

“Great.” I roll my eyes. “Yet another person who thinks Trevor’s too good for me.” I push past him, but stop in my tracks, the Irish temper I’m normally able to keep under wraps exploding from me. Whirling around, I narrow my fiery stare on him, my jaw tense, my fists clenched. “Who do you think you are anyway? You know nothing about me, other than how I am in bed, which you shouldn’t have found out in the first place. I can’t do anything to change that now, though. So while I appreciate your little pep talk, I am so not in the mood today.”

I turn from him, my hair nearly smacking me in the face with the force as I walk in the opposite direction of the magazine’s office.

“I can help you!” he calls after me.

“With another romp in the sack?” I shout over my shoulder as I cross the street, swept up in the sea of people heading toward Central Park. “Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather keep our one-night stand to just that. One night. Goodbye, Julius.”





Chapter Nine





There are times I’ve often longed for the simple and sparsely populated life I lived back in Nebraska. The sheer amount of people who live, work, or play in New York City can be suffocating. Right now, I use that to my advantage, allowing everyone heading into the park to shield me from Julian.

Once I’m certain I’ve evaded him, I break off from the crowd and walk down one of the meandering paths, mature trees shading me from the hot June sun. The sound of runners’ feet hitting the pavement is coupled with birds and the background noise of Manhattan, but there’s still a tranquility here you can’t find anywhere else.

Dogs pull their walkers along the trails, tourists stop for a picnic on a grassy area. A few locals on their lunch break sit on a bench and read. I even spy a couple having their engagement photos taken. It causes me to slow my steps, unable to look away. I had planned this very thing for Trevor and me.

I even had a list of shots I wanted our photographer to capture. Thanks to my time working for a wedding planner, I knew exactly what I wanted. Now, I stare at this couple with longing, faced with the possibility that I’ve truly lost Trevor, that this breakup may not be due to stress, as I tried to claim it was.

My legs seeming to give out as I confront this new reality, I fall onto a bench, recalling the distance that seemed to stretch between us, even when we had first moved here. I always excused his behavior, considering he was in law school. Maybe we fell out of love all those years ago, but neither of us would admit it, not wanting to prove our parents right when they warned us moving to New York together was crazy. But I remember all the happy moments we shared, too.

Like when we’d order a pizza and sit out on the fire escape to eat it, the view of the city more mesmerizing and exhilarating than any movie could be.

Like the time we got lost when trying to figure out the subway system and ended up somewhere in the Bronx. Instead of asking someone for help finding our way back, Trevor insisted we figure it out on our own. Together. And we did.

Like the way all the tension slowly rolled off his body when he’d climb into bed beside me after a long day of studying. He’d wrap his arms around me and fall asleep. In those moments, everything was worth it.

I have to believe it still is.

“You’re giving me a complex, ya know,” a voice startles me from my quiet reflection.

I snap my head to my right to see Julian helping himself to the vacant space beside me. He drapes his long arms along the back of the park bench, resting the calf of one leg on the other thigh.

“How many times are you going to run away from me, Evie?”

“Not used to a woman telling you no?”

He narrows his steely gaze on me. “I’m not used to anyone telling me no.”

Rolling my eyes, I stand. “Well, get used to it because the only answer you’ll ever get out of me is no. Have a nice day, Julian.” When I spin from him, I almost run into a group of cyclists flying by. Thankfully, their reflexes are quick and swerve out of my way, allowing me to avoid any additional embarrassment today.

“Even if I said I may have a way to help you with your predicament with your ex?” he calls out.

I halt, gradually turning to face him, tilting my head to the side. A voice in my head reminds me that I barely know this guy, so there’s only one reason he’d want to help me. But there’s something about the way he looks at me that keeps me here. A genuine affection that’s been missing from Trevor in recent days.

I place a hand on my hip, pinching my lips into a tight line. “Well, are you going to share how? Or do you hope I pick it up telepathically?”

With a smile that can only be described as panty-dropping, he gestures back to the park bench, an unspoken request for me to sit. I hesitate, but eventually acquiesce, ignoring the buzz of energy that sparks in my body as I pass him, inhaling a hint of his aroma.

Once we’re both situated, he glances at me. “You’re serious about getting back with your ex?”

“Of course!” I exclaim, indignant. “We were together twelve years. You don’t throw away twelve years overnight. He probably didn’t think he had any other option if he wanted to be taken seriously as a possible candidate for partner. All the other partners’ spouses have more serious jobs. I get that giving sex advice isn’t something to be proud of.”