Page 16 of Hitting the Gap

“First, I didn’t say it was offensive. I said it was completely out of character for you. Big difference.” He grabbed a baseball cap off the shelf in the hall closet and slapped it on his head. “And two. I look fucking hot sweaty.” He winked at her cockily as he held open the door and gestured for her to lead the way outside.

She hated the fact that he was right. He did look hot all sweaty. How that was possible was beyond her. Somehow he had this who gives a fuck cocky air of appearance and she felt like a thief in the night slumping off to the store. It wasn’t fair. Bailey huffed out a sigh. “I’m really not ready to talk about everything with Brad yet.”

At the elevator door he pushed the button then said, “I don’t give a fuck, Bay. How many times did you badger me into talking about shit when we were kids?”

“A few,” she mumbled.

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “And what did you always tell me?”

“It’s not healthy to keep stuff bottled up,” she grumbled.

He stepped into the elevator and leaned against the wall so he was facing her. “Right. So talk.”

“There’s nothing to say. We broke up. What more do you need?”

“Why did you break up? And don’t give me that bullshit about timing being wrong and you realized you weren’t right for each other. We both know that’s a load of garbage.”

They stepped off the elevator and into the vacant lobby. Desperate to avoid the subject, she glanced over at him as they walked out of the building. How long did she have before he started in on her? Knowing Gonzo, it wouldn’t be long.

Lord knows she did not want to talk about this. She was humiliated enough already without rehashing things. Just thinking about everything made her feel sick. How could she have been so stupid?

He nudged her with his shoulder. “Come on, Bay, talk to me.”

Her breath stuck in her throat, and she pushed it out in a loud, deep sigh. “What am I supposed to say? That the guy I was going to marry was cheating on me with my best friend for months.” She angrily wiped her hand across her face. “How could I be so stupid?”

He grabbed her arm to stop her from walking. Stepping in front of her so they were facing each other, he asked, “How are you stupid? Because you trusted him?”

“I trusted both of them.” She sniffed. “I thought she was my friend. I was all excited that she was coming to San Diego as his assistant because I was going to have a girlfriend here to do stuff with. How stupid am I?”

“He cheated on you with his assistant?”

“Yeah, what a cliche, huh?” She shook her head sadly.

“So they decided they wanted to be together here?”

“Now? Maybe, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, now? That’s not why you broke up?”

“Sort of. I mean, we broke up because he cheated. But that was more my decision than his.” Once she’d found out he cheated, there’d been zero chance she was sticking around.

Gonzo’s eyes widened. “Hang on. He planned to move here with you and still have his piece on the side?”

“Apparently.” The humiliation of the entire thing sat like a weight in her gut. Thank god she’d caught them, otherwise she would have moved with the jerk and blissfully continued to have his little side piece as her freaking maid of honor. She could just imagine what a good laugh they’d both been having at her expense.

Gonzo’s jaw clenched. “What the fuck?”

Bailey looked down and pulled at her baggy T-shirt. “Maybe he was right and if I hadn’t gotten so disgusting, he wouldn’t have been so tempted.”

“What?” He yelled so loud the woman walking past them scurried to the edge of the sidewalk to get away from them. “What kind of piece of shit were you planning on marrying? Who says something like that?”

Afraid of the pity she’d see in his eyes if she looked up, Bailey refused to look at him. She just continued to twist her fingers in the hem of her shirt. Gonzo stepped closer to her. “Bay, look at me.”

She shook her head, no. He didn’t move. She could feel him staring at her, but she refused to look up. He pressed his finger to the underside of her chin and forced her head up.

“Bailey, look at me.”

Tears burned in her eyes. Forcing herself to look up made her blink and the damn tears broke free.

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