Page 91 of It's Complicated

I know what I have to say. What I have to tell her. I need to make her understand, but not here. Not in front of all these people.

“Not here,” I mouth.

“Let’s get out,” she mouths back.

I nod, and we slip out of the reception hall undetected.

I pull Lori down a corridor before someone else can stop us. I open a door at random and stumble upon another grand ballroom cloaked in semidarkness.

It’s perfect.

I usher Lori inside and seal the door behind us.

The last thing I expect when I turn is for Lori to hit me in the chest. Not so hard that it hurts, but still a blow. “You left me,” she accuses. “You disappeared on me.”

I grab her hand before she can hit me again. “Only after you said you never wanted to have anything to do with me.”

“When will you learn never to listen to a thing I say?”

I kiss her knuckles. “I take it I’m forgiven?”

Lori snatches her hand away. “Don’t kisstract me. And forgiven for what? For the pact? Or for bailing on me?”

I shrug, making a cute face. “Both?”

She might still act indignant, but I knew I had her after she let me help her out of Chickengate.

Lori puffs her cheeks, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“We should talk a few things through first.”

“Okay.”

I smile at her. I’m in no hurry.

I take Lori’s hand and lead her deeper into the opulent ballroom, to a hidden alcove. We sink together onto a plush couch in a dark corner.

Lori crosses her legs, tugging at her dress as if she suddenly realized the height of the slit.

My pulse picks up at the sight of the inch of extra skin. I muster up a cocky grin, but I can’t keep it up for long.

Lori tracks my stare to her legs, and I must look feral because she blushes.

“What happened after I left your house on Tuesday?” she asks, her voice barely a whisper.

I take a deep breath, trying to slow my racing heart. I have to get this right. She has to understand. “I drowned my sorrows in a bottle of vodka, then Aiden came to see me, then I walked to your house and I saw you together.”

She frowns. “You mean Aiden and me?”

“Yes…” My stare is intense, shameful, and maybe still a little hurt.

Lori does the math before I have to explain. “And you assumed the worst and bolted.”

“Yep, from where I stood you looked like two long-lost lovers reunited. The look on your face… I swear—”

She pushes two fingers on my mouth to shut me up. “Was about you. I was excited to come to see you after Aiden had talked some sense into me.”

I gently pull her hand away. “What did you want to tell me?”

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