Page 63 of Date With Danger

“What do you need, girl? I’ll tell him off, I swear,” she says, still fired up for me. But I hold up a hand before she says anything more. She doesn’t need to fight my battle for me.

“It’s fine. I’ll give him back his stupid ring when I’m not so angry, then I’ll kick him out of my life for good.” I take a deep breath and pluck the waterproof mascara from her hand, then go to the little mirror above the sink. “There’s got to be a cleanse for exes. Or maybe I should look into exorcists.” I gasp. “An ex exorcist.” Now that would be a fun job.

Leah chuckles. “When you find one let me know.” She somehow manages to free my purse from the locker and diligently puts everything back in for me. “Whoa, where did you get that?”

I rub at the black circles under my eyes. “What?”

“This?” She steps up beside me, the jewelry box in her hands.

I forgot I tucked it in my purse this morning.

“Oh, that’s my grandmother’s jewelry box,” I say, adding a new layer of mascara to my eyelashes.

“It’s gorgeous.”

I watch her through the mirror, as she turns it this way and that, trying to open it.

“I already tried,” I say. “I was hoping some of our product here might help loosen the rust.”

She returns the box to my locker. “I have some jewelry cleaner; we can make the outside look brand new again at least. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” I put the mascara back in my locker and close it up.

“You sure you’re okay?” Leah asks again. The pity in her eyes is way too much, but there’s something else. An understanding. She knows what it’s like to have a terrible ex. To feel helpless and hopeless. But no longer. We will rise from the ashes together.

“I’ll be fine.” I give her a quick hug. “Thanks for having my back.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

“What’d you say?” I sit up straighter and look across the table at Connor, who is looking at Maddie with a concerned expression.

“Are you okay, Millie?” Connor asks. “You seem a bit off.”

I’ve been off ever since Justin showed up at work this afternoon. His parting shot worried me enough that instead of going home to change and kill time before dinner at Maddie’s, I grabbed the dogs and came straight over. Being around the two people I love most in this world has put my anxiety at ease in a way nothing else could. Though apparently, I’m not as relaxed as I thought. Guess I’ll have to stay an extra hour until I’m feeling less nervous about another run-in with my ex.

I pinch my lips together and play with the fancy folded napkin on my plate. Why are there folded napkins? And why aren’t we eating yet?

“I’m great, just pining after a special agent,” I say half-heartedly.

“Shawn Spencer is hardly a special agent.” Connor teases. He’s well aware of my obsession with Psych and enjoys teasing me about it. But I’m not in the mood tonight.

“Maybe I could find you a real-life agent,” Maddie says, pumping her brows.

I throw a hand to my heart. “You mean you’ve had one of those in your back pocket and you’re just now telling me?”

Connor makes a ridiculous show of checking Maddie’s back pocket for rogue men and I avert my attention to the dogs quietly napping by the couch.

“Stop it.” Maddie shrieks and pushes Connor’s tickling fingers away from her waist.

I gag. I love seeing my brother in love. But I also wish I didn’t have to see so much of it.

Connor sighs and looks at the clock on his phone then at Maddie. “Can we start? I don’t think he’s coming.”

I perk up at this. “Who’s coming?”

Maddie chews her bottom lip.

I narrow my eyes at that woman I love so much I might have to strangle. “Please tell me you invited your secret boyfriend over to meet your fiancé and that you did NOT invite a blind date for me.”

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