Her cheeks blushed. “I feel silly. You brought me to a nice place to eat, the nicest in town, and I am acting like a…”
I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. Now I really felt like a complete ass. I used Becky and made her feel like shit. Rich had been right; this was a stupid idea. I thought I could pull this off, but I’d overestimated my abilities somehow.
“It’s my fault, Becky. Totally. I led you on, and for that I’m so sorry.”
I felt Kynslee’s eyes on me. Looking up, I saw her staring at my hand over Becky’s. I quickly jerked it away and grabbed my drink.
Ally and Steve stood, followed by Kynslee. I didn’t want to watch her walk out of the restaurant, but I did.
“Miles?”
My attention came back to Becky, but it was obvious she’d caught me watching Kynslee walk out of the restaurant. “Yes?”
“I’m so sorry, but I have to get back home. My little one is running a fever, and the babysitter just sent me a text.”
“Oh, yeah, sure. No problem at all.” I had a feeling nothing was wrong with Becky’s little one. This was her way of getting out of an uncomfortable situation, and after the way Kynslee had just stormed out, I wasn’t feeling very comfortable either.
After paying the bill and dropping Becky at home, I made my way to Jonny G’s, the local bar in town where everyone hung out. The moment I stepped inside and saw her, I regretted the stunt I had played with Becky. Karma was a bitch and Kynslee was here to remind me of that very thing.
Kynslee stood on the dance floor, wrapped up in some guy’s arms. I fought to keep my fists from balling.
“Well, if it isn’t Miles Warner. You finally had the balls to show back up in town, huh?”
I rolled my eyes at the sound of her voice. Turning, I found Heather Lancaster. One of Kynslee’s friends since elementary school. Heather was a self-proclaimed psychic. More like she was a pain in my ass and always had been. She hated that I could pull Kynslee away from her anytime I had wanted to.
“I never understood why Kynslee likes you, Heather.”
She snarled. “Trust me, I think the same about you. She’s been sitting around pining over you for far too long. Just when I thought she was finally going to move on, you show back up like a bad dream.”
“I’m well known for popping up in unexpected places. Although I’m usually holding a gun and killing someone who annoys the fuck out of me, if that’s any consolation.”
I had to give her credit, she didn’t even flinch. As a matter of fact, she laughed.
Heather quickly looked out to the dance floor and then back to me. Her face was serious. “You know you broke her heart, don’t you? Leaving like that and rarely coming back.”
“I broke her heart? She had a boyfriend in college. No sooner than I left for boot camp she was dating him.”
If looks could kill I would be on the floor right now.
“Let’s not forget about Jack,” I added.
Heather shook her head. “You never get it, Miles. She would never have admitted it, but she loved you, and not just as a friend. When you told her at the last minute you were leaving for the Marines, she felt betrayed. Like she wasn’t good enough for you to let her in on your plans. Then she had to see you sucking face with some girl on Facebook, of course she was going to move on. Why should you get to have all the fun while she waited for the prodigal son to return?”
“Why didn’t she tell me all of this? Why am I hearing this from you?”
With another death stare, she said, “Why are all men so damn stupid?”
“When you find out the answer to that question, let me know, will ya?” I replied before I headed toward the bar.
Heather followed. “She’s over you, Miles. When she told me early about your little promise of marriage, I honestly thought she was kidding. You’re wasting your time. Whatever your reason for needing her to play your pretend bride, she won’t care. But then, it looks like you might have moved on already with Becky. Did you ask her to marry you too?”
Stopping, I turned back to face her. “You don’t know shit, so keep your nose out of my goddamn business.”
She squinted and leaned closer. Our eyes were locked, and I was not about to budge, then she gasped. “Oh, holy shit. You really want to marry her, don’t you? You love her. You’ve always been in love with her.”
My brows pulled in tight, and a strange feeling moved across my skin. Like goosebumps during a horror movie right before you know the guy is going to jump out and murder the person. “Wh-what?”