Page 54 of Forgotten Romance

His eyes crease at the corners as he takes another sip. “I’m not an idiot. And like I said, I’m not in love with you or have any grand expectations. All I wanted to know first is whether there could be anything there. If we’d worked out that it felt good between us, then we could have gotten into the deeper conversations. But let’s say the guy I was into had kids, it’s not a deal breaker. I’d adapt.”

“Good to know.”

Luke snickers a laugh into his drink. “Your ex really hates me, doesn’t he?”

“What?” But before I can swing around this time, Luke grabs my arm and holds me steady.

“Do not look. Fuck me, Mack.”

“Sorry.”

“He’s glaring though.”

“How do you know? You didn’t look.”

“Just because I’m not as subtle as a bull doesn’t mean I didn’t look. I can see him in my periphery. He definitely wants to come over here and break things up.”

“You think?”

“The jealousy is in neon.”

I sigh, torn over whether that makes me happy or not. On the one hand, it shows he cares. I know he cares and loves me, but this is proof that he loves me loves me. On the other hand, I don’t want him to feel jealous. It’s a terrible, crummy emotion that I feel way too much of when it comes to him.

“Here’s the thing: you’re clearly still in love with him.”

I don’t answer, but it’s not like I have to.

“It’s okay. Well, from my side. From yours, it looks horrible, but I don’t have to feel all that. The thing is, he sort of looks like he feels the same.”

“I think he does.”

“Then, sorry for being nosy, but why aren’t you together?”

“His work.” I down my beer, not liking that the fun, bubbly tipsiness has gone.

“That’s right. He does something in PR?”

“Yep. He’s always away, and it got too much for me, and he didn’t want to choose us, so …” I trail off, remembering my conversation with Tonya about how drastically our lives would have changed if he made that choice. “It’s not his fault. I don’t think it’s mine either. I think it’s all a bit crap, and it wasn’t supposed to work.”

“Or …”

I cling to the word. “Yeah?”

“Well, as a guy, I know that if I lost someone and I still loved them, I’d be a bit of a territorial asshole. He didn’t choose you, and even when you split, nothing really changed, right?”

“What’s your point?”

“Change something, dammit!” Luke steps closer and drops his voice. “Go on a date with me.”

“But—”

“At least that’s what you’ll tell him. We’re friends, we can hang out—fuck knows I need some of those if I’m going to stick around here. I love Brayden, but it’s getting like we’re an old married couple.”

“So … pretend to date, but not really?” I chew on that thought. “I don’t like lying.”

“Don’t lie, then. Don’t tell him we’re dating. We’ll hang out. Go to lunch, I’ll pick you up for work on the days I start late, we’ll catch up for breakfast or whatever. Then let Davey come to whatever conclusions he comes to.”

As far as plans go, I hate it. But he’s right that things need to change. I tried to romance him up, tried to make him fall back in love with the family life, and it hasn’t worked. “Don’t tell him we’re dating, but let him think that we are?”

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