Page 58 of Just a Friend for the Lion
“I—I think I need to go.”
Tony’s jaw clenches. “Hold on, wait a second—please. You might be misunderstanding something.”
I shake my head, words trembling on my tongue.
“I don’t know what I’m misunderstanding, and I’m not even sure I want to know,” I say, voice tight. “But that doesn’t really matter now, does it? Because Carter didn’t tell me anything.”
Not about the Pride.
Not about his so-called “obligations.”
Not about what kind of life came with falling for a goddamn Lion Shifter with magic hands and bedroom eyes and a mating bite he swore wasn’t supposed to happen.
And now I’m supposed to stand here andwhat?
Play cool?
Laugh off this whole thing like it’s some big, sexy mix-up?
I can’t.
Not right now.
Not with the way my throat’s closing up. Not with the way my heart’s trying to claw out of my chest.
“Please,” Tony says again, quieter now. “It’s not what you think. He’s gonna be real sorry if you leave like this.”
I look at him, and for a split second, I almost believe him.
But then I remember Tricia’s words. The pity in her voice. The way she sniffed me like I was something feral clinging to Carter's scent like a cheap perfume. The way she acted like I was just one of many—some chick with dollar signs in her eyes.
And suddenly?
I can’t find the funny in any of this.
Not in Tony’s massive Shrek energy.
Not in Tricia’s smugReal Housewives of Shifterdomattitude.
Not even in the fact that I’m standing here, crying in a luxury garage that probably has a lounge chair worth more than my rent.
It’s all too much.
Too sharp.
Too humiliating.
My vision blurs, but I blink hard, forcing it back.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, even though I don’t know who I’m saying it to.
Them. Myself. The universe.
“Just tell him—no. Don’t tell him anything.”
Because what could they say that would make any of this better?
Hey, boss, that girl you marked showed up thinking you cared and we accidentally made her feel like disposable ass? Oops!
