Page 27 of Her Football Star Ex

I should have just come clean to the press and lived with the consequences.

“I’m sorry I ruined your date,” I said lamely.

“It’s okay,” she said with a shrug. “It can only get better from here on out.”

I clenched my jaw before realizing what I was doing and tried to relax my face so she wouldn’t know just how much the thought of her meeting and dating lots of men bothered me.

And since I didn’t have it in me to wish her luck with other men, I glanced toward my truck and said, “Jaxon and Cole are waiting for me. I better get back to them.”

She nodded. “I better get home, too.”

“Have a good night, Emerson.” I dipped my head forward. And unable to help myself, I added, “You look really great tonight, by the way.”

“Thank you,” she said, a sad sort of smile lifting her lips. “You look good, too.”

When her gaze scanned me from head to toe, I couldn’t help but wish that the attraction we still had for one another was enough to fix everything I’d broken.

I took a step back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She nodded. “Good night, Vincent.”

And all I could think of as I walked back to my truck was that I was the stupidest man in the world to throw away something as good as we once had.

Sometimes I really hated myself.

8

Emerson

I was tiredwhen I got home after my failed date and short conversation with Vincent, but instead of going to bed like I probably should have, I drew myself a bath and decided to see if I had matched with any other guys since I’d last checked the dating app.

While I may have found out that Vincent too had embellished his date status for Derek and Kira’s wedding, it didn’t change anything for me. If anything, after having Vincent see my date with Dave crash and burn firsthand, I was even more determined to find a date.

Sure, Vincent had been sweet enough about the whole thing and said Dave was dumb to leave, but I had my pride. I would not show up alone and only cement even further in everyone’s mind that I was less worthy than my football star ex.

So if it meant messaging every guy I had matched with and swiping through another hundred photos before I went to bed tonight, so be it.

Heck, with how I was feeling right now, I might even add going clubbing to my to-do list.

When I opened my app, I had a few messages to respond to, so I quickly sent my replies before checking to see who else I had matched with.

You have six new matches.

The words showed at the top of my screen. I was about to check out which guys had liked my profile when Ivy Evans’s face showed up on my screen. My best friend from high school.

She was requesting to FaceTime with me, but since I was currently in my bathtub I declined the video call and only had the audio come through.

“Hey Ivy,” I said, putting my phone to my ear.

“Hey,” she said. “Is now a good time to talk?”

“Sure,” I said. “I was just about to message some more guys. But this is more fun.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding disappointed. “So I’m guessing the date with Dave was a bust?”

“Yup.”

When I didn’t expound further, she said, “What happened?”

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