Page 81 of The Gingerbread Bakery
But apparently Annie didn’t want that. She’d already forgotten about him. He made one mistake, and she’d moved on. Just like that.
A humorless laugh escaped him. ‘Yeah, I guess so.’
Logan almost looked sympathetic when he turned back around but not like he was about to give in and let Mac charge past him. Not that it mattered. Mac had lost the urge.
‘Going to be back in town long?’ Logan asked.
After all these months away, waiting to come back, Mac knew there was only one answer.
‘No, I’m leaving again tomorrow.’
Logan’s eyebrow rose.
‘There isn't anything here for me,’ Mac said, and Logan answered with a frown like he might disagree, but Mac didn’t want to hear it.
He strode out of the party vowing to himself to not waste another minute thinking about Annabelle Andrews. It was time he did this traveling thing for real, and this time he'd have no one waiting for him back home.
This time he’d have no trouble staying away.
ChapterThirty
Now
Mac flinched when she said it, like her words physically hurt him, like he couldn’t bear the idea of Annie forgetting him.
‘Did it work?’ he asked, his voice choked. ‘Did fucking that random guy at that party help you forget me?’
Annie’s hand cracked across Mac’s cheek so fast it surprised both of them. They stood there in shocked silence, her hand stinging from the impact, both of them breathless, like they’d just run a marathon.
She’dhithim. She’d never hit another person in her entire life. Yet one more example of Mac making her do things she would never ordinarily do.
‘First of all,’ she said, trying to regain her composure. ‘He wasn’t random. His name was Ryan and we had class together and he was nice to me. And second of all, it is none of your business who Ifuck.’ She tossed the blanket she’d wrapped around herself aside, her anger enough to keep her warm now.
Howdarehe? How dare he try and make her feel bad for that night? He had no right.
Mac stared at her, a hand on his cheek. His eyes were dark, hurt. ‘I shouldn’t have said that,’ he ground out. ‘But it sure didn’t take you long to move on.’
Annie crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Ha! I waiteda yearfor you, Mac! And then you didn’t show. How long exactly should I have waited? Should I have forsaken all other men until you came back? Did you think you had some kinda claim on me because you took my virginity?’
He stepped closer, grabbing her arms in case she might hit him again. ‘Of course I don’t think that. Christ, Annie. I didn’ttakeanything. But I thought you’d give me more than one chance. It felt like I made one mistake, and you bailed.’
‘You could have called! You could have texted! But you didn’t. I couldn’t wait around for you any longer.’ She pulled out of his grasp. Maybe she would hit him again. Maybe he deserved it.
Mac slumped, the anger seeping out of him. ‘You’re right. I know you’re right. But it still felt shitty seeing you with that guy.’
‘Kinda like how it feels when you bring random women to Christmas at Estelle’s?’
Mac grumbled. ‘Don’t think I’ve forgotten about Trent from Friendsgiving.’
‘Trent was nice.’
‘Fuck Trent.’
Annie’s laugh burst out unexpectedly, and Mac smiled.
‘It’s been a long time, Mac. We both know we’ve been with other people.’
‘I know. Talking about all this just brought back all those feelings, you know?’
