Page 92 of The Valentine's Bet

It doesn’t matter.

It’s over now.

I’ve never really been through a breakup, but I’m certain that itmusthurt like this. My heart pounds heavily as my chest aches, my stomach tightening into a knot. And the fact that Parker fell into silence when I word-vomited all my feelings only makes it that much more painful...

Eliza would be proud of me, though.

I did the right thing—including not running after Dalton.

It wasneverDalton for me.

No, I fell in love with Parker.

And now, I’mreallygoing to lose the bet.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Parker

“What’s wrong with you?” Weston asks me as soon as he steps into my apartment.

“Nothing,” I say, staring at the TV. I don’t even know what’s playing.

“Dude, you’ve been holed up in here for days.”

I shake my head. “I’ve just been working from home for a while.” In truth, I was hoping I’d be here when Amy moved her things ... but she managed to pack all her stuff up while I was at work—making arrangements to work from home. Granted, at the time, Ihadnoidea what I was even going to say to her, having been completely blindsided by her confession of love, so maybe it’s for the best.

“You look terrible.” Weston steps out in front of the TV, blocking my view. “What’s going on? Where’s Amy?”

“She’s gone.”

His eyes widen. “Like,gone goneor moved out?”

“She moved out.”

“Okay.” He narrows his eyes at me before reaching for the remote and turning off my TV. “You’re acting like someone died,” he says, taking a seat across from me.

“Yeah, well, we’re not friends anymore. I still sent her the tickets to the band she wants to see, though.”

“Ah, so you lost the bet, then?”

“Nope. I won.”

“Okay, I’mreallyfreaking confused.” Weston lets out a flustered sigh. “What the heck happened? Did you sleep—”

“No.” I groan, my head dropping to my hands. “It’s not that at all. I—I ruined her freaking date with Dalton because he said something about her being a nervous kisser, so I told him that she’s a really good kisser.”

“Oh.” Weston runs his fingers through his hair. “So, the guy is a jerk.”

“No,” I reason, lifting my head to meet his eyes. “Iam the jerk.”

“How?”

“I ran the guy off. It was an accident. But then, Amy and I were arguing about it afterward, and she ended up admitting she’s in love with me.”

His jaw drops. “What?”

“Yeah...” And that’s all I’ve been able to think about since those three words left her mouth. At first, I was in complete shock—and then I thought maybe I led her on, but then...

---