Page 118 of Love to Hate You

“We’re taking a break,” he mumbles.

“Oh. Sorry to hear that.”

His gaze sharpens as he straightens. “Are you?”

Something tells me to proceed with caution and I’m wise enough to follow my instincts.

“Sure. I don’t have a problem with Ashley.” I glance around for Daisy. Where the hell is that girl? “If you’re bummed about it, then I’m sorry.”

His shoulders droop and he jerks his head into a tight nod before taking another drink. “Thanks,” he says. “I told her that we needed some space.” He pauses for a beat. “You might not have noticed but she can be kind of a pain in the ass.”

The beer goes down the wrong pipe and I sputter, thumping my chest a couple of times as my eyes water. There’s no way I’m touching that statement. Odds are they’ll get back together in a few days. “Nope, never noticed.”

He nods. “Yeah, Ashley definitely has her moments. I’m not saying that she’s a bad person or anything, but I’m just not sure if we’re good together.” His eyes narrow. “That whole thing with the salad…that was BS, right?”

Does he seriously need confirmation?

“Ummm, yeah.” It was complete crap.

Plus, I don’t like the way she treats Daisy.

Guess what, girl? Just because you sweeten some nasty words with a smile, doesn’t make them any less nasty.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”

We fall silent again until Noah clears his throat. “So, you and Daisy, huh?”

This conversation has just gone from bad to worse. We haven’t discussed the Daisy situation. I mean…what’s there to say?

We’re dudes. We’re not about to sit around and have a Dr. Phil moment where we open up and share our feelings using “I” statements.

When you screw my cousin, I feel…

The thought of that is enough to make me queasy. But the fact remains that Noah is a good friend. The best, actually. I don’t want my relationship with his cousin to sit between us. So, I guess if he needs to hash it out and come to a resolution, that’s what we’re gonna do.

Right here.

In the middle of this party.

My gaze flicks to his. “Yeah.” I shift from one foot to the other wishing I were anywhere but here. “You’re cool with it, right?”

He arches a brow and drawls, “Would it matter if I wasn’t?”

Ignoring the question, I say instead, “I never set out with any intention of this happening. I’ve always steered clear. You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” he grumbles, looking just as uncomfortable as I am. “I do.”

“But I like her.” Even though there’s a party raging around us and no one is paying us the least bit of attention, I lower my voice. “I would never do anything to hurt her.”

“I know that as well,” he sighs and looks away before his gaze arrows back to mine. “I’m not going to lie, it’s a little weird seeing you two together.” He scrunches his face and circles his hand a few times. “Like that.”

I grimace and think about it from his perspective. “Yeah, I guess it would be.”

Which is exactly why it shocks the hell out of me when he admits, “But if Daisy is going to be with anyone, I’m glad it’s you.”

“Thanks.” Something loosens in my chest. “That means a lot.”

Actually, it means everything.

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