Page 130 of Exes and Oh Hell No

I snuggle into it, my wide-eyed gaze on Allie as she hisses, “I can’t believe I kissed him.”

“What?” I shriek, clamping my hand over my mouth.

Luckily, Connor says something that has the guys howling with laughter, so for once, even Ford didn’t hear me.

“Kissed who?” I hiss, already knowing the answer but too stunned by her admission for my brain to function as it should be.

“Connor.”

Her eyes dart to him and her face turns scarlet when he meets her eyes and blows her a kiss.

“Ugh. What the hell was I thinking?”

I grab her arm. “Wait. Aren’t you with Mark?”

She lets out a long sigh. “I called him.” Her bottom lip quivers. “I pulled away from Connor and slammed into the restroom, locking the door behind me. Then I called Mark, and when he answered, he sounded so annoyed.”

Tears well in her eyes.

When she blinks, they slide down her cheeks.

“Oh, shit, Allie. I’m so damn sorry.”

She sniffs, impatiently wiping her cheeks.

Her jaw tightens as she stares into the flames for a few beats, then continues. “I told him we needed to talk and said I would FaceTime him.”

“His voice was clipped when he said, ‘Fine. But it has to be short. I’m busy.’ The fucker hung up without another word.”

I squeeze her arm, my heart breaking for her.

Even though I want to fucking strangle Mark for hurting her.

“Then what happened?”

She blows out a shaky breath. “He answered. Right away, I could tell he was at some type of party. The music. The chatter of voices and laughter. People wandering around behind him.” Her shoulders sag. “I blurted out that I thought we should take a break, especially since I wasn’t important enough for him to be my date for your wedding.”

“I’m proud of you.”

Her eyes skip to mine, a sheepish grin curling her lips. “Don’t be. It was Connor hammering me about him. After my confession at dinner, he kept whispering, grilling me about him. When he asked if Mark was coming to the wedding and I hesitated, he jumped on it.”

Her eyes move to Connor, who is already staring at her, a lovesick expression on his face.

Oh, boy. He has it bad for her already.

She looks away, heaving out a deep breath.

“Even though I know Connor has his own motives, his words made a lot of sense. Why aren’t I important enough for him to push aside his job for once and come to my best friend’s wedding?” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “This isn’t the first time. Even when I was promoted and got an awardfor that ad I designed, the fucker didn’t come to that either. Remember?”

I nod, biting my lip.

I’d been so pissed at Mark I wanted to strangle him with his tie.

And even though Allie seemed so happy when he was around, a part of me hated all the times he wasn’t there for her.

All the events and occasions he missed.

“But the real kicker?” Her voice pulls me from my murderous thoughts.

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