Page 34 of The Fear of Falling
But I can’t.
Her eyes glisten with tears, but anger seems to hold them back. “Why not?”
“Because you’re my boss.”
“That’s not true, nor is it a good enough reason.”
I knew it wouldn’t be. “Because of Eric then.”
“Eric?” She looks out the open door, but their office is small enough that I’m assuming Eric went outside, or we would have heard his phone conversation.
“Yes. Things between us”—I gesture from her to me—“are a lot more complicated now that he’s a part of this.”
“Feel free to elaborate,” she grinds out, glaring at me.
I’d rather not, but she’ll keep pushing if I don’t give her a good enough reason to let Italy go. “I may have stolen his girlfriend in college.”
Her glare softens in her surprise. “That wasyou?”
“Ah, so he didn’t tell you that part of the story?”Lucky me.“I’m guessing that means he didn’t tell you about how she cheated on me less than a week later.”
“He did tell me that, actually. But what does a relationship over a decade ago have to do with anything?”
I’m regretting this conversation with every passing second. Does she really want me to lay it all out for her? Isn’t it obvious? “I’m not going to make moves on someone my friend was going to marry.”
“The moves have already been made, Benson,” Avery says sharply, but her face blossoms with crimson as if she’s remembering the kisses we shared. Just like I am. “You can’t pretend Italy didn’t happen.”
Oh, but I want to. I want to put this all behind me and do my job and forget how deeply difficult it was to leave this woman behind.
“And Eric and Ibroke up,” she adds, as if that settles it.
“Barely,” I counter. I don’t know how long it’s been—Eric didn’t mention ever being engaged when we were catching up this morning—but I have some pretty clear reasons to think the breakup was recent. “You can’t tell me there aren’t still feelings between the two of you, because you were crying over the guy when we first met.”
Avery gasps, but she doesn’t have an argument. She never said if the breakup was mutual or if he made the choice for her. With Eric, it could have gone either way. “So it’s okay for you to flirt with some other guy’s ex, but not Eric’s?” she asks, shaking her head. “Really classy, Benson.”
“No one said I was perfect,” I grumble. I didn’t expect the sting of her judgment, and I don’t like it. How can she not understand that this is totally different from flirting with a stranger?
Swallowing, she looks down at her hands, and it’s only now that I notice she’s wearing the bracelet I bought her. “I did,” she whispers, sending a wave of guilt over me.
“Sorry about that,” Eric says, whirling into the room and plopping back into his chair. “I swear, our printer is the literal worst, and I’m so glad we’re switching to a different company. Did you guys get some good discussion going?”
We sure did, though maybegoodisn’t the right word for it. At least now I can say with certainty there won’t be any tension between Avery and me anymore. Not the good kind, anyway.
I’m more disappointed about that than I should be.
Chapter 14
Avery
Avery:
SONNY IS BENSON.
Dani:
What is who?
Avery:
