Chapter 15
776 Words
CHAPTER 15
“Shannon? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Marcie. Let’s go find a table.” She tore her gaze away from the table across the room. Who the hell was the brunette? She recognized two of Lucas’s friends and their wives but couldn’t tell from the back who the woman hanging off Lucas was.
Shannon followed her best friend through the crowd, trying to get a hold of her emotions.
It was like a fist in the gut. She was shocked at how jealous she felt. Seeing Lucas with another woman was not what she’d expected from this evening. Okay, he’d obviously been upset last night when she had refused to go public. But surely he understood she was trying to protect them? Both of them?
When he’d said he was hanging with the guys tonight, she had taken him at his word. She had trusted him. But nothing he’d said indicated that she’d find him out on a date with someone else.
That cryptic phone call she’d interrupted the day before made all kinds of sense now. But seriously? Just because she’d refused to let the whole town know about them, he’d ditched her for someone who would? In less than twenty-four hours?
She dropped her jacket on the back of a chair facing away from Lucas’s table. “I’ll be right back.” She needed a minute to pull herself together, and the ladies’ room was the only place she could go where she wouldn’t be able to see Lucas.
When she said she didn’t want to go public, she didn’t mean they could see other people.
Although now that she thought about it… Had he ever, even once, said that they were exclusive? Or even called her his girlfriend? No.
He had not.
She felt like such an i***t.
She should have trusted her instincts and stayed the hell away from him. He’d proven he could lie like a master in the past. He’d kept his sister’s affair a secret for almost a year. Why should she believe he was different now?
One amazing week between the sheets did not a relationship make. Experiment over. She was done. Tonight would be about having some fun with her girlfriends.
Tomorrow she would make it clear to him that she was done with even the possibility of being with him.
Shit. This was going to get complicated.
A couple of cold beers with friends on a Saturday night after a long work week was exactly what he needed. While he’d rather be with Shannon, she was hell bent on keeping them a secret. And that just pissed him off.
He’d told her last night he had plans with friends because he needed some time to sort through his feelings for her, and since he’d vowed no more lying to people he cared about, he’d set about to make it true. He’d called Erik, who had instantly agreed to a night out. Erik had called Carson. Carson had assumed they were bringing their wives. And Jennifer and Cassie had called each other, and then one of their single friends, to round out the numbers.
And now less than twenty-four hours later, the six of them were settled around a table at Just One More, and Tracy was giving him the evil eye while she took their drink orders.
It was awkward enough to conceal his relationship when his friends were asking where he’d disappeared to all week. Then Cassie’s friend had turned out to be Oona, the owner of Indulgence.
“So, Lucas. How did your taste testing go?” He shifted uncomfortably as Oona leaned in and put her hand on his arm. The woman was a siren: beyond hot, and those hands could make magic with baked goods. He was willing to bet she had more than the one skill. He still wished it was Shannon sitting beside him right now, but Lucas really hoped to have Indulgence as his regular supplier of baked goods at the coffee shop, so he was trying to keep the personal awkwardness to a minimum.
“It went great. The macarons are amazing, and the double chocolate cookies were a hit.” He couldn’t help picturing Shannon’s face as she bit into that chocolate cookie. “Those two are going on the menu for sure. I’m curious to see what else you have to offer.”
Her raised eyebrow had him blushing. Crap. That didn’t come out right.
And he couldn’t have had worse timing. Tracy was leaning over to put his beer on the table in front of him, and she gave him a steady look. “Busy tonight. All kinds of people I didn’t expect to see in here.”
He followed the nod of her head to the door and froze when he saw who was walking across the bar.
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