Page 15 of Crossed Paths
Mandy’s expression doesn’t shift. She just blinks once.
“I’m not surprised.”
I stare at her. “You’rewhat?”
“I mean,” she says, setting her cup down, “I didn’t have money on ‘pool table’, but I’m not shocked.”
“Mandy!”
She shrugs. “Ally, come on. He’s always had that kicked-puppy look whenever you walked into a room. I’ve seen him look at a well-pulled pint with less longing than he looks at you.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Mandy raises an eyebrow, calm as anything. “And I always thought you had a thing for him too.”
I nearly choke on my coffee. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“I absolutely did not have a thing for Hunter,” I say too quickly, too firmly.
She smiles, slow and knowing. “That defensive tone’s doing a lot of heavy lifting right now.”
I glare at her. “He’s my brother’s best friend.”
“Yes, and you’re a grown woman who blushes every time he smiles at you like you’re a miracle in a polo shirt.”
I groan and cover my face with my hands.
She giggles, nudging my cup toward me. “Look, I never said anything because nobody else seemed to notice. Not even Peter—especially not Peter, which is saying something, considering he and Hunter have been thick as thieves almost all their lives.”
I peek at her through my fingers. “Then why now?”
“Because you’re finally in a place where maybe you can hear it,” she says, voice quieter. “You needed time, Ally. After Darren... you weren’t just heartbroken, you were humiliated. Publicly. You needed to retreat. To heal. You wouldn’t have believed me even if I’d shouted it from the village green.”
She’s right. I know she is. Mandy and I have been friends for almost as long as Hunter and Peter. She and her family moved to St Claire when she was fourteen and we bonded over our shared love for one of the stars of Baywatch. She knows me better than anyone. Of course she saw right through me.
I look down at the swirling froth of my cappuccino.
“But maybe,” she says gently, “it’s time now.”
Time.
It’s a small word. But suddenly it feels heavy.
I stare into my coffee like it might hold an answer, but it just stares back, silently judging me.
“So,” I murmur, “what the hell am I supposed to do now?”
Mandy sits back, crossing her legs. “Well, how did you leave it?”
I hesitate, then glance up at her. “He kissed me. Said he wasn’t giving up. That he can’t. Not unless I tell him I don’t want him. And even then, he said he’d still hope.”
“Jeez, that’s hot! I didn’t think he was such a romantic. I’ve only ever known him to have casual relationships. Guess he wasn’t wasting the swoony stuff on anyone but you,” she winks.
I let out a breath that’s half laugh, half sigh. “It was a lot. Like… chest-tightening, slightly breathless lot.”
“He meant it.”
