Page 153 of Failure to Match

He shifted in his seat and gripped the edge of the table like he was going to stand, but I was so busy staring at him, and he was so busy staring at me, that neither of us saw it coming.

Not when she reached for his face.

Not when she turned it back to her.

And not when she leaned in.

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I fumbledmy way into the private bathroom with a rough shoulder, half-blind. But at least I managed to keep the tears from falling until I’d yanked on the tap to drown out their accompanying sobs.

The pain was physical. I was shattered. My heart had been ripped in half and left to bleed out.

I tried to convince myself that this was all for the best; that I should’ve been happy for him. He’d finally found someone he liked.

Their compatibility scores were solid. They had similar lifestyles, wanted similar things, shared agreeable views on core issues, and Miray was beautiful, successful, and highly intelligent.

As his friend, I should’ve been happy for him. I wasn’t.

Selfishly, I didn’t want him to be with anyone else. Illogically, I hated her. Unreasonably, I wanted to march up to their table and politely ask Miray to take her hands off my man.

But I couldn’t do any of that. Because I’d still wake up tomorrow morning wanting love; and he’d still wake up tomorrow morning not believing in it. The best thing I could dofor myself was to let him go. My heart was bleeding, and my stomach was twisting, but the pain was temporary. It wasn’t like I’d still be pining after him in fifteen years. Not like I was going to regret not listening to my gut.

Oh god.

I was going to vomit.

Every last one of my internal alarms was blaring, screaming at me to go get him. This felt… so fucking wrong. Like I was making a huge mistake and?—

Knock knock knock.

I sucked in a sharp breath, jolting upright. How long had I been in here for?

Knockknockknock knock knock.

“Just a sec!” I should’ve cleared my throat first, that crack in my voice had been very telling. I shut off the tap and made quick work of swiping away my tears. My mascara was smudged, my eyes puffy, my cheeks blotchy, but it was as good as it was going to get.

Now all I had to do was sneak out of here without running into Jackson.

I had no idea how he’d reacted. The second she’d leaned in, I’d shot to my feet, ripped my gaze away, and ran straight out of the?—

Knockknockknockknockknockknockknock.

Wow, what the hell?

Frowning, I threw open the bathroom door... and immediately attempted to close it again. But Jackson’s hand shot out just in time.

My heart had gone from dead to racing, a swarm of angry bees buzzing over my skin. I’d done my best to clean up, but the evidence of what I’d been doing was pretty damning, and it was all over my face.

His eyes were drunk and hazy as they swept over my features, gathering data, and just as I was about to twist away from him and hide the extent of my misery, I noticed the shadows clouding the skin under his eyes. The somber set of his mouth.

My stomach flipped.

I meant to ask him what he was doing. Where was Miray? Why was he here and not with her? And why was he looking at me like I’d ruined his life? But I couldn’t seem to find my voice.

Not when his half-blinks slowed to a complete stop. Not when he reached for my arm and pulled me into the dimly lit hallway. And not when he traced a jagged line down my cheek and neck with the pad of his finger.

I guess I’d missed a tear stain or two.

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