Page 105 of Curvy Girl Summer

Grinning proudly, he nodded. “Yeah.”

My mouth was agape. “How?”

“At the concert, you could buy shirts outright or you could pay to get them signed and then they’d ship it to you. So I ordered a couple to be signed. When we met, you said you loved India, so when they said they only had one in green left, I…” He shrugged. “I ordered it for you.”

“Ahmad!” I clutched the shirt to my aching chest and looked everywhere but at him. “This is really cool, but I can’t accept this.”

“You can,” he insisted.

I shook my head and tried to hand it back to him. “I can’t,” I whispered.

“Your birthday’s in less than three weeks. Think of it as an early birthday gift.”

When I looked back up at him, our eyes locked again, and I felt something.

“Aaliyah—”

“Do you have a wife?” I blurted out.

He froze momentarily. “What?”

The emotions he brought out of me shook something loose. Unable to rein it in, I kept going. “You were wearing a wedding band. Are you married?”

He brought his left hand up and rubbed his ring finger. “Oh! I, uh… No, I’m not. It’s…” Shaking his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not.”

“Okay, so then… I don’t understand.” I pointed to his hand again. “You were wearing a wedding band last night, and you said you were married. So, none of it is true?”

Panic crossed his face. “No, no.” He gestured to the couch.“Come sit and talk for a minute.” He reached out for me, and I backed away.

“So, you lied to me?” I sputtered, trying to hold back the tears. “Everything I thought I knew about you was a lie?”

He shook his head. “No, I didn’t lie—not to you. I’m sorry if I misled you, but I never told you I was married.”

“You alluded to it! What was all that bullshit you said about online dating and meeting your person on TenderFish? Why did you make it a point to be my wingman? Was the whole thing bullshit?”

“It wasn’t bullshit. It’s just”—he ran his hand over his beard—“a long story. Can you just sit and talk to me?”

He stared at me with fierce intensity as I warily crossed my arms over my chest.

“Answer one question for me. Did you intentionally lie to me about your marital status? Yes or no,” I replied dryly.

He exhaled. “I bartended during my last couple years in college,” he started. “And long story short, I learned it’s easier to be unavailable than it is to be single and not interested.”

I just stared at him.

So that’s why he was my wingman… It was easier to pretend to be married than to just tell me he wasn’t interested in me. This is why he was so invested in helping me find someone.

I felt like I’d been kicked in the chest. The breath I sucked in hurt.

“So, I started wearing a wedding band, and it worked,” he continued.

“Got it. Loud and clear.” I bit the inside of my cheek to keep any tears from falling. “I’m going to go,” I announced even though I didn’t attempt to move my feet.

Ahmad took a step toward me. “Aaliyah, please sit down and talk to me.”

I moved to the other side of the room. “I don’t even know you.”

He stopped in his tracks. “Aaliyah.”

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