“Libby, wait-” Leo reached for me, but I was already moving.
I ducked around him and practically ran for the stairwell, ignoring his calls. The stairwell door slammed behind me with a satisfying bang, and I let the echo drown out the sound of my breaking heart.
My heels clacked against the concrete steps as I fled downward, not caring how many flights I had to descend. The adult thing to do would have been to stay, but I couldn’t watch Leo with his perfect fiancée or deal with the reality of what I’d gotten myself into.
My legs were burning by the time I reached the ground floor, but I didn’t slow down. I burst through the stairwell door into the lobby, probably looking like a complete mess.
The security guards gave me a concerned look as I hurried past them and exited the building into the bright mid-morning sun. I started walking with no destination in mind—I didn’t really feel like going home now. I had the desperate need to put distance between myself and the clusterfuck upstairs.
My phone buzzed in my bag, but I ignored it. It was probably Ethan or Leo, and I couldn’t deal with either of them right then. What I needed was space to breathe and to figure out what the hell I was doing with my life.
My life in Connecticut hadn’t been bad by any means. If anything, it had been safe and boring. I wasn’t happy or sad, I just was.
But moving to New York, although scary at first, had turned into something exciting and filled me with happiness. Until today. How could something so good turn so quickly? Was this always how it was going to be with Leo?
The photos. The engagement announcement. Clara showing up looking like she’d stepped off a magazine cover.
I found myself at the entrance to Central Park and found an empty bench. I finally allowed myself to really process everything. “I’m such an idiot,” I muttered to myself, dropping my head into my hands.
My phone buzzed again, and this time I pulled it out, ready to tell whoever it was to leave me alone. But it wasn’t Ethan or Leo—it was my brother.
I rolled my eyes before I even opened his text.
Ryker: Are you okay?
Me: Peachy.
Ryker: Where are you?
Me: Central Park and then headed home. Really, I’ll be fine.
Ryker: I’m going to fire Leo.
Me: *face with rolling eyes emoji* No, you aren’t. He’s your friend.
Ryker: They say don’t mix business and friendships. It almost ruined my own company, and now it’s likely to ruin the foundation before we’ve even really done anything.
Me: Things worked out for you, though. He said he’s going to fix whatever the hell is going on.
Ryker: I wish you would have told me about him…
Me: It’s new and we didn’t want it to cause issues. Besides, you’re the one who is at fault here.
Ryker: How is any of this my fault?
Me: You let him stay at the condo, and because I didn’t know he was there, he saw my boobs. The rest is history.
I grinned as my last text sat onread,but he didn’t respond. He was probably pinching the bridge of his nose and pacing, trying to delete what I’d sent from his brain.
He had no place to judge Leo when he, Garrett, and Luca had all been just as casual about women before they met Paige. Now they were in love, and it was all because she gave them a chance.
A chance like I had given Leo.
A couple walking past my bench caught my attention. They were probably in their seventies, holding hands and laughing together like teenagers. The woman said something that made the man throw his head back in laughter, and my chest ached at the sight.
That was what I wanted—someone to grow old with, and who would still look at me like I hung the moon, even when we were ancient and wrinkled.
But I didn’t want one someone, I wanted two.