Page 18 of These Pucking Boys: Part Two

He tosses his arm over my shoulder, making me tense a little. We aren’t kissing, but the gesture looks intimate. We’re at the entrance to the farmer’s market now, and it’s crowded. Someone might recognize him. I don’t have any intention of stepping away from him, though.

“I think that’s a great idea. It’ll be cool to see where you work and meet your students.”

“They’ll love meeting you.” I beam at him.

He turns to me, grinning too. “Who do you think they’ll like best?”

I laugh. “Oh no. You didn’t just ask me that.”

“What?”

“I’m not going to pick. I love you all.”

Shit. I didn’t mean to blurt out the truth like that, and surrounded by all these people.

He stops in his tracks and turns me so I’m facing him. “What did you say, lass?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. It’d be easy to lie and make light of what I said, but he’s looking at me with so much expectation and hope in his eyes that I can’t downplay the truth.

“I—”

“Lachy?”

He looks over my shoulder, and his easygoing expression turns into a grimace. Then he stops touching me and steps back. His reaction makes me tense. I turn around to see who interrupted us and made him withdraw. My stomach bottoms out. Standing in front of us is none other than Lorena Pearson, Lachy’s ex-fiancée.

“Lorena... what are you doing here?”

Her lips quiver, and her gorgeous face twists into an ugly-cry expression. She shoves me out of the way to get to him. I stand there frozen and horrified, staring as the woman clings to Lachy for dear life. He doesn’t hug her back, but jealousy is running rampant through my veins. My pulse is pounding in my ears, and I have to fight the impulse to drag her away from him.

Finally, Lachy seems to snap out of his paralysis. He pushes her away. “What was that for?”

She sniffs and wipes her wet cheeks. “I heard about the plane crash. I was so worried. I thought I had lost you forever.”

“The plane didn’t crash,” I say, annoyed that she thinks Lachy is still hers to lose.

She looks at me and widens her eyes as if she just realized I was standing there. “Who are you?”

“This is June, my friend,” Lachy replies before I can.

Friend.

I know we’re not broadcasting our relationship to the world, but his reply feels like a punch to my chest. The prickle in my eyes tells me I’m about to cry.

“Oh,” she replies, then dismisses me, returning her attention to Lachy. “You’ll think this is stupid, but I came to the market today hoping I’d see you. It was your favorite thing to do on Sundays.”

“Uh... okay?” Lachy’s cheeks are red. He’s getting flustered and I don’t know what to make of his reaction. Is he happy to see his ex-fiancée? Does he wish I wasn’t here?

“I was hoping we could talk. There’s so much I want to say to you.”

God. Is this really happening? My heart is thundering inside my chest. I wait for a sign from Lachy that I should intervene and save him from this awkward situation. But what if he doesn’t want to be saved? Maybe he’s getting nervous because of my presence.

“I can take Winston back home,” I pipe up.

Lorena whips her face to me. “Home?”

“I... uh...”

“June is our neighbor,” Lachy chimes in. “You don’t need to go, lass.”

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